We're going on a bear hunt - Day 6

[Princess Alison]

We woke up to a cloudier day this morning and having packed up our cases and said goodbye to the lovely Seacrest resort, we got in the car ready for the next stage of our trip.





(that's our Jeep in the pic! - a great car!)

We set the satnav for North Conway (via Portsmouth) and off we went. Back over the canal and north toward Boston, the skyline of the city looked pretty amazing from this angle as it looked like we were literally driving into a sea of skyscrapers.



We navigated Boston just fine, going under a tunnel and over various bridges and through a toll I think, until we reached the other side and were met with a fairly long straight road with greenery to the side and numerous lakes the further north we got.



Past the state line, our little deter into Portsmouth (for curiosity reasons as DH is from Portsmouth originally) was not really anything to write home about as it happened.



The most exciting incident was that this was the precise moment that DD decided to throw up in the car, meaning we made an unplanned, and possibly illegal, stop right outside the courthouse building. We cleared up as quickly as we could, keeping a lookout for anyone approaching, and were swiftly on our way again – although this time DD was asked not to play on the ipad for a while and instead look out the window!

As we continued along route 16, the White Mountain Highway, through Ossipee (named after the Ossipee Indians) and other little towns, the scenery started to get more forested, and we caught our first glimpse of the mountains ahead. There were lots of ski-related shops en route and finally a sign saying Beware Moose ‘100s of collisions every year’, something that made me rest my foot a little more gently on the accelerator!

About 4-5 hours from setting off, we reached Conway, quite a large town on the eastern side of the White Mountains, home to some big stores, restaurants and lots of hotels. The road continued to Old Conway which was a quaint little area surrounding the railroad and park, with lots of independent stores selling clothes, food and niknaks. Finally the buildings ended and we were back in moose territory until we reached the little town of Glen, a village whose main attraction is Storyland, a park designed for toddlers and little children, and one that we had down for later in the holiday in fact! Onward still and we arrived at the village of Jackson, the entrance to which is reached via a beautiful covered bridge, a very romantic aspect of New Hampshire and indeed the whole New England area. This particular bridge was called the ‘Honeymoon’ or ‘Kissing’ Bridge.



This led us to a little village centre with a wooden style grammar school, a small fishing pond and a lovely looking ice-cream bakery, and a rather confusing junction where the lanes on the road seem to shift 3 metres to the left meaning you really do have to look where you are going or you’ll end up heading the wrong way in the wrong lane! We took a right onto the wonderfully named Black Mountain Road and arrived at our destination: The Christmas Inn Farm.





The Inn was just lovely, an old wooden saltbox house with parts dating back to the late 1600s. Our menu at dinner later would tell us that this has been a jailhouse, a church, a home and a farm during its patchwork history. For the moment, I was just delighted to have arrived, and to catch site of a wooden rocking chair on the wooden veranda next to some beautiful flowers – my complete image of a New England house!



Checking in was quick and easy, and the home-baked cookies on the counter were a welcome treat after the long drive. Our room was The Mr and Mrs Santa Claus room in the main house which actually comprised two rooms so the children had their own bedroom.



It overlooked the front area of the Inn where the campfire was located. We unpacked everything into the cupboards straight away so that we’d have no cases out and feel fully at home, before heading down to take a look around.

Just about 10 minutes walk up the road was the river and so we decided to go and find it. It was really pretty with large boulders and a waterfall. Very picturesque with lots of dragonflies buzzing around, oh and a pretty huuuge spider ambling along that I almost tripped over (no pics of this I'm afraid...too concerned about getting past it!)



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We headed back for tea at the Inn in their award winning restaurant, which was decorated with Christmassy items and lit with fairy lights at the window. I of course had to try the roast turkey Christmas dinner, which was delicious.



Our fussy DS thankfully found the chicken strips appealing and both children were given Christmas themed menus to colour in!



Finally, after some storytelling, we got to bed.

To Day 7...

[parisdisneyfan]

Your poor DD, been there many times. Did you stop for a kiss on the bridge?

[Princess Alison]

Many times ;-)

[orlandosgr8]

A long drive but it sounds like there was lots of beautiful scenery to look at. Your Inn looks really lovely.

[ethanjosh]

The inn looks lovely , just as you'd imagine them to look

[disney owl]

Your hotel looks great

[Disneymaddaddy]

Oh wow what a hotel how beautiful. I only came on here to read NYC trip pies but me thinks that sour destination may be changing how did you research this holiday ?

[Fieryannie]

What a lovely hotel, just how you imagine them to look... Amazing!

xxx