Renting A Vacation Cabin

Looking back, we typically vacation in cabin rentals.  We did for our honeymoon, for Christmas and we even rented a one room cabin at a KOA when we went to Niagara Falls.  Ryan did the same when he surprised me with this New Hampshire vacation!  For this trip he chose to rent a cabin on a picturesque lake in North Conway, NH.  Vacation rentals can be found all over the inter-webs simply by googling the location and cabin rentals.  There is always Craigslist (be careful of scams) and vrbo.com where Ryan found this cabin.

Reasons I like to vacation in rental cabins:

- We could invite lots of friends and family to join us.

- We could bring our dog Glacier!

- There's a kitchen to cook our own meals, which is very attractive if you are allergy free.

- We could relax! and not always have to be on the go to find our next meal or place to go.

- We could take advantage of the property for things we would have to pay for if we were staying in a hotel.  In this cabin we were able to swim (at all hours, even the night), have camp fires, kayak, canoe, grill and enjoy the scenery!

- We could play loud music and laugh all night during our spade tournaments.

I'm already wondering where our next vacation rental will be!

xo

Erin

Things to Do in October Around New Hampshire

Ryan surprised me with an trip to New Hampshire last week before our lives started to get a little hectic busy.  It sure was an amazing surprise.  He put so much planning into it by renting us a lake cabin and secretly inviting our friends to join us up there.  I really had no idea all of it was being planned. 

We ended up going up to New Hampshire during prime time when all the leaf peepers (yes that is what they are really called!) head up to see the tree colors.  This post is to tell you the places we went to see to act more as a guide for others looking for activities while there. I will be posting more about our adventures and the lake cabin a little later.

Let me first start out saying we were in the North Conway, NH area.  

Everything we did was within an hours drive.

Cog Railway

Mt. Washington

This was truly great.  The trip up and down were narrated and was informative as you took in the views.  I've driven to the top of Mt. Washington before on the Auto Road and I preferred the railway to driving for the simple fact I wasn't so worried for my life the entire time.  If that kind of stuff doesn't bother you, both ways up are good.  Or even better,  hike it!  Anyway you do it, get to the top of Mt. Washington!

The Flume

Lincoln, NH

The Flume is a natural gorge with a waterfall/river going through.  Plank ways were built so we were able to walk right into the gorge.  It was breathtaking and unexpected.  We ended up walking the full loop hike instead of going back down through the gorge which I wish we would have gone back through just to see it again.

Gondola Skyride

Mt. Loon, Lincoln, NH

This activity wasn't my favorite.  To me it felt like a regular ride up a ski lift and it made me motion sick on the way down.  Although, the view on top was good and there was a neat glacier cave trail.

Kancamagus Highway

A 26 mile stretch of highway with amazing views and scenic stops.

Cathedral Ledge State Park

North Conway, NH

We caught a sunrise here!  There is a road to the top, which we took, but you can also hike to the top.  The view is perfect for the sunrise.  We brought our hiking stove and made breakfast on top.

and some great restaurants...

Moat Mountain Brewing Company

North Conway, NH

Woodstock Inn Station and Brewery

North Woodstock, NH

That is what we fit into our too short vacation up to New Hampshire.  We also spent time enjoying our cabin and kayaking on the lake.  New Hampshire has "Brake for Moose" signs everywhere and did I see one moose?.... no.  Anyway have any of you been to New Hampshire?  What did you do while you were there? I'd love to hear.

xo

Erin

Camping at Pachaug State Forest

Back in June we went camping at the Pachaug State Forest (I've been a bit busy in the meantime having a baby and all so I'm just posting it now). It was a campsite where you parked and had to hike into so you only brought what you could fit on your back.  Carrying everything in isn't as easy as it may sound; it's the camp fire wood and water that really make things heavy, but on the way out it's a lot lighter!

The campsite was free, we just had to register online so we knew it wasn't taken. 

I think it is no dogs allowed though.... (shhh don't tell).

The hike in was only about a mile or so and had a shelter to prop your tent up in.  We brought books and some good food to cook over the fire.  It was probably one of the most relaxing camping trips we've had together.  The state forest also has another free shelter to hike into that we would like to try out sometime.

Are any of you going camping this Fall?  I might be too soft to handle the cold.

xo 

Erin

Things to Do in June Around Connecticut

I have family coming out to visit me in June.  They have been out here several times before so we always try to find something a little different to do each time.  I put together a  list of things we may do in the CT/RI area this June.  I'll be sure to report back after the visit.

Coventry Farmer's Market

Coventry, CT

They've been cited as New England’s BEST farmers’ market by Yankeee Magazine AND selected as one of USA Today’s “Top 10 great places to shop at a farmers market!”

The Book Barn

Niantic, CT

This store is actually a barn with meandering paths to themed sheds full of books.  I especially love all the friendly cats, goats and beautiful gardens you can sit in and read.  It's no ordinary book shop!

Thimble Island Tours

Stony Creek, CT
Take a narrated boat tour of all the rocky islands and their history in the Long Island Sound.

Watch Hill

Westerly, RI (just over the CT border)
One of my favorite coastal towns with shops, restaurants and beaches.
I've posted some on my favorite beach here and here.

Point Judith, RI
A small cape with a working lighthouse, fisherman's beach and where you can buy lobsters right off the boats as they come in!

Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic, CT
A museum including a 19th century village and many old ships in seaport you can explore.
Mystic, CT is also a must see town with some great restaurants!  This one is my favorite because it is
 allergy-free!

Pick-Your-Own Strawberries

Lymann Orchards

Middlefield, CT

or

Scott's Yankee Farmer

Old Lyme, CT
June is pick-your-own strawberries season!

I can't wait for summer!
xo
Erin

P.S. Click here to see what we did when my family visited last June
P.P.S. Photos above were taken at the Watch Hill Harbor.

What I've Been Doing...

We've been out and about now that the weather is finally nice around these parts.

We took a trip up to Cold Spring, NY last week and discovered this beach along the Hudson River.  It was beautiful!  We were also able to explore the historic town (we've been there before but didn't have time to explore) and it did not disappoint.  

 Glacier has been on several swims already this year.  

We discovered his favorite ball floats.  His little heart is happy.

There is a new trail that opened up by us.  It is only about a mile or two long but it is packed with New England beauty. It has a marshy area with lots of fun birds.  Glacier went in for a dip but came out half brown.  The trail also walks past several farms, one with horses!

And of course, there has been some time on the beach over this Memorial weekend.

You can see more of where I went on Memorial weekend over at Violets & Laurel tomorrow.

Hope you had a good holiday!

xo 

Erin

Camping With The Dogs

We went camping with both Azul and Glacier for the first time.  We've been camping with Azul before and he's a trooper and we have no issues with him.  I was a little worried about Glacier camping hoping he wouldn't bark at every noise he heard during the night.  We brought our huge tent that we haven't used in a couple years hoping it would fit all of us.  We have just been using the two person tent when we go without the dogs.  We had more than enough room in the large tent.  We could have fit 4 more people!

This picture of Glacier pretty much sums up his personality.  His tail is a blur from wagging it so fast.

You may be wondering...
What do I eat while camping because my diet is so restricted?
Well...

I ate mostly protein.  For dinner we had brats and for breakfast we had hash browns and sausage.

Azul was on vacation... he didn't even stand up to eat his dinner.  He has such a hard life, it's good we finally brought him on vacation.

 
They may have got some of our food for breakfast... but we made them work for it.

Glacier doesn't understand the concept of a screen.  He was trying to drop his pine comb in the tent for us to throw for him.

Glacier did better than I expected at night with no major barking.  The camping trip was a success!

xo

Erin

Traveling Around New England

My family took the long drive from Wisconsin to Connecticut to visit Ryan and I this last week.  Of course we had to cram in a ton of all things New England on their five day stay.

There was a total of 6 of us traveling around, including 3 small children and we wanted to make sure everyone kept busy.

Our Itinerary:

Day 1: Martha's Vineyard

Day 2: Whale watching off of Cape Cod

Day 3:  Nautilus Museum (Submarine) and Mystic, CT

Day 4:  Point Judith, Fisherman's Beach and the lobster boats in Galilee, RI

Day 5:  Watch Hill, RI and beach day

What a great way to start off the summer season!

xo

Erin

Arizona: Day Eight

Our last day in Arizona we went to the Out of Africa Park.

We were able to go through the park on a safari, feed the giraffe, watch the tiger splash and follow along with the predator feed.  It is a great park and I highly recommend it if you are in the area.

This is the last we spent in Arizona.  If you missed a day of our trip go here.

Now I just need to find someplace else to travel to!

xo

Erin