New Hampshire

New Hampshire is filled with breathtaking natural scenes. Below is a picture in downtown Dover where there also resided a children's museum. If you haven't figured out yet I love museums and a year membership is worth its wait in gold if you use the ASTC travel program benefits.

Many cool exhibits existed including a view of life in a submarine, digging for dinosaur fossils, a study of flight where you build your own blimps, airplanes, etc...and watch them fly from the second story down, and my very favorite - a look at brain activity. This exhibit measured brain waves and activity on the second picture screens. Here in the first picture the point of the game is to hook two people up and see which can relax their mind and quiet their brain activity the quickest, the person who can't loses as the ball is drawn towards your side of the table. Travis and I competed as well and I'll let you guess who won!

After playing in Dover we drove up to Mount Washington. It is the highest peak in the northeast and claims the highest ever recorded wind speed at 231mph. It is a point at which all three weather patterns collide from the north, south, and west. It starts at the base close to 700 feet above sea level and within 8 miles of switchbacks and driving you are 6,288 feet above sea level, an impressive rise, and the only place in the east that I think compares with the western mountains of the Rockies. Many people warned me of the road up and its dangers of no rails, narrow passages for cars to pass, and dropping off cliffs and it is quite stunning, but to those people I also say - stay here in the contiguous US if this made you nervous because my travel to Canada and Alaska make this look like a joy ride of little danger.

Once at the top of the mountain there are several buildings, observatories and gift shops. We bought souvenirs, climbed to the actual peak, and toured the museum below the observatory. There we saw all the different wildlife that grows on the mountain that doesn't reside anywhere else, amazing pictures of severe weather, lists of the people who have died while trying to conquer this mountain, records of the fastest hike, bike, and drive up the mountain, and unlimited other amounts of data including the current days wind speed, temperature, and comparative literature. This place will appeal to the scientist in everyone.

At the end of that we went to dinner and to Concord to our hotel. While driving there we passed a lovely little town, I immediately fell in love with, Meredith New Hampshire. It was surrounded by lakes, water sports, forests, and beauty galore. The city was small but picturesque. The shops were gorgeous and instantly I was in love. Upon getting home I looked up the city to discover it is considered part of the NH lakes district. I loved it even more as I fell for the continued charm of the homage it paid to its English roots, the flashes of Jane Austen images I felt stir, and a life of Pride and Prejudice moments that I imaged reside there. This place will require future exploring in a more in depth manner.