October means fall colors in New England. Two years ago we drove to Bar Harbor. Last year we drove the Kancamagus highway. This year I thought it would be interesting to drive west into Massachusetts and see if the Mohawk trail would be as delightful.

I don’t know if we were too early, or if the types of trees didn’t create beautiful swaths of color, Mass wasn’t doing it for us. We got to I-91 which is about half-way cross the state and headed north into Vermont. Gradually we began to notice the more colors in the trees, but there still wasn’t the washes of color to which we were accustomed. The drive was beautiful though, and we were enjoying the cloudless day.

We crossed the Connecticut river and ventured over to Claremont, NH for a bite to eat. I meet monthly with colleagues from around the state, two of which are from Claremont. Always wanting to build schema, I was interested in seeing this NH town on the western border. We chose a nice little restaurant on the town square that didn’t appear to be too busy. What we didn’t know was that a group of 24 people had just been seated prior to us. The place hadn’t been prepared for a party that size resulting in our order taking about an hour to process. We weren’t in a rush so we waited. Another couple sitting there were also “leaf peeping.” They confirmed what we’d thought, that it was one of the worst autumns for color watching they’d seen in the last few years.

After lunch we proceeded to Lake Sunupee. This area is a year round destination with water activities in the summer, and skiing in the winter.  The colors around the lake were especially pretty, but still I think we got there too early.  We stopped for some pictures, and I think we captured a little of the fall hues.  It wasn’t what we’d hoped for, but we had a lovely drive together on a beautiful day.

The following week we took Jim and June on a drive to Iconia and around Lake Winnipesaukee. That drive yielded much better foliage, but we didn’t stop the car for pictures.  Sometimes your adventures pay off big.  Sometimes they’re just a pretty drive in the car. It’s all good if you can enjoy the ride, and the people you’re with!

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller