fam visit!

the fam made it! it was a jam-packed weekend of chasing fall foilage around the VT/NH region :)

m,d, s2-s4 arrived around 2, which was perfect timing for wandering downtown keene and then HH-ing it at 21 bar & grill and getting some well deserved drinks! the martinis at the bar were given 3 thumbs up. the buffalo tenders were a bigger hit than the regular chicken tenders, burger buddies (aka, sliders) were given a thumbs down. but the bacon bits from the waffle fries were a big hit). the caprese pizza wasn't really warm when we got it on our table, so i was kind of disappointed by it this time. but i did ask for no additional salt on the chips this time for the spinach and artichoke dip which made it much nicer. from dinner it was off to bratt for our stay at the econo lodge (very spacious and much nicer than the ludlow place had been last yr). in true family vacay style it was all 6 of us in one room. so 2 of us got the floor, but at least there was cable to watch a truly awful lifetime movie (so awful none of us slept until it ended. haha).

the next day started early for our ride on the cog up mount washington. last weekend was definitely peak, so the trees weren't quite so exciting on the way up, and then the mountains got swallowed up by clouds, but the whole trip up and on top were pretty exciting (the steepest grade got to 37%). it wasn't too cold up top and on benches on the train were curved to help you stay in your seat. getting in line at least 45 minutes helps to get prime seats (although i think 1 hour before would get you front row views)

going up the cog and views of and from mt washington

the cog takes about 1 hour to get to the top, then you get to spend about 1 hour on the top, taking pics or grabbing food at the observatory. there's also an auto rd or there's the option to hike up :) hopefully next time hiking will be my next view of mount washington. 

the lower falls, the kanc

next on our schedule was to drive kancamagus highway, or the kanc as it's known (rt 112), a scenic road during leaf peeping season. from base station road we took 302 east through multiple towns that ended in conway (very touristy, almost beachy, not so new englandly feeling town). before conway we grabbed a bite to eat at the island chef in glen, NH. a very cute little sandwich/soup mini shop right off of 302. the grilled vegetable panini was yummy. from 302 we shot down rt 16 to the kanc. there was a sign before conway for the kanc but we wanted to get gas first and weren't sure if there would be any on that turn off. there are no gas stations along the kanc (or restaurants or anything for that matter to preserve the landscape). due to the govt shutdown, no parking fees are currently required but the bathrooms along the kanc scenic views are also closed. all the big scenic stops (lower falls, ravin, etc) were packed with cars.

shots along the kanc

the trees were a lot more colorful along the kanc than up mt washington. we stopped at a couple places to explore and there's lots of places to pull off and take pics. it wasn't the peak but the parking lots were still pretty crowded, can't imagine how backed up the road gets during peak.

uhm family hiking

white mts, prolly presidential peaks from the kanc

last view along the kanc as we drove west toward lincoln for dinner. we headed out for the kanc around 2 pm and got to dinner in lincoln (the end of the kanc) around 5 pm.

dinner was early bday celebration for s3. it was kind of perfect timing b/c i had lots of food ideas in mind based on which town we ended up. common man is a NH chain. the one in lincoln was in this cute huge new england style house. it was on the right pretty much right after the huge resort on the right. it was pretty busy in the restaurant so while we waited we grabbed some cheese and crackers. the common man sets up food tables with a block of cheese, crackers and cheese spreads (one seemed like a horseradishy one and the other was kind of a goat cheese/boursin). there are small plates at your table and you can get up and grab from the cheese and cracker table as the "bread" of the table, even though they also bring bread (whipped butter, white bread and pumpkin bread).

top to bottom L-R: white choc bread pudding, mud pie, turkey pot pie, lobster corn chowder

we ordered a random assortment of foods b/c we were all sorts of funky stuffed from road trip foods and cheese and crackers. d got pork schnitzel, m got the winter salad, s2,s4 and i shared the uncommon salad, lobster corn chowder, crab cake and the two of them also shared the turkey pot pie. the turkey pot pie was voted the best dish. the soup was good (not too seafoody, even for me!). we also got the white chocolate bread pudding and mud pie (coffee ice cream with graham cracker crust). i liked the uncommon salad more than the winter salad (prolly b/c of the beets). the desserts were pretty good. i wasn't a huge fan of the crab cake, but i was more than happy after cheese and pumpkin bread. service felt a bit rushed but the waiter was really nice and everyone in our room sang along to happy birthday.

everyone but s2 drove off this morning after grabbing goodies from the motel bfast and grabbing some food from brewbakers in keene (breakfast food got 2 thumbs up).

s2 got to play some more w/ me :)

brunch at the stage

s2 and got brunch at the stage in downtown keene. it's all decorated w/ theatre and nyc skyline decor and splashes of halloween. it's a cute little place but there's definitely a wait. s2 was a fan of their bloody mary and she tried their eggs benik reloaded (eggs benedict with a cheese sauce instead of hollandaise sauce, she wasn't such a fan of that) and a side of kielbasa (she did like that). i got the mediterranean omelette which came w/ seasoned potatoes and pita (way too full for the pita). i think the egg in mine was a bit too overcooked but all the veggies, olives and feta in mine were tasty.

vermonter leaves from bratt in VT so back across rt 9. we did a bit of exploring and then killed time at whetstone station. they have a special drinking club where if you try 99 different beers w/n a year you get a 20 oz pint mug with a number on it hung in the bar that you get to use every time you come. he said the record was like 2 months and something. all sorts of impossible for me even w/ a whole year, but the mugs were cute. and the view from downstairs at the bar is a lot nicer than the view from the upstairs/outdoors seating! you get to look over the connecticut river.

view from the whetstone bar

and now everyone's gone...womp womp. it's all sorts of quiet and now i have a fridge drawer full of oranges and apples :) goal is to not go grocery shopping all week (mims comes thursday) so i guess fruit detox for me! which is actually really good after foodie weekend! pumpkin fest is this weekend too!