Summer is here!

The posts this last week have been kind of serious, time to lighten things up!

Summer officially arrived this weekend in New England when the thermometer topped out at 85 degrees on Saturday. That means the beaches are packed, motorcycles are out, and boats are back in the water. Up and down the shoreline there are surf shops, lobster shacks, and ice cream parlors that are packed with beach goers.

This holiday weekend I soaked up the best of what New Hampshire has to offer: hiking in the mountains and sunning on the beach. What better way to spend my long weekend?

Sunday I ventured northwest into the lakes region of New Hampshire to do a little hiking. My first stop was a lovely park called Profile Falls in Bristol. I spent about two hours walking the trails, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, and eating a little lunch in front of the waterfall.

Then it was off to Alexandria in search of Grafton Falls. This one proved to be too elusive for me. I made my best attempt to locate the falls, but was deterred by having to cross the rushing river bottom. I did take some time to dip my feet in the cool water and soak up some sunshine. While sitting on the rocks, an older couple emerged from the woods on the opposite side of the stream. They were in the same predicament as me, trying to find a place to cross. We chatted quickly across the water and I ventured halfway across to lend a hand as they jumped rock to rock. When we all made it back to my side of the water, they informed me that in order to see the falls, I would need to cross the river and hike up the hill. After already hiking about 2 miles to no avail, I decided I would turn back and head to my next destination and attempt the falls another time.

















On my way to my final stop of the day, I drove along a road that hugged closely to the lake shore. There were campers, tents, lawn chairs, and coolers abound. The smell of barbecue hung in the air. I made it to Sculptured Rocks park in Hebron. Unlike my other two destinations, this one was crawling with people. In particular, hormonal teenage boys challenging each other in a game of who can be more brave and jump from the highest rocks into the rushing water 50 feet below. Needless to say, I was less than impressed. It is times like this when people doubt the power of Mother nature that bad things happen. I took a few pictures and proceeded home.

After a quick shower, I met up with one of the girls from work at her house for a cookout. We jumped in the car with her adorable 6 year old son and drove to the coast. He was thrilled to get out of the car and scramble on the craggy rocks. The night was filled with lots of laughs, good food, and great company.


All in all, the weekend so far has provided the lighthearted fun I needed after the previous week. In observance of the holiday, I'm off work today as well and have more plans to spend time with a few of my new friends, sunning on the beach and taking in the downtown area of Portsmouth. Happy Memorial Day to everyone and remember the reason for the holiday!