Thursday, September 25, 2014

New Hampshire

I’ve visited this area many times over the years as it was the home of my sister and her family for several decades. But Don has never seen it, so we took a few drives including one to Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in the state. On the way there, we enjoyed some pretty fall colors…

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…and saw LOTS of RVs departing…

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…from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where a NASCAR race was held the previous day.

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We enjoyed lunch at Lakeside Deli N Grill in Meredith, with a nice view of the lake.

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Nearby is the beautiful Bay Point at Mill Falls Inn.

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What’s this, a MONTANA license plate in New Hampshire? No, a New Hampshire license plate that says MONTANA. Wonder if they own a Montana 5th wheel?

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Our car, Carrie, got an alignment and 4 new tires, one day after she got her 90K mile service. She’s now 9 years old (‘06 model) and showing cosmetic signs of wear and tear, but we like her and she follows the motorhome so well that we don’t want a new car. So it’s worth it to invest a little money to keep her going for at least a few more years. Next will be a complete paint job including removing a few door dings, and a complete inside detailing. We’ll have to shop around for a good deal on that.

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Don just loves customer lounges – can’t you tell by his expression? He waited for 3 hours during the service the previous day but spared me that task. I went with him for the new tires because we knew it wouldn’t take long. At least he has his new Kindle Fire to keep him occupied.

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This is the absolute worst interpretation/spelling of Del Rosario I’ve ever seen! De Vasto???

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We bought Carrie some new cut-to-fit floor mats.

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But they didn’t need cutting!

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The inside looks so much cleaner, front and back! A good vacuuming helped, too.

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She even got a new GPS – a Garmin Nuvi that we bought in Bangor, ME.

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Our main reason for coming to NH, however, was to see several members of the Douglas clan of my family. Some readers may have previously seen a few of these pics on Facebook.

L-R: Donna, me, Diane (nieces).

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The pond in the background above is across the driveway from our RV site at Saddleback Campground, Northwood. The view was lovely and the managers were friendly and helpful, but there were no full hookup sites available (all were for seasonal renters) and there were too many trees to get satellite TV. So we only stayed two nights (on a complimentary coupon from Karen Faulkner and Roger Smith – Thanks again!).

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We found another campground and moved about 15 miles closer to the Concord area where all 3 of my nieces live, Great Meadow CG in Chichester. Our first site was also buried in the trees, but the next day we moved to one where the satellite dish works.

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The view isn’t the best, and we hear road noise from the nearby highway, but we’re happy campers. In fact, this is the first time we’ve had all systems working since we left Canada – 50 amp electric, sewer, water, free wifi and satellite TV! Plus, the tree at the front of the park is sporting spectacular fall colors.

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Here are some more family pictures. L-R: Niece Debbie holding great-great nephew Jace, me, George (Deb’s hubby), niece Donna, great-great niece Zephyr, great-nephew Devon and girlfriend Becky.

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Great-great nephew Jameson didn’t make it to the group picture, but he managed to photo-bomb this one, making us all laugh!

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Great-niece Grace, who’s starting college and a new part-time job at Panera Bread.

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And, last but not least, nephew Doug and his wife Kim. (Sorry for the poor quality picture. I think I used the wrong setting on my smartphone camera.)

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We’ve had a great time here, and it was wonderful to see most of the family. Tomorrow we’ll move south to the Boston area where we’ll be visiting with some of Don’s family.