We made it safely home yesterday from a week-long trip to Boston and New Hampshire. To tell you the truth, this trip was not quite a vacation. For some time now, Jeff and I have been discussing the prospect of moving to the east coast. We both enjoy what California has to offer, but I believe we’re both craving something different. We’ve always wanted a little more land, a little more woods, a little more rural, a little more small town. We would like to buy a home someday soon and California is proving to be difficult, finding a home with our desires. Moving away from California would be a very big decision. One we are definitely not taking lightly. It would mean moving away from my family but moving closer to Jeff’s family. It would mean moving away from the constant warm days we have here and moving into a very different climate. Jeff grew up in Massachusetts but hasn’t lived on the east coast in some 20+ years. In short, it would be a major adjustment for all of us. But, it’s something we are still very much considering. So we decided to go out to the east coast, particularly New Hampshire for various reasons, and take a look at different areas. We stayed in Nana and Papa’s cabin’s by the lakes. Jeff and I would leave Ellie for a good portion of the day, each day (because our child does NOT like the car) and we drove all over the state. Ellie had many adventures with her Nana and Papa and Auntie Lindsey and did fantastically while we were away each day. We were always back way before dinner time and Ellie would tell us all about her adventures. Here are a whole lot of photos from our trip. We haven’t decided quite when and where we will be going, but this trip was very helpful in determining which areas of New Hampshire we definitely liked and which we definitely did not like.
The Morning we left, Ellie awoke to her very own Miss Mouse to take with her on the plane. It was a very useful tool through the airport and on the plane rides to and fro. I’m so glad I decided to make Miss Mouse for Ellie.

Flying with toddlers, even if you have a Miss Mouse AND a Pink Baby, is just no fun. Both flights were tough and tiring to get through, but we did our best and made it both ways without any major meltdowns thankfully.

We flew into Boston and then drove up to New Hampshire to stay near the town of Meredith in Jeff’s parents trailers by the lake.

This was the same lake that Jeff played in as a boy. I got to thumb through old photo albums of him and his siblings as babies, digging in this same sandy spot so many years ago.

For Jeff and I, the first stop on our tour was the little towns surrounding the lakes region of New Hampshire.

The next day, Ellie went to an animal center nearby the campground and the local library with her grandparents. Jeff and I headed north to the beautiful college town of Hanover.

Dartmouth University is the centerpiece of the town. A very elegant and lovely town. But, very north of Boston (maybe a little too north for us).

We drove through some of the smallest of New Hampshire’s towns.

Each day we’d return to a happy camper. (or a camper who has just woken up from a nap in the carrier).
We walked around the local town of Meredith together. It’s another lovely, little town.

There were statues throughout Meredith for an annual art walk.

The next day, Jeff and I headed to Portsmouth to see the seacoast side of New Hampshire. We drove through Durham, Newmarket and Exeter (three adorable suburban towns) and up the coast through Rye and then into Portsmouth. Portsmouth was quite a fun, little city that if we had more time, would have been fantastic to explore.

We stopped in the Portsmouth Brewery for some local brew and lunch, walked around a bit and then headed back to the campgrounds.

Heading back to the campgrounds, we went through another lovely little town in the lakes district called Wolfsboro. Quite amazing views of the lake from the road.

On our last day in New Hampshire, Ellie and her grandparents (and Aunt) spent the morning apple picking and then headed back to Boston ahead of us. Jeff and I headed west, toward Keene. I think Keene may have been our favorite town. A great size, lots of good-looking eateries and shops, a beautiful library and just an overall good feel. And Jumangi was even shot there!

An homage paid to Robin Williams, right in the center of town.

We had one more day in Boston before we flew home and so the three of us rode into the city on the train.

We checked out the frog pond and rode the carousel of course and then because Ellie seemed to be getting tired and a bit cranky, we quickly headed over to Faneuil Hall to pick up some new Boston hats for a Dada who needed a new one (his get yucky, quickly) and a little girl who’s outgrown her “infant” hat.

We had a pretty good (long) flight home yesterday and today was catching up on sleep and laundry and bringing a certain french bulldog to the vet to get a piece of a plant removed from inside her ear. (Our dogs always seem to make sure to let us know how unhappy they are when we leave them for vacations).
It was quite the whirlwind trip of driving across an entire state, being away from our baby longer than ever before (she thankfully, didn’t seem to mind spending so much quality time with her Nana and Papa) and making decisions upon our possible future. We haven’t made up our mind yet, but it was good to get out there and finally see these areas we’ve been reading about for ourselves. As of now, we’re all thankful to be home and come Monday, back into our regular routine.

(a side note: Thank you to my in-laws for being incredible with Ellie and letting Jeff and I get the time we needed to explore these new areas! They took such good care of my baby and of us)!