Foliage Season is upon us!

Our Porch is all decked out for Fall!

Ah fall – the time of year when the temps are pleasant during the day and chilly at night – and Mother Nature paints the landscape with oranges, reds, yellows, and gold.  My favorite time of the year!  Time for Pumpkins, Mums, Scarecrows, and leaf peepers!  We have guests arriving from all over the world over the next 3 weeks who are hoping that Mother Nature puts on the best show ever for them.  This Foliage season looks to be one of those that guests will remember for years to come – it’s still a little early and colors are looking very promising!  I drove through Pinkham Notch on Monday and it was so pretty in there!  This is the time of year that I prepare pears, apples, Pumpkin Pancakes, Orange Cranberry Pancakes, Apple Spice French Toast – all the flavors of fall – Yum!  I also try to make sure that every single day I go out on the porch and enjoy my own view – this season can fly by so fast with cleaning, cooking, and helping guests plan their day that I can miss it.  What good is it to live in such a beautiful area if you don’t appreciate it’s beauty daily?    Now to find the time to sneak in a hike!

Moving on to Jackson

After breakfast Mary Ann & I headed over to the Thorn Hill Inn in Jackson – the next stop on my New England tour.  I’ve had a great time with Mary Ann and am looking forward to my stay at the Thorn Hill Inn!  Thank you to Mary Ann, her Dad, Lulu, Sophie, and all the nice guests I met while there!

Day Five – Happy Labor Day!

Reflection Pond

Happy Labor Day!  After guests were served another yummy breakfast, Mary Ann and I headed down to Reflection Pond just below the B & B – it did not live up to its name today but it is beautiful!  We had views of the Mahoosuc Range across the Androscoggin River and Mt. Madison to the West end of the Pond.  It was so peaceful there, we just sat and relaxed for a bit.  Then we headed into Gorham where Mary Ann gave me a tour of the town with its quaint shops and great restaurants.  We then headed back to the B & B where Mary Ann told me that we were going to go to the Mt. Washington Auto Road for a trip to the top of Mt. Washington!  Wow!  Mt. Washington is the home of the worst weather in the world and the highest winds recorded.  We were driven up by Ernie who told us about the landscape, the tundra, and the peaks.  I had the best time!  It looks like you are on another planet up there!  All the glacial boulders.   No wonder it is called the pile of rocks!  We

Mt. Washington

stayed up on the peak for quite some time and I met quite a number of people who wanted to know my story – so Mary Ann filled them in and told them about my website.  I was amazed at how many people stopped to talk to me.  I met the nicest people.  Then we saw guests of the Bed & Breakfast who had just finished hiking up the Huntington Ravine Trail to the top of Mt. Washington – wow!   They rode down the mountain with us.  We saw the top of Huntington Ravine which they just finished climbing – holy cow!  The cairns up there are wonderful – they mark the trail but also many have popped up as spiritual cairns too, built by hikers.  The Alpine Garden was in foliage season already – just beautiful in its fall colors.  I’m so excited I don’t know if I will be able to sleep tonight!  Mary Ann must have taken two hundred photos today – I can’t wait to see them!  You can see the photos on the B & B’s facebook page!

Day Four

Well, it rained today so the AT was not going to happen – wouldn’t want my paint to peel.  We did however take some photos with Mary Ann’s cat Sophie and one of the many quilts she (Mary Ann, not Sophie) has made.   Later in the day the weather started to improve and we were hoping for a sensational sunset which we were rewarded with as we relaxed on the porch.  Tomorrow Mary Ann says she has a big day in store for me!

Mary Ann’s guests have been so nice!  They’ve all been asking me about myself and where I’m traveling to next!

Day Three – September 1st!

Wow – the first day of September already – time flies!  First some photos with the “Bucket Head Lady”  – Mary Ann’s sister-in-law Trish and her brother Bill built the Bucket Head Lady for her last year and the idea has taken off – there are several more Bucket Head Ladies springing up around Gorham and the city of Berlin.  She’s pretty cool – all dressed up to work in the garden!

Later today 2 guests from NY are checking in – Christine & Greg have been coming to the B & B for 13 years now!  After all this time they have become friends.  I t definitely would not be Labor Day Weekend without them.  They come up every year to hike Mt. Washington – the highest peak in the Northeast at 6288 feet.  NOT an easy hike for sure!

So far I’ve met guests from New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Australia, Israel, and my home state of Massachusetts !

Day Two

Mary Ann had a busy day today preparing breakfast for guests who are hiking Mt. Washington today.  I chatted with them while she prepared them her Granola Pancakes (made with Mary Ann’s homemade granola).  Then we headed up to clean rooms and get all ready for guests checking in today for the Labor Day Weekend.  We were hoping to head over to the Appalachian Trail but just as we were getting ready the skies opened and it poured!  I think Mary Ann was a little restless as she then dressed me up in Yankee gear – I’m a bit offended as I’m a Red Sox fan!  She’s really going to have to make up to me for the indignity of it all!  I can’t believe they sent me to visit a Yankees fan!

 

Day One

Day One

I arrived today at the Mt. Washington Bed & Breakfast after a lovely stay at the Briar Lea Inn in Bethel, Maine.   I was greeted by Mary Ann and her dog Lulu – Lulu and I posed for a photo together.   Shelburne is my first stop in New Hampshire and I’m very excited to be here.  I’ve heard about Shelburne’s beauty with the Mahoosic Range of the White Mountains and the Appalachian Trail.  The trail crosses Route 2 about ¾ of a mile to the East of the Mt. Washington B & B.  I’m hoping to be able to hike part of that section, known as the Rattle River Trail.  I’ve read in the guidebooks that it is a fairly easy trail for about 2 miles in and Mary Ann promised we could go for at least a short hike on it.   I posed for a few photos after taking a nap this afternoon – my favorite is in the field with Mt. Madison and Adams in the background.

Relaxing in the field with Mt. Madison in the background.