When the ocean beckons

One of my favorite walks is not a hike, it's on a sand (or a sidewalk if it's winter).

This walking route was established 3 years ago when we first rented a house on Concord Ave. at Hampton Beach.  We start at the house and walk as far north as we can on the beach, and then go right out to the end point you see in the picture below.  The return trip is on the other side, passing condos, motels, food stands and shops on the way back. The round trip is about 3 miles.  A morning walk always includes a stop at the Coffee Break Cafe (which is open year round).

Our latest walk, which was on a breezy October afternoon, took us to the Throwback Brewery in nearby Hampton Falls.  It's not on the beach, but it was highly recommended by Becky and Skyler, beer aficionados.

It's always sunny at the Throwback Brewery

It was very busy when we arrived, but most people were seated out on their patio, so we settled in at the indoor bar.  Being located in a barn, the inside was cozy, patrons and bartenders are friendly, and the food menu was extensive (for a brewery).  We both had the chili, delicious and spicy hot.  Wish I could remember the brews I tried, but as I recall they were all pretty tasty.

So, if you just need to be in your happy place and see the ocean, I highly recommend this trip.

Traveling up Rt 89

Lucky me - two weekends in a row traveling up 89 and into the adventure of the Mt. Sunapee zipline and the Mt. Kearsage slipline.

ZIP & SIP - September 29.  My perfect rainy Saturday would not actually be dangling from a cable in the middle of a forest, but in the right company it was a blast! Me and my buddies Kate and Kathie picked ziplining for our monthly date, and Kathie made us a reservation at Mt. Sunapee Adventure Park (prepaid). There was no backing out due to weather, so we went, fingers crossed for the weather to break.

No such luck, but our guides, the awesome Jess and Tom, took us out for our thrill ride. We geared up, hopped on the chair lift (yes, Kate made it on the right chair), and came to our first challenge - up the net ladder to get to our first platform.  Once we arrived, Tom made sure we were securely fastened to the tree.  We huddled around the tree, while Tom hooked himself up and jumped off for the next platform.  Jess then hooked up brave Kate, and she took the plunge first.  Woohoo!

Our ziptrip took us in a zigzag canopy trip down the mountain, with a couple of rope lowering rides and suspension bridges along the way.  If you've ever wanted to try ziplining, I highly recommend this venue - such a thrill with fun (yet very safe) guides.  Might be nice to choose a sunny day though, although we did get a hand warmer delivery mid trip.

As for the sips, we ended up close to home at Old School in Windham.  Much more of where I am likely to spend a rainy Saturday.  Bison burgers and beers were the fare.  Good stuff, even though we didn't arrive on Harleys.

Mt. Kearsage: Winslow State Park- October 8
Raining again, but this could be our last opportunity for a hike this fall, so we went.  The rain broke just as we arrived in Warner.  The sun was shining as we headed to the trail head.

We chose the shorter but steeper trail, Winslow, to head up.  The park ranger shared that there was a lot of rock climbing on that side, and we figured easier to climb up than go down.  I think we were right about that, but wet rock is slippery going up or down! After doing a lot of sliding (mostly me) when we got within a 1/4 mile of the windy summit, we were hoping for an easier descent on the longer Barlow trail.

I spent the upper part of that trail creeping down baby style, but I survived without any scrapes or twisted ankles.  And it was a very sparse crowd, so no one witnessed my crawl down. Despite the challenging rocks and the fog/wind at the top, this was a pretty hike that would be enjoyable on a dry day.

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Luckily, the ride to the Flying Goose Brew Pub and Grill was short and sweet, and there were two seats at the bar waiting just for us.  All of their brews are locally made in their brewery, which is fully solar powered.  It had a cool vibe, a place that is probably awesome for apres ski.  Gonna have to come back again!

Derry Rail Trail - July 1, 2017

A beautiful Saturday kicking off the holiday weekend seemed like the perfect time to head out on a hike in the mountains of NH - until we merged onto 93 North.  We had been on the road for 30 minutes and had only made it to Exit 4 in Derry, home of the Derry Rail Trail as well as a selection of breweries.  Seemed like a no brainer to get out of the traffic and get on with our walk there.  We gave up elevation for a nice flat paved trail with plenty of mileage ahead.

View map

Wildlife encountered: Turtle, chipmunks, squirrels, a mole, and a beaver dam. No snakes!

Shy turtle

Memorial benches along the way

We took a little photo break as we crossed over to the Windham Rail Trail, which we continued on in order to hit 2.5 miles (for a 5 mile round trip).

Read a little more about the history http://www.windhamrailtrail.org/windham-depot--the-c16.html

Finishing up the walk, we were passed by many bikers, a few runners, and a handful of dog walkers. Now it was reward time. We chose from an assortment of breweries - there are five in the surrounding area.  We chose the two that were only about a mile from where we parked.  Next time we can park there and walk to the trail head.

Hip atmosphere and vibe at the Rockingham Brewery. While we were there they ran out of Blond Melon, and there was a collective groan among the regulars.

#6 was my favorite - La Bonne Fortune

Our second stop was Kelsen Brewery, right around the corner. This pub had a nice outdoor patio, with plenty of room for their patrons to spread out.  They also offered grilled cheese as one of their snack foods.

We resisted the grilled cheese, because we were just so close to Clam Haven, home of the best fried scallops in NH. If only I had room for an ice cream!

Pawtuckaway State Park - Saturday, June 10, 2017

Home of the local mosquitoes. Deet is a must on this trail.

View from the fire tower

A beautiful June Saturday, nothing on the calendar, time for a hike. We chose Pawtuckaway State Park, less than an hour's drive from home, with plenty of trails to choose from.  We checked in at the Park Office, and a friendly clerk gave us the hike we were looking for - about 5 miles to a good view point.  We took the Mountain Trail to the Fire Tower. She told us on a clear day some say you can see all the way to Boston. 

The trail had some inclines, but was easily manageable. The biggest challenge was getting around multiple muddy areas.  We managed by either going into the edges of the trail or by rock stepping our way through.  My foot only landed in the mud once or twice. The last half mile was quite steep, but easy to climb. We met a group of  15 boy scouts at the top, they were going to be tenting in a remote location - brave leaders!  After taking in the view (we couldn't really identify Boston, but the view of Pawtuckaway Lake was a beauty), we circled around to hike back down.  I was relieved that we didn't have to go down the steep rocks we climbed up. I have to admit, going up was easier than down. with the ankle twisting rocks and roots taking a toll on tired feet and legs. Despite that, we came off of the trail feeling great, forgetting about the last 1/4 mile uphill hike on the hot road back to the parking lot.  After that "cash out" we knew we earned our reward.

The famous Tuckaway Tavern just happens to be about a mile from the park.  We wrapped up our hike just before four and felt confident there would be two bar stools waiting for us there.  No luck - the bar was packed and there was an hour and a half wait for a table. That's a deal breaker, so we moved on to the Holy Grail in Epping.  Plenty of room at the bar, tables outside on the patio, friendly patrons and bartenders, and lots of local brews on tap. We settled in with a 603 Summatime Ale and a Moat Mountain Czech Pilsner. Onto food: I had the Pear and Goat Cheese salad, between the sugared walnuts and sweet pears, it was like dessert on a salad.  Very happy with my choice, especially since I was able to steal fries from Jeff's burger plate. Good food, good beer, good hike, good day.