s3 visit!

have wonky internet in newbury, so i'm trying to do a huge update while i have internet in keene (and also to avoid working on my presentation:). to sum up s3's visit, it was hike, eat, ice cream, repeat. a mountain everyday is pretty impressive.
friday- maple creamies at frazer's in windsor then harpoon brewery. which is only a couple miles from my work!

the beer wall at the brewery. we ate outside- poutine, grilled cheese sandwich (with king arthur flour bread!) and i got fish and chips. i also tried their summer shandy (grapefruit flavored). very summery and light. perfect way to end a warm day.

view of lake winni from castle in the clouds

saturday, early wake up so we hiked sunapee on the ski trail (do note, if you don't wait for the grass to dry your feet will get soaked). then back down, shower and off to moultonborough to castle in the clouds. it was originally like 3000+ acres owned by the inventor of the modern women's shoe, thomas plant, and is now owned by the town. it stretches all the way to lake winnipesaukee and the views were absolutely breathtaking. tots worth it for the $16 admission. make sure to call ahead to find out when and if there are any weddings for the day b/c they close off the best views.

you drive about 2 miles up to the parking lot. along the way are points of interest or good views you can park and take a look. if you want to do some walking there are lots of trails. you can explore pretty much the entire house as it was during plant's residence with his 2nd wife. he hired 1,000 masoners from italy to build the mansion, and each mason could only lay 3 stones a day. phew, talk about hard work!

before you take the bus up to the mansion (or after), you can grab drinks, food or desserts at the restaurant. it's an amazinggggg view. i got a salad with quinoa (it was good, ask for the dressing on the side though) and s3 got a grilled cheese sandwich if i rmbr correctly. it was a perfect day for exploring!

sunday- wake up early and head up to king arthur flour for a carb happy breakfast to get us through our 2nd hike. we grabbed a cinnamon roll, egg/cheese (and sausage in s3's cause) sandwiches on their brioche rolls. the brioche rolls were very fluffy and tasty, but i think i wanted a biscuit for my sandwich. the cinnamon roll was delish. we also grabbed a loaf of olive bread (yum!), some sweet potato and lentil hummus (ok), and some scones for the hike.

our 2nd mountain hike was mt. ascutney in vt which is also right by my work. we hiked the weathersfield trail (off of 131) which passes several waterfalls in the first mile of hiking. it was pretty shaded the whole way up which was nice in the heat. we started around 10 and there weren't too many cars in the parking lot yet. it took us an hour and 45 min to ascend and then we frolicked at one of the waterfalls getting some sun and cooling off our feet :) there's an observation tower at the summit and there's also a place to go hang gliding!

after the hike we showered and headed to flying goose for an early dinner and drinks. it's a brewing company in new london (town next to me) and they had the best tuna burger i've ever had. s3 got whole belly fried clams. 

monday- one more hike! this time mt. kearsarge. we started from winslow state park (admission fee $4 per person). we went up the winslow trail (1.1 mi) and came down the barlow trail (1.7 mi). it almost looks like the sun is rising but we didn't quite make it. one day would love to hike and watch the sunrise from the summit, but i think i'd break my neck in the dark! this is a perfect hike when you don't really want to do an intense hike. only took us 45 min to get to the top since you start pretty high up.