The forecast for today was pretty blah.  Cloudy, 30% chance of showers and low 50’s for temps.  I talked to Mia earlier in the week about going “Leaf Peepin” up north.  Color was supposed to be near peak past Franconia Notch.  It would be a good way to spend a rather dismal day and to also make up for all the hours I put in at work the past 3 weeks.  I needed to just get away and relax for the day.

We got up crazy early so we could hit one of our favorite breakfast places….Polly’s Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill, NH.  It’s a bit touristy, but they really do have some darn good pancakes and the atmosphere is pretty cool too.  We try to hit them up at least once a year, and some how we made it all the way to the end of September without doing so this year.  It was time to remedy that situation.

We left the house around 6:40AM for the ride up to Polly’s.  We got there just in time too.  We got right in, no wait for a table.  Within 20 minutes though, it was packed!

After a hearty breakfast we hit the roads to explore.  It was still overcast and drizzly but there were some breaks in the mist to see the colors here and there.  My biggest goal for today was to drive back roads and places I have never been.  We definitely accomplished that goal today.

After leaving Sugar Hill, we headed into Lisbon, over to Jefferson, Whitefield, Gorham, Milan, Berlin, and just about every other town between Milan and Concord (or so it felt).  The forecast was WRONG…it was not a 30% chance of showers today.  We had reasonable luck until we went over route 2 and into Gorham and then north on route 16.  Basically from there it was heavy drizzle to light rain for most of the day.

I think I got one picture that is “OK”, but not great.

We drove a lengthy loop of forest road near the Berlin Fish Hatchery.  We were hoping to see moose or any other wildlife.  No such luck today, but it was a pretty cool drive.  It is forest road # 15.  It would make a nice dirt road ride on the bikes, and I may have to head back up there sometime to do that.

After cutting through some steep and narrow back roads in Jackson, NH we dropped back down to North Conway for a stop at the Pearlizumi Outlet.  I honestly felt like I was shoplifting or something.  I ended up paying $35 each for some running knickers (normally $100), a nice winter jacket (normally $140), some pro barrier bib tights (normally $160) and a long sleeve windproof winter jersery (normally $120).  So for $140 total, I walked out with over $500 in cool/cold weather clothing!  Gotta love last season blowouts.

So that was the day, a nice meandering drive around the NH north country.  Some leaf peeping, some shopping, and spending some quality time with Mia.  That all adds up to a good day.

Thanks for reading.

-Pete