White mountains

The colorful fall – yellow, brown, red – all around us. Is this still a dream and we need to wake up? They’ve offered us really a house for a week in this beautiful country? We are not dreaming – thank you Ralph and Laura!

We pick up rented car early in the morning on Provincetown airport and pack our luggage. Green and summerly P-town remains in the side mirror and we are heading to New Hampshire (state neighbouring Massachusetts) to a town called Meredith, where we are going to meet our hosts. We don’t have any map, but instructions from google map do their job.

In Boston we pick up Janka returning from the weekend in New York.

The bright colors of foliage begin after crossing the borders and we realize that our working summer is already autumn and our long avaited travelling begins.

After being a little bit lost for a while we meet Laura (Ralph is coming in next days). She takes us to the nearby town where they have the second house which will be our home for next 6 days. It is hidden in woods and along the way are signs on the trees like “wrong way”, “Go away – turn around now”, “no trespassing”… Laura shows us the house and in the basement where is the wood stove we see some munition – Ralph collects guns.

Really? Invitation to their house in middle of woods and psychopathic maniac collecting guns??? … We were obviously watching too many horrors!

Who is Ralph and Laura? One of the nicest and greatest people we have met in USA – hospitable, good-hearted and cheerful. Why they invited us to their house – simple answer: because we seemed sympathetic and would be pity if we wouldn’t see how beautiful are White Mountains. Do you think they offer their house to strangers often? … no, we are the first ones! (we hope, other people will like us as much as this two, during whole our travelling:).

Laura brings us some maps and explains where are the most interesting hikes and places we should definitely see. She is sorry that she needs to work next days and cannot go with us. We watch a movie and go to sleep.

The next day we decide for car round trip. On the way we find a shopping center, where Janka buys trekking shoes and we also add something to our travel equipment. We buy food for next 6 days. During this time the weather became foggy and rainy so we decide to drive back. In the evening arrive Teru and Anicka and then in the night also Radka and Tim. In the morning all seven of us go to the waterfall and castle in the clouds and enjoy the colorful sunny landscape. The castle is different than we’ve expected. It is a modern house built at the beginning of 20th century with luxury view. There is also a lake full of big fishes which are used to be feed by people, so they are swimming right under our feet waiting for something to bite – but none of us had 25cents to use the fish-food-automat. Back at the car we refill some energy from the prepared sandwiches and go to the drive around the Winnipesaukee Lake – the biggest lake in New Hampshire. We stop often at the great views next to bays, islands and beautiful landscape. We take break in Laconia for coffee and pie and we watch sailboats practising on the lake. We could image to live somewhere next to lake with mountains nearby.

We come back right after sunset.

On Friday morning we wake up to a cloudy day, so we postpone the hike to the highest peak Mt. Washington and go to Meredith library to do some e-mailing. Teru and Anicka leave to Maine. Weather gets nicer so we decide to go to the suggested hike. It’s really great there – not just the colorful woods all around us, but a path goes through ladders, caves and straits where hiking becomes climbing. We get to the car with sunset and get back at dark. We cook a big pot of cabbage soup for Saturday dinner – our little thanks to Ralph and Laura for their hospitality.

Despite Saturday not so great weather we go to the round trip through White Mountains – Kancamangus highway. Most of the day we spend inside the car, stopping at views and interesting places (where are many other car-tourists beside us). Most of the road is in higher altitudes where are almost no leaves left on the trees and it’s really cold. We also take one hitch hiker who is already 7months walking the Appalachian trail (still one month left). He needs to buy some food and cannot continue, because the weather got worse the last days.

In the evening Laura and Ralph are already at the house with their friends Gil and Medora – also great people. We eat the dinner – cabbage soup and potatoes with sour cream. All evening we have great time and laugh with these harley guys.

Next day is cold, foggy and wet which ends our last hopes for Mt. Washington. We are going to meet Gil and Medora at their house in nearby town to watch some football, eat pizza … our last but great evening here.

On Monday morning we are leaving. In the evening we say goodbye to Janka and Radka on the airport – it was a great summer with us!

Last and big THANKS belongs definitely to Ralph and Laura – we are looking forward for your visit in Slovakia! ;)

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