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  Littleton, New Hampshire, United States
Wednesday, October 1, 2008

We left Boston on the T and walked (bit of an error with all our bags) from the station to pick up our rental car for the journey north. After a bit of faffing with scratches, etc and speaking to a guy who looked a bit like Eminem but who professed to be a massive fan of Are You Being Served, we set off up the coast. First stop was Marblehead - a lovely old clapboard town and (apparently) birthplace of the US Navy. We stopped briefly at Fort Sewall, then drove on up to Salem (home of the infamous Witch Trials). Unfortunately there didn't seem to be much there apart from lots of witch museums and shops selling broomsticks, so we drove on without stopping and took the I95 north past Portsmouth and then inland.

Heading off R16, we called in at Wolfeboro by Lake Winnepesauke for lunch which is at the heart of the New Hampshire lakes region (roughly equivalent to our own Lake District). Although the town seemed to have shut down following the end of the summer holiday season, it was nice to see the place mainly filled with locals and we had lunch in a lovely friendly little diner where they took your first name and called you over when your food was ready. If I was called Dick though, I think I'd have given a false name....

From Wolfeboro, we continued north back onto R16 through Conway, then took R302 up through the White Mountains. Somewhat misleadingly, they weren't white, but in fact gorgeous shades of red, orange, yellow and green as the leaves turned for the fall. The road wound up high into the mountains and, unfortunately, high into the clouds. Despite the rain and mist (which admittedly blocked many of the more dramatic views), the colours were enough to make up for it and the drive was certainly worthwhile.

On the way down we passed by the Mount Washington Hotel, which is a vast white mansion in a stunning location high in the valley, looking out over the mountains and its own 18 hole golf course. This was the site of the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944, where the IMF and World Bank were set up and the gold standard set. Today, they refused to allow our rather measly Toyota Corolla up the drive, but the view from the road was impressive enough.

Heading further down the mountain, we passed through some picturesque villages (notably Bethlehem), before arriving at the bottom in Littleton. We had a guidebook recommedation for accomodation here and sure enough the Thayers Inn proved to be both luxurious (compared to hostels at least) and relatively cheap. Having hosted Ulysses S. Grant, Richard Nixon, Bob Dole, Bette Davis and others, it sold itself on its 'olde-worlde' feel, but was a welcome alternative to the many, characterless motels we had passed on our drive.

From here we will drive west and north through Vermont to Montreal. We'll keep updating where and when we can as we go...

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