New Hampshire or Bust...plus some!

Okay so maybe plus a lot...

On our way to New Hampshire we stopped in Vermont's visitor's center.  It was so cool and the area was beautiful!  The center displayed "arts and crafts" from local artisans.  Two of my favorites were the rocking chair (pictured) and a dining room table crafted from a single piece of wood.  The table was amazing - I can't believe I didn't take a picture!  Anyway...

on to New Hampshire.  Well, New Hampshire was where we stayed, but Boston, Massachusetts was our next city to explore.  We went to Boston Harbor where we visited the Aquarium and got to go on a whale watching trip! 

The aquarium was small but enjoyable.

The sea turtles were so cool!

My kids (and Layne) could have stayed right here all day!

Waiting for our boat!

And what did we see...a "mama" whale and it's "baby" playing!  It was awesome!

Wow!

Boston

The oldest working lighthouse.

We loved our boat trip!  It was amazing and a definite highlight of our trip!!!  It was kind of surreal to have the whales swim under the boat and surface right in front of you!

Our boat.

Next we did some exploring through the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  There are tons of hiking trails, waterfalls, covered bridges, and it was just beautiful everywhere you looked!

Skipping rocks.

During our exploration we even found Maine. 

We also found some really neat antique stores.  The kids discovered that they really like antique stores, much to my surprise!  It was like a treasure around every corner!  So funny!

The next day we did something very scary...we dropped McKenzie off at the airport so she could fly home for youth conference.  The youth this year got to stay on the USS Yorktown, a naval aircraft carrier built during World War II, in South Carolina.  Despite my apprehension and worry, she made it quite safely and had a really great time at youth conference!  (Thanks to all family who watched out for her!)

So, while she was flying - and I was demanding texts as often as possible, we decided to explore the history of Boston!  Starting with the USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides").

Small spaces!

I can't imagine sleeping this way on a boat and being able to walk the next day!  :)

Cheers.

The old firehouse turned restaurant.

Fenway Park.

Kavan kept us on track when we couldn't understand the trolley driver with the strong Boston accent!  :)

A Harvard gate.  We never did find the front entrance of Harvard.

But we did find an "organic" pizza place across the street from Harvard campus.

MIT

After Boston, we traveled to Salem.  I did not realize that Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts.  I also did not know that he was related to Justice John Hathorne, (who was the only judge from the Salem Witch Trials to never apologize for his actions) and added the "w" to his name to hide his relation to Justice Hathorne.  Interesting, I thought!

Witch House.

First church in Salem founded August 6, 1629.

More nature exploring.

This covered bridge in Bath, New Hampshire is located by a general store, known as The Brick Store, that has been in operation since the 1790's.

And located by the general store is a fun little ice cream parlor full of rock -n- roll memorabilia.  Fun and yummy!

After filling our tummies with ice cream, look at this beauty we came across!

And how fun is this!?!

"Hey Karlee!  Come see what's behind this waterfall!"

"Okay!"  :)  Karlee is game for just about anything!

So pretty!

We had to find Plymouth, Massachusetts before starting back home.

The Mayflower II

The Rock!  It's broken... and repaired!  :)

A National Monument to the forefathers.  It is huge, and in the middle of a grass field across the street from a nice little house.

I think Kyler will miss the clam chowder (chowdah) the most!

What a great trip we had!  So many great adventures, so many great memories!  (And we had never seen so many Dunkin' Donuts before - and we only stopped for doughnuts, once!)  On the way home, we got lost in the Bronx (I wish I would have taken pictures, it was jaw dropping!  High buildings, an insane amount of people, houses side by side with people crammed on the porches, tiny fenced in playgrounds in the middle of chaos - it was like a movie!), stayed in New Jersey, passed through Connecticut and Rhode Island (which only took about 20 minutes), saw Washington DC from afar, got stuck in traffic for a really long time and decided to stay in North Carolina by a really cool store full of cowboy boots!  Then, we made it home - Kenzie had made it home, and it was good to be home!