vacation: day 14

Posted on August 9, 2011 by emily

Saturday was the last day of our ‘official’ vacation, though let me just reassure my little sister now: summer is sooo not over yet.

Hannah and I spent the last day of vacation together, starting the day, as we often do lately, with breakfast and Buffy.

: you cannot deny this awesomeness…

Then in the afternoon we headed over to the historic Hamilton House for a horse show. Royal Lipizzan Stallions, to be precise, and they are just as impressive as they sound.

And it was hot. Really, really hot. But the horses were awesome.

I love this shot. These two little girls were just in awe of the horses.

When Mom texted me to see if we wanted to do a movie, we said yes, if only because after roasting ourselves in the hot sun, the opportunity to sit in a cold and dark theater was all too appealing. We saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which was pretty damn amazing, and then went home to end the day with – what else? – Buffy the Vampire ~~Slayer~~ Heartbreaker (just a couple of Spike fans over here…)

I’d like to thank my family for seeing to it that this summer vacation was pure awesome with a side of awesomesauce. Y’all rock.

And not just because you’re related to me.

Vacation 2011: over and out.

vacation: day 13

Posted on August 9, 2011 by emily

Excuse the delay in posting: I’m housesitting for the week and will be slightly less present on the internet.

On Friday we headed off on our ‘epic’ road trip: a 100 mile loop through New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

The forecast had been threatening rain for most of the week, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day.

The only clouds in the sky were big, fluffy, and thoroughly postcard-worthy.

This landscape is so foreign to me that it really feels as though I’m in another part of the country.

New England is a squashed up bunch of not-so-big states (and one commonwealth; yes, Massachusetts, I heard you). While each place is unique, they are similar enough to give the whole region a cohesive identity. I am a New Englander.

Still, it’s funny the differences that crop up with just these few miles of distance between us. My fondest memories of New England are memories of the coast: of the sunrise at Nubble Light, cute coastal villages, the feeling of sand in my sneakers and cold salt spray whipping at my hair.

But New England is not all coastline – it’s not even mostly coastline – and where I grew up with the beach as my playground, many of my friends grew up knowing the rugged New Hampshire inland like the back of their hands.

I think New Hampshire can often get overlooked, and not just by outsiders. Maine has the beaches, Vermont has the Green Mountains (and the hippies), Massachusettes and Connecticut have the cities, and Rhode Island is just…well, small. New Hampshire may not have the beaches, and it doesn’t have the big name cities, but I’m not sure than any other New England state can compete for the sheer, wild beauty of New Hampshire’s interior. Where Vermont’s mountains roll across the landscape in a way that’s almost gentle, the White Mountains are harder, wilder. They jut up from behind the forest and cut into the sky. These mountains, the lakes, the rivers and rocks: to me they are exotic, and stunningly beautiful.

At the end of our drive, we stopped for a swim in the Kancamagus River.

fun tip: want to pronounce Kancamagus ~~correctly~~ locally?

Kang-uh-MANG-us.

vacation: days 10 & 11

Posted on August 3, 2011 by emily

We like to take ‘down’ days in between our epic vacation road trips, so Tuesday (Day 10) was, for the most part, a relaxed day at home with good food and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.

Hannah and I did go out to run a few errands, and stopped in at PetCo because…well, cute things.

This hamster was sound asleep on his back. KILL ME NOW.

At the grocery store we bought cheeseless pizza fixings and coconut ice cream, and Hannah got a mosh-ready monkey from the toy vending machine.

Day 10 was pretty sweet.

{ newburyport }

We finally made it to Newburyport today (Day 11). The traffic was significantly less zany, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Newburyport is one of my favorite cities in New England, and having photographed it many times, I only pulled my camera out once today: when we took a break from walking and shopping, and laid on the grass near the docks. Pine trees and blue skies. This is New England in the summer.

vacation: day 9

Posted on August 2, 2011 by emily

We headed out in the late morning, first to Newburyport, but then the southbound traffic got a little…jam packed.

So we decided to go north instead.

We went up through Freeport, did a little shopping at Mexicali Blues, and then headed over to Georgetown.

The Maine coast can appear a bit ‘bumpy’ from afar, but up close it’s really quite fragmented. Islands and inlets make driving around the coast a far different experience than it would be in, say, California.