New Hampshire in sight
26 August 2023
150 miles
We got a late start this morning since we only had 150 miles to go. We left the hotel around 10:45 after an incredible cooked-to-order breakfast (Markus had an omelet and I had two eggs over easy). We got into Conway, New Hampshire just before 2:00 and headed to Leavitt Bakery for donuts. Unfortunately, they closed at noon due to staff shortages. We will try again tomorrow as I have read that their donuts are well worth it!
There was a farmstand right beside the bakery, so we went in and bought potatoes, local corn, and tomatoes. Dinner tonight is from Hannaford (local grocery) – swordfish and shrimp packets – on the grill – with asparagus and grilled corn (from the farm stand). The tent site at Huttopia is nice; no river view, but it is wooded and peaceful. The tent is spacious with a kitchen counter, complete with pots, pans, dishes, and flatware. The queen size bed looks comfortable.
It had rained about half an hour before we got here and the mosquitoes and bugs were bad, but as the afternoon / evening wore on, they subsided. Despite the slightly damp wood, Markus had a fire going. It’s not really all that cold yet, however, the forecast is for temperatures in the low 50s overnight. There is a wood stove in the tent, but I’m sure we won’t need it.
The funny moment of the day was when we crossed the border from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. At the first exit was a New Hampshire State Store. It was a major attraction! I have never seen such an enormous state store, and the parking lot was packed with shoppers! Apparently, New Hampshire has relatively cheap alcohol and people cross the border to stock up!
27 August 2023
Approximately 70 miles
We slept in this morning until about 8:30 and then had a leisurely morning, enjoying coffee and bacon sandwiches. I must confess that I loaded up on the bacon yesterday at the Embassy Suites, and we brought the whole pile with us! Anyway, we left around 11:00 for Leavitt Bakery: Take 2. This time we were successful! The bakery was busy, but when it was finally our turn, I got a sugar donut, Markus got a Boston cream, and we got a coffee to share. Both donuts were delicious – definitely living up to the bakery’s reputation! And worth every calorie!!
After that stop, we drove along the Kancamagus Highway, which is a scenic byway between Conway, where we are staying, and Lincoln in the west. Lincoln is clearly a ski town, but the main street was nice. I’m sure it’s very festive in the winter. We stopped at a couple of places along the way. The first was the covered bridge at Albany, which was very picturesque. We also stopped at one of the mountain overlooks, but it was cloudy, so there was no real opportunity for pictures.
It rained for a couple of hours this afternoon from about 2:00 to 4:00 and it left our campsite a bit damp. However, after much ado, Markus had a fire going, and that helped everything to dry out a little. We are having our own special gumbo for dinner tonight. I am also going to make garlic bread to go with it.
Incidentally, the people in front of us at the bakery got their wedding cake from Leavitt 30+ years ago. Ownership changed about 2 1/2 years ago, so it wasn’t the same bakers. But we did learn that the prior owners now have a goat farm – go figure!!
28 August 2023
92 miles
I was up at 8:00 this morning as I wanted to take a shower before spending four nights in the north of New Hampshire. It felt incredibly good to be clean! For breakfast, we had scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, the last two pieces of bacon and toast. It is nice having a gas grill – you can make just about anything!
We got packed up and checked out a few minutes after 11:00, which was checkout time. Before we left, we took a walk to see the stream-front tents. They were very picturesque.
So, a little about glamping at Huttopia. There are several different cabin / tent options to choose from: the largest can accommodate 8+ people and has a full kitchen and bath; the middle of the road option – the Canadian (like we had) can sleep 5 and has a kitchen area with a mini fridge and is well equipped with cookware and dishes. Although there is electric, there is no running water – fresh water can be carried from the faucets, which are stationed throughout the campground. Each tent is also supplied with deck chairs, a gas grill with a side burner, and a fire ring. The third-tier tents are simply a bedroom. There is no kitchen area, and no dishes are provided. All units have linens and towels provided. There are multiple bath houses with toilets, sinks, and showers. A dishwashing station is right next to each bathhouse. I have to give a ton of credit to the housekeeping team. The bath houses were super clean.
It really is an ideal set up for anyone that wants to try camping, but doesn’t want to have to lug a tent, sleeping bags, pillows, dishes, etc.
One other thing that I forgot to mention was the precaution for bears. We were instructed to keep all food in our vehicle or refrigerator, even dry goods. Also, garbage was supposed to be disposed of every night. We kept our garbage in the refrigerator overnight, but we didn’t really have that much. Lastly, there was a bear box at each site but to open them required a PhD! They were so complex that even Yogi couldn’t have figured out how to open it, and he is smarter than the average bear!! 😊
We had 92 miles to travel today with an estimated time of 2 hours and 20 minutes. After a short stop at Walmart for fire starters, we were on our way. We also stopped at a small market (butcher / gourmet market) called Veno, but it was quite expensive, and we didn’t buy anything. Traffic in Conway was unbelievably bad, and we were delayed about 20 minutes getting through town. The rest of the drive was uneventful except for the slow speed limits (25 mph) in the numerous small towns along the route. We arrived in Coleman around 2:45 PM and scoped out our campsite, which was totally awesome! We went down to the office to register and discovered that they served hot food. Since we were really hungry – breakfast was a very distant memory – we ordered pizza. It was delicious – freshly made – not frozen! And only five dollars per pizza (personal size). We also bought firewood and drove back to our campsite.
We were set up in about a half hour and sat down to enjoy a glass of wine and peace and quiet. The first thing we noticed was the noise that the loons make. We have never heard anything like it! Dinner was our own special gumbo – two nights in a row! Our firewood lasted until about 11:00, and we crawled into the tent exhausted.