Tag Archives: New Hampshire

You can’t beat a good old fashioned general store.

March 3, 2025 Rivergirl 40 Comments

We drove down to Barrington New Hampshire recently… specifically to visit this store.

Calefs was opened in 1869 and run by the same family for 150 years. Walking through its doors is like stepping back in time.

Filled to the rafters with quirky products you’re not apt to see anywhere else, it’s a wonderful place to browse.

Here’s the husband examining some pickled quail eggs.

You can’t go wrong with peace, love or cheese.

Beer?

They have that too.

People still fill buckets with pickles from a wooden barrel.

Though as I was taking a picture of this briny abomination the man behind the counter said, “Go ahead… no one’s tried them yet!”

Can’t say I’m surprised.

🤢

Even the hot sauce was fun.

The creaky uneven floors of the old farmhouse were great and my husband thoroughly enjoyed gawking at all the antiques lining the top shelves. The woman standing next to him works there and shared some story history.

Naturally, we came home with goodies.

Dinosaur wine gummies anyone?

🤣

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Ending our trip with bad beer and a wind up Sasquatch.

November 27, 2022 Rivergirl 15 Comments

On our last night in the White Mountains we skipped down the road to a very popular brewery called One Love.

It was a huge place, and so busy on a Friday night we had to schlepp up the stairs to the second floor bar.

Sadly One Love brewery doesn’t take their beer very seriously and only had three of their own on tap, all of which were quite disappointing

They did however make a stellar blood orange cranberry margarita.

Which I consumed with some amazing lollipop lamb chops so the visit wasn’t a total waste.

Our trip home the next day was uneventful, consumed mostly with me bugging the husband to stop at multiple gift stores so I could purchase a thank you gift for our Lord Dudley Mountcatten cat sitting neighbor.

In case you’re wondering, this did not make the cut.

Upon returning home I happily put my newly purchased brewery crate into service.

Four down, probably two more to go. Since my idea for vinyl storage/display containers is proving more difficult to procure than I originally thought, I have culled my collection down to a more reasonable number and now have a rather large stack of never listened to albums in the closet. It was hard to be ruthless, but necessary. I need to get my crates out to the man cave before the husband bogarts all the available floor space.

😉

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Mount Washington resort.. the finale.

November 26, 2022 Rivergirl 12 Comments

As we were winding up our tour of the resort we wandered into the conference center….

Which was just as attractive as the rest of the resort though in a newer building addition. There were multiple meeting rooms of which I’ll spare you the details…

But we did find a plethora of fascinating old maps.

And since I included the word old in that description, you know who enjoyed them the most.

Random grand piano…. because you never know when the Brotherhood of Orthopedic Shoe Manufacturers will feel the need to break into song.

The indoor pool required a paying guests only entry card so here’s a shot of it through a window. I thought it was very nice they had a handicap lift machine.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, this hotel was built in 1902. And though they do an amazing job of upkeep, the old broad is beginning to show her age and needs some serious restoration in spots.

Underneath decades of crisp clean white paint? Rotted wood.

And a side porch rotunda that’s undergoing some major repairs.

They try to keep as much of the original structure as possible which I’m sure is an engineering nightmare.

So there you have it, The Mount Washington resort. An area landmark that shouldn’t be missed.

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Porches and decks. Decks and porches. They’re everywhere…

November 25, 2022 Rivergirl 19 Comments

If there’s one thing that struck me as we wandered around this grand old dame of a resort…

It was the feeling that it wanted you to sit, relax and simply… be.

Everywhere we went there were long porches with ample seating. Upstairs, downstairs, all with fabulous views.

On top of the east wing?

An outdoor bar with covered porch…

And open deck Adirondacks.

Around another bend?

Another covered porch with ample seating. If you can’t find a chair here, there’s something seriously wrong with you.

Around back? The pool, complete with mountain view.

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Lunch in the basement.

November 24, 2022 Rivergirl 23 Comments

When I think basement, I imagine dark corners, cobwebs and mouse turds. Clearly there was none of that here.

How big is this resort?

It has its own post office.

And a line of high end shops down the hallway. One of which I was forbidden to enter by my spouse…

Did I mention the carpet?

Trees, pine cones and woodland creatures. Very whimsical.

Since we were visiting off season for lunch there were only two options, an upstairs restaurant offering small plates and tapas or downstairs which had a full menu. I think you know by now my husband is not a small plate kind of guy.

Another cocktail? Don’t mind if I do.

The menu was a bit smaller than I expected from such a big place, and as I scanned to the bottom I was seriously hoping my spouse would find something he wanted before he found the filet. Gulp!

We elected to split a bowl of clam chowder to start and instead of bringing two spoons, they divided it in cute little square bowls. Very tasty.

One shrimp scampi and a crabmeat sandwich later…

We were replete and ready to continue exploring.

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Mount Washington resort part two.

November 22, 2022 Rivergirl 19 Comments

Stepping inside this splendid hotel is like walking through a time machine. Back to the grand old days of luxury accommodations…

When you “summered” in the mountains and the resort was your seasonal home.

Elegant, but warm and inviting at the same time.

Walk through the first floor to the rear of the building….

Into the rotunda with fabulous views…

Even when you look up.

Step outside on the massive panoramic covered porch…

And you get an idea of how large this resort really is.

10,000 acres to be exact.

The porches go on forever, positively begging you to grab a cocktail and relax. Which we did. Because who am I to ignore a begging porch?

One cocktail down, we made our way back inside, found an elevator…

And rode it down to the basement where we continued exploring.

In case you were wondering, our basement does not look like this.

To be continued.

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The Mount Washington Resort.

November 21, 2022 Rivergirl 35 Comments

If you’ve ever visited Mount Washington and driven through the valley, you know there’s one structure that dominates the landscape.

The regal Mount Washington resort. Built in 1902 she’s been the hotel to the rich, the famous and everyone in between. The cheapest room is over $500 a night and if you want a king size bed with a view? Prepare to pay $1,500.

As you turn in the driveway, geese.

Geese… everywhere.

Circle past the front door to the parking lot, which is a bit of a hike if you’re too cheap to pay valet… which we were… and then stroll back.

Past some climbing vines….

And an impressive row of chrysanthemums.

Everywhere you look? It’s spectacular.

Even the portico ceiling.

And then you walk inside….

To be continued.

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The Crawford Notch 500

November 20, 2022 Rivergirl 24 Comments

When you take scenic drives around the White Mountains of New Hampshire you’re going to pass through a lot of notches. Roads that are cut straight through the hills make for some fantastic photos.

Unless you’re riding with my husband who hates having anyone in front of him and is constantly jostling for position.

I can’t tell you how many great shots I’ve lined up just to whizz past them in a blur.

My husband may be well into the senior citizen age range but you’d never know it by the way he drives.

Ever come up behind an elderly driver and have to slow to a turtle’s crawl?

I can guarantee that’s not my spouse. He’s the one coming up in your rear view mirror who makes you move into the next lane to avoid him riding in your back seat.