Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire! {New England Vacation}

After spending 5 days up in Maine, we headed over to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire for some lake cottage fun!  We spent two nights in a cute little cabin near the water and had a great time!

We rented kayaks again (and I remembered my camera this time!!)...

We also headed up into White Mountain National Forest (which was only a short drive away) for a little hike (oooor what we thought was a little hike)!  We hikes to two mountain peaks (Mt. Flume and Mt. Liberty) and the mileage wasn't too bad - it was the vertical climb that was insane.  We were literally rock climbing for a good portion of the trail.  We had no idea it was going to be that vertical.  But once we made it to the peaks, it was totally worth it.  Awesome views for miles.

(Here's a view of the two peaks from down on the road!)

We made sure to get in a lot of lazy beach hangs (and duck visits?!) to make up for the crazy hike ;)

And to top it all off, there were beautiful sunsets, arcade games (!!), and delicious eats...

Lake Winnipesaukee is such a beautiful lake.  I wish it was a little closer to home so we could visit more often.  But regardless, we had a great couple of days there!

Up next: Woodstock, NY!

Maine Part 3 - Five Islands! {New England Vacation}

Continuing on with our New England vacation recaps (that I accidentally neglected, oops)...

After a wonderful day spent on Peaks Island, we headed north for a day of exploring Five Islands, Maine!  This area was full of awesome lighthouses, foggy bays, and tons of fresh lobster.  The weather was less than stellar (compared to our previous day of glorious sunshine), but we made the best of it and explored around anyway!

Merrymeeting Bay...
(We were hoping to spot some bald eagles that supposedly frequent the area, but no luck!)

Doubling Point Lighthouse...
(very cool!)

A hike to Squirrel Point Light...
(I have never been bit by so many mosquitoes in my life!!)

Lunch at Five Islands Lobster Co!
(I just couldn't stomach eating a whole lobster like Brett did...
its eyes were just staring at me!!)

A nice afternoon nap on the grass in a downtown park of Bath, ME...

And then we went kayaking!  But unfortunately, I left my "old camera I use in water activities because I'm clumsy" back at the hotel in Portland, so I didn't get any pictures.  Booo.  But we had a great time.  We kayaked in an inlet to the ocean, so we saw tons of jellyfish just swimming around us the whole time.  It was so weird!  I'm only used to seeing jellyfish in the ocean crashing with the waves.  Then, after kayaking, we began to head back to Portland for dinner and fun.  It started torrential down pouring while we drove, so we figure the only logical thing to do was to stop at a brewery (Sea Dog Brewing Company) until the rain let up and we could drive back to our hotel. ;)  Cheers!*

And this concludes my recap posts of our time in and around Portland, Maine!

Up next: Lake Winnipesaukee, NH!

Maine Part 2 - Peaks Island! {New England Vacation}

This was probably one of my favorite days of our whole vacation!  We spent the day on Peaks Island off the coast of Maine and it was awesome.  It was also Brett's 30th birthday that day, which made it even more fun!

Taking the ferry from downtown Portland over to the island...

lots of great sights along the way!

We made it!

Spent the morning just walking around and exploring the island...

Lunch with a view...

Then, we rented bikes and rode around the island for the rest of the afternoon,

stopping at various spots along the water...

And relaxed at this most gorgeous beach!

I guess being 30 is tiring sometimes ;) ;)

We had just enough time to grab some ice cream before catching the ferry back to Portland in the early evening.  Then we spent the rest of Brett's birthday celebrating with dinner and drinks out on the town (including a late night bar singalong of songs from The Band!).  I think Brett had a great birthday!* :)

Up next: Five Islands, Maine!

Maine Part 1 - Portland! {New England Vacation}

Once we left Portsmouth, it was time to head to Maine!  We only had about an hour drive to Portland (where we were staying), so we decided to drive along the coast and take our time getting there.  There were so many beautiful places to stop!

Along the coast of Maine...

Stumbled upon a lighthouse!

Nubble Light...

And while staying in Portland, there was so much to see and do.  We were there for 4 nights and did so much in that amount of time.  We explored nearby islands and towns (separate posts coming for those!), visited a famous lighthouse, wandered around the cute little downtown area, and indulged in plenty of delicious eats and drinks!

Portland Head Light...

Scenes from around town...

So many delicious foods, restaurants, breweries, and treats!

What a great town!  We had a lot of fun in Portland, especially with all of their delicious restaurants.  We stayed at the Inn at St. John, which was a cute little historic victorian bed and breakfast.  They had great rates and a delicious breakfast spread every morning (along with fresh cookies all day long!).  It was a bit outside of the downtown area, but we had no problem driving down each day.  I'd definitely recommend these accommodations!  (Though, be ready to hike up 3 flights of stairs to your room because there is no elevator!)  :)

Up next: Peaks Island!

(Where we spent Brett's 30th birthday!)