As you guys have been here for a while, you may have figured out that I love to travel. If I can get a chance to take a weekend away, I take it. When Luke came up with the idea to take a few days away at a New Hampshire lake I couldn’t say yes fast enough. We spent five days at Island Pond in Washington, NH and it was the perfect getaway.
Friday – Day 1:
We arrived around 4:30pm, that was the check-in time specified by the person we were renting the house from. We rented a house right on the lake with access to a paddleboat, canoe, row boat, and two kayaks.
Once we got settled, Luke and I went out on the lake in the paddleboat to explore. It was a pretty large lake (to me at least. I haven’t been to many lakes though) so we didn’t even go halfway across before deciding to head back to our little dock. As we paddled, we noticed there were more than a few small islands scattered around the lake. Some had houses built on them and others were just covered in trees and brush. It was a beautiful sight.
The best part of this exploration was seeing all the trees beginning to change colors. The more north you go, the more you are able to see the leaves change. Sitting out in the lake looked like a postcard. It was a breathtaking start to this getaway.
Saturday – Day 2:
I started off the second day with a hot cup of coffee, and enjoying the morning breeze from the screened in porch. It was warm and sunny from the outdoors, but I didn’t have to worry about any bugs.
For lunch, we decided to check out the Washington General Store. It was sort of half convenience store and half diner. The employees were very friendly and we were able to pick up some eggs as well as grab lunch. Luke grabbed a stir-fry wrap and I got a BLT with fried chicken in it. It was a lot of food so I only ate a few bites, and saved the rest for later.
In the late afternoon, Luke and I took a mile long walk over to a trail he had found for a hike. On our walk we saw a ton of cool creatures, and took a closer look at the homes that lined the lake. When we finally reached the trail, we were excited to see that it was a grassy scenic hike and not a rocky super rocky path.
However, as we began our trek up the trail we noticed that bugs kept landing on me. Then we realized they were mosquitos. Giant. Mosquitos. We after killing three in a matter of 10 minutes we decided we should come back another day with some bug spray and we sprinted out of the woods. It was quite the workout and upon our return I took a little power nap. After waking up, we grilled up some dinner and watched a movie for a chill end to our evening.
Sunday – Day 3:
After my 3rd morning of no internet or phone service I was getting ahead on writing posts and spent breakfast trying to map out the next month of content. Luke and I had made some very tasty sweet potato pancakes for breakfast the day before and the leftovers were just as delicious.
After my relaxing morning, we shot a few fall outfits for the blog. It was too beautiful not to shoot something there. The lookbook we shot will be posted on Sunday. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss that.
Once Luke we finished with the work it was time for some fun! We decided to go out on the lake in the canoe. It was two-person canoe and this time we went much farther out on the lake than we had with the paddle boat. I could tell before we finished that I would need a nap after. I have never napped more during a vacation in my entire life, but maybe that’s a good sign.
Next, we went out and explored a nearby farm called the Eccerdt Farm. Turns out they made and sold just about everything at this farm. Meat, eggs, milk, maple syrup, ice cream, body products, candles, cat nip, dog treats, and more. We broke down and bought two pints of Walpole ice cream whose packaging boasts that it is from Cow to Cone. We also bought and apple pie and cream candle that smells like actual pie not that sickly-sweet sort of scent pie candles usually have.
Of course we had try the two ice cream flavors we had bought the minute we got home. The first was Maple Walnut, and the other was Fijian Ginger. This was the creamiest ice cream I have ever eaten and so perfectly sweet that I couldn’t stop eating it. Both flavors were equally as delicious in their own way. For the rest of the evening we worked on our own things trying to take some time to be productive while we had no access to the internet and there was still perfect serene silence.
Monday – Day 4:
By the fourth day we knew our way around so it was a full day of activities. We woke up and ate our breakfast inside as we woke up to a ton of fog. We could barely see our small dock from the house.
Luke and I let the fog clear a bit before we went out on to the lake in the kayaks. The lake had this quiet, calm, and beautiful everywhere you looked that I wanted to stay forever.
Next, we ate lunch and decided to head back to that trail we had gone to earlier in the week. We returned to the trail, this time prepared with many layers of mosquito repellent. We went much farther up the trail, and saw all kinds of critters and vegetation. However, it was getting a bit late, so we didn’t make it all the way to the top. We jogged down the mountain and made our way home.
Once we got cleaned up, we drove around to see if there was anything we missed. We saw a few more farms, some interesting homes, and so many beautiful views.
When we arrived home, we went back out on the paddleboat one last time before bringing all the boats in. For the rest of the night we watched movies, played games, and prepared for our trip home the next day.
Tuesday – Day 5:
I woke up at 5am, to clean up the house and prepare to leave by 8am. After a stop at my favorite thrift store, Savers, we were on our way back to New Jersey.
I loved this trip way more than I thought I would. I figured it would be a few days off that I do some extra work. Instead it was a chance for me to really appreciate the world around me. The trees were changing color, there was all types of plants and animals, and the sky was clear and blue. I was really able to disconnect and take it all in.
Have you ever experienced something you weren’t expecting? Let me know in the comments below.