I was lucky enough to take a little respite from
our tropical temps read hellishly hot and head to cool and crisp (ish)
New Hampshire
I met my daughter
who had just culminated a three month environmental conservation internship
in the beautiful Lake District
remember the movie
On Golden Pond?
THIS is the golden pond where it was filmed.
yep.
maybe my most treasured part of the trip
was meeting my long time
invisible friend's
Joan, Dan and the girls
Such a beautiful, warm and authentic
family. I loved them!
They generously introduced me, not only to their beautiful home and property
which is no less than true art
But to their beloved community and state...
That kitchen....Even better than any image I have seen
and while I always joked I would be happy to live in their
glass refrigerator as they were rebuilding....
My wish came true!
these glimmering dog bowls made me smile.
The light in their house was stunning to wake up to
and I'm pretty sure I used that word 1.998.567 times.
the ceilings unusually tall for an antique new England home
made it so happy and light and full of welcome.
the barn room with the original untouched barn door
Their true love and respect for their antique beauty
more than once Joan mentioned just being the caretaker
is so evident. It was impossible for my camera to do it justice
original barn beams....with milagro love.
the next day, they introduced me to some well loved
and curated and historical towns
that dot New Hampshire . I loved the tour!
But....
Their girls.
oh those black shiny happy beautiful girls
Ella, Louise and Magnolia...
Be still my heart.
I fell in love. Hook Line and Sinker.
::thunk::
They followed me everywhere
so...maybe....I had a few treats...
pointing out their favorite
places...
we walked down the road
on a cool canopied walk
to a nearby lake and some falls
this reminded me of Joan and her house full of "shells" or "ears"...or there is some other word for these interesting little tree growths.
Their property...and the entire area is pastoral. Bucolic.
And I could not think of a better introduction
and ambassador to New Hampshire.
Our travels took us throughout New Hampshire
we enjoyed hiking in the White mountains
and whale watching on the choppy seas of Portsmouth
and as we drove we listened to the sound track of Hamilton
which seemed oddly appropriate
we had a blast meeting and leading a team of rescued/retired iditarod race dogs through the
gorgeous White Mountains...Muddy Paws
The name was appropriate!
I adored the granite state....and am ready to call it home
I just need to talk a few others around here into it :)
Shout out to a few AirBnB's that we loved . It was my first experience using them
and it was fabulous!
this one in Laconia
And this fabulous carriage house in Portsmouth
Back to the tropics
::sigh::
6 comments:
That looked wonderful Linda. Perhaps a summer place there?
You are too sweet and too kind my friend! It was so much fun to finally meet in person. The girls miss you and LOVED the Yak!!!! xxojoan
Hello!
As I was looking at Joan's blog, today, I saw your blog and when I read the title, I knew that you had been to their place. You are right; it is beautiful... beyond words. I had the pleasure of meeting Joan, a couple of summers back, and she is so welcoming.
I enjoyed reading your NH trip entry. My husband and I are fortunate enough to have a second home in Laconia, NH (Lake Winnipesaukee). We are there most every weekend (some weekends bleed into the week!, year round. Every season is beautiful and brings different outdoor activities.
Since Laconia hosts a dog sled race, every winter, I want to go check out the dog sled center that you mentioned. On race day, we go to the staging area, where some owners let you meet/pet the dogs.
Recently, I went to the Squam Nature Center and thoroughly enjoyed it.
With the NE states being small, there is a lot that you can see in a few days. Portsmouth is a favorite area, of mine, for shopping and dining.
I love hearing that people enjoy visiting the place that I am fortunate to call home.
Cindy
This sounds like a wonderful trip! ESPECIALLY meeting Joan and her precious pups. I love visiting NE and hope do do so in the Fall. Have a wonderful week.
me again! I was back to save some of your photos! I was saving the photo of Magnolia on the terrace and it looks like there are fishing floats floating in the air!!!! love it!!! xxo
Well both of y'all are 2 of my favorite bloggers so that would have been a great time in my books. For The Love of a House was one of the first blogs I ever read and yours was early on and a favorite because of your tropical home and dogs!! We have 2 goldens and 1 is a rescue :)
What fun to meet someone from "online" I love your term 'invisible friends" :)
Great story. And we have friends from New Hampshire... Their twin daughters were our flower girls 30 years ago and her cousin wrote On Golden Pond. I still love that movie :) Great place for your daughter to enjoy an internship!
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