M.I.A.

So I have been a bit mia lately. I have been on vacation with no real computer access, then had the munchkin from yesterday afternoon until about 3 hours ago.

Last Friday I escaped, and went up to New Hampshire for a long holiday weekend. Stayed in Dover NH, cuz southern coastal Maine & NH Seacoast were too bloody expensive. Dover is only about 15-20 miles from Portsmouth, so it was a decent location.

Stayed at Homewood Suites and shared a 1 bedroom suite with mom. Real dishes in the kitchen, and in the breakfast area off the library, and a door to separate the kitchen/living room from the bedroom and bath areas. Overall a nice hotel but there were some glitches.... one day our room never got cleaned/ freshened, and of course when we got back housekeeping was gone for the day.

Generally my vacations are laid back (sometimes a bit too laid back and lacking plans). This time was no different. Saturday we went out on a drive, driving up Rte 1 in ME and taking back roads to see the coastline. Came across a state park Fort Mclary. It was right on the harbor and there were few people there, got to sit by the water, listen to the waves and watch the boats, very peaceful. It was off the beaten path, and I loved it!

Another day went to The Fells on lake Sunapee in NH. It was the summer home of the Hays family. Mr Hays was a friend to Lincoln prior to the presidency, and went on to be one of his secretaries after the election, Secretary of State, and then dignitary to England. He and another friend had purchased large brownstone homes across the street from The White House. These two homes were eventually combined to become the Hays-Adams hotel in Washington, DC where Obama stayed on the eve of the inauguration. Anyway, aside from the neat family history, we got to take a tour of the home and walked the beautiful gardens that overlook Lake Sunapee. The family once owned 1000 acres around the lake, they over the years whittled it down to 100+ that remain today. Wow.

We planned to head up to the Budweiser's plant in Merrimack because they were having picture day with the Clydesdales ( they are beautiful but HUGE animals). Kinda mixed up the dates and it was a day before we thought. Oh well, next time (maybe in the winter time w/snow on the ground??)

Spent an afternoon at York Beach, quiet and peaceful because it was the day AFTER Labor Day! Enjoyed the sun, sea, people watching and stayed sane.

Overall, it was a great quiet, peaceful, and relaxing getaway. Now I have to gear up for back to work on Mon.