North

We went on our first road trip. Along the way we admired the view of the mountains as we continued to climb to our destination in the northern part of the state. The White Mountains National Forest is a beautiful place for those of us who are fortunate to live here.

Visiting the family plot at the cemetery was one of our goals. My mother, grandparents, aunts, and uncles are buried and memorialized there. Visiting a cemetery is part of my generation.

When I was very young, I remember my grandfather loading up his lawn mower to visit family plots and mowing the law.

Things have changed through the years, but I still find comfort knowing my loved ones are resting together in a town that they called home.

We spent the night at a hotel which we had not done in over a year. It was kind of strange not knowing who had stayed there before or how they did the cleaning. With quite a few wipes, spray and sanitizer, everything was fine, and we enjoyed our short visit.

Wood fired pizza and Belgian beer outdoors at Schilling Beer Company made a great early dinner. Schilling had a huge tent erected with tables and then individual booths set up. It was pretty creative.

Besides the help wanted signs we are now use to seeing at every business, it was the topic of conversation.

We drove to Bath to visit the Brick Store that has been there since the 1790’s, but it’s closed with no opening date in sight because of not being able to hire any employees. Another gentleman who works for one of the largest employers in the area said they hadn’t been able to hire even one person in the last year.

How bad is the employment situation? Well, the State of NH is now offering $1,000 cash incentive to anyone who goes off unemployment and goes back to work. That tells the story.

Whenever we travel to the White Mountains, the Old Man of the Mountain comes to mind. Sad to say the five granite ledges making up the profile came down in 2003.

There is, however, a small granite stone replica that stands as a road marker from Sugar Hill to Lisbon.

It was created in 1930, and it still looks good surrounded by lilacs which are the NH state flower. Why do we stop there on every visit? The artist was my grandmother’s brother, my great uncle Carl.

I can also say with a smile on my face that I have a small replica that he made for my grandparents, and it sits in my entryway.

It was a good trip with one of the highlights being a stop to see some friends that we hadn’t seen for over a year.

Although the mask requirement has been lifted for those vaccinated, we still wore our masks as a precaution. We’ve adopted the old theory that ‘you can’t be too careful’ especially indoors.

Hope this finds you all well on this Monday in June but maybe not quite as hot as we are. Who knew New England could experience 90+ degree days with real feel of 100+ the first part of June. With this wicked heat, gardening is done very early and errands, reading and sewing take up the rest of the day. Stay well and stay cool.