Plymouth, New Hampshire

Judy. Leaving Vermont, we drove to Hanover, NH, home to Dartmouth College, for a coffee (at Dirt Cowboy Cafe) and a walk around the campus. 

Darmouth College was chartered in 1769!

Then on to Plymouth, which, like all the towns we see here, is Hallmark’s idea of a typical New England town. We ate lunch, then settled into a hotel just outside of town. 

The next day we drove into Sandwich, chartered in 1763, to have lunch with Mary Bess and Jeff, acquaintances from Athens who have a summer home there. Jeff and Ted play pickleball together, one of the ways we make connections. They told us a bit about the town and took us to a crafts co-op that’s been functioning since the 1920’s as a way for women to make money. 

Foothills Restaurant in downtown Sandwich

Jeff had recommended a boat tour of Squam Lake, where the film On Golden Pond was made. While film locations and trivia were not our interests, we loved the ride around the islands, especially the story of the descendants of Daniel Webster selling vast acres to the state for one dollar. And we finally saw a loon, but couldn’t get a photo because that guy dives fast! 

On the following day we decided to get in our New Hampshire Appalachian Trail hike up Wyatt Hill—the last “easy hike” before the truly difficult White Mountains. Going straight up for a large part of the hike made it tough—don’t these New Englanders believe in switchbacks? But we made it to Wachipauka Pond, which was lovely. And we only met three hikers. 

Yay! We made it!

We celebrated our tenth “Appalachian Trail state” by heading to a glorified snack bar, The Little Red Schoolhouse. Much to our pleasant surprise, they serve lobster rolls. We both indulged and declared them the best yet. 

Are lobsters on the endangered species list yet?

Our third day, we basically rested. Well, Ted did, and I drove into Plymouth to check out the town—and their thrift store, Ladders. It was HUGE—three buildings—and extremely well organized, as was the Habitat for Humanity ReStore we visited the day before. 

Cleanest, biggest, most organized ReStore we've seen!

I enjoyed walking Main Street, ducking into shops featuring local crafts, and catching a few moments of a youth jazz band performance on the town Common. 

The Town Hall was quiet, but there were kids playing on the Common

It is increasing clear why people enjoy coming to New England so much. The towns are historic and charming, and quite different from other parts of the country. This trip has been a real eye opener for me. I like it here. But I’m not sure about the winters…

Iconic covered bridges in New England