New Hampshire

         Friday afternoon and I'm packed up in the car with a great playlist (courtesy of yours truly), a hot chocolate and some jam sandwiches, ready to head on the journey to Manchester, New Hampshire. Luckily, we had a good trip down and the setting sun made for a peaceful view. Travelling is definitely not my favourite thing and I was ready for a nap when we arrived - so a nap I had.

        The Holiday Inn Express we stayed in was great, and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Manchester. I got the luxury of a twin double room, which gave me the choice of two beds, and was extremely spacious and super clean.

        After freshening up we headed to the Airport Diner, which was just one junction down the motorway. It was really busy, which I expected for a Friday night, so we got two stools at the counter. The food was great, and the pudding delicious - so we headed back twice the next day!

        Our plan for Saturday was to visit Mount Washington, which I had searched and found out was 3 hours away - we were only an hour from Boston! - but my Uncle insisted it was 40 minutes to an hour, until he searched it as well. Time for a re-think. I went down to the lobby and looked at the guides available, and eventually found a State Park not too far away, so off went. Bear Brook State Park is located in Allenstown, New Hampshire and gave us a nice break to see the Autumn leaves. I think that the park would be a great place to visit in the Summer, as there was a little beach on the edge of a lake, with the trees surrounding the distance.

        For the remainder of the day we got lunch at the diner, and then spent the afternoon at the hotel - which was really needed! We headed back out to the diner for dinner, and had one of the best banana splits known to man!

        Sunday was reptile expo day - I had more of a slow start with my Uncle coming back to get me from the hotel. At the show we walked around, and also manned the stool; I was classed as a "vendor" which was pretty cool. It was quite bizarre to see so many reptiles, especially snakes, all in one place, and it was even weirder to see people carrying cotton bags and thinking "they've got a snake in there!".

        After spending some time there we started the journey back home, stopping in Portland, Maine for lunch (well an afternoon snack) at Whole Foods, and to do a brief shop in Trader Joe's. Travelling back really didn't go down well with my body, and I felt extremely sick and dizzy, and was glad to get back to the house and my room.

        The weekend has definitely taken its toll, and I'm glad I'm inside today, hiding from the rain and the wind. The weekend was really lovely, and nice to see somewhere different and do new things.

        It was also another state to check off my list - bonus! 5 down, 45 to go!