On Golden Pond

Sunshine through the curtains early this morning heralded a return to blue skies and proper summer weather. We had a quick breakfast in the Reception area of our motel (standing up, and a limited but adequate choice of cereal or a toasted bagel with cream cheese). The owner, Mr Patel, was most helpful with ideas of where to go and where to eat, his low-key yet friendly approach a refreshing change from the well-intentioned but in-yer-face “And how are we all today? Awesome!” that prevails.

So Squam Lakes Natural Science Center it was – a shortish drive through our latest local Plymouth (those English place-names always seem to need qualifying with a State – there are multiple Manchesters, doubled-up Danburys, several Salems). Now Squam Lake was used as the location for the film On Golden Pond, and many businesses on the banks cash in on the fact; The Inn on Golden Pond, The Manor on Golden Pond, etc. Sounds prettier than The Inn on Squam Lake, admittedly…

But this New Hampshire area is certainly worth seeing, especially on a fine day like this. Not all twee, antiquey and maple-syrupy like much of Vermont but a rugged yet picturesque land of moose, bears and lumber trucks. The official state motto is Live Free or Die, and this appears on all car licence plates.

Anyway, the FairFX card took another hit as we bought our tickets for the Nature Center, but we are agreed that it was money well spent; we stayed there for a good five hours and found it hard to drag the girls away at the end.

Several ‘show and tell’ sessions presenting animals we would not otherwise see in the park, starting with a turtle talk for children at 10.30am.

Comparing and contrasting a box turtle (left) with a wood turtle (right), and the children could get up close at the end. And I didn’t realise that the box turtle can shut itself away completely, thanks to a hinged portion of shell, as if in a box. Nor that if the temperature is low, offspring are male, with warmer weather yielding female hatchlings.

The second session we attended featured an opossum (Latin for ‘oh, I’m Mabel’… although we were told that they never gave their wild animals names). She looked a bit dazed by the bright daylight but the intern presenter kept her busy with bits of fruit to snuffle after. They live a mere two or three years compared with the turtle’s 75+ years and so have large litters often exceeding the 13 babies who can fit in the pouch (they are related to kangaroos). They have a rat-like, prehensile tail as well as a fearsome bite.

Around the main trail were several enclosures showing native New Hampshire wildlife including bobcats,

mountain lions and black bears (but no tigers – oh my!) [Sorry, that’s an over-worn cliché.]

We stopped for a sandwich lunch in Kirkwood Gardens, a delightfully tranquil spot just outside the park.

Time for more meandering after lunch, and we seemed to be the only visitors to go the extra third of a mile around an ‘ecotone trail’ (following the boundary between two different habitats – woodland and meadow). We got a better view of a chipmunk doing its thing, having its snack while we enjoyed another maple cream biscuit.

There were several ‘ones that got away’ – the darting of a hummingbird to and from a feeder tube was too quick for me to snap, and the mountain lions remained in their cool cave, safely out of reach of my camera’s automatic exposure.

There were many interactive exhibits (i.e. buttons to press, puzzle pieces to place, information wheels to turn, flaps to lift, earpieces to listen to) – most of it worked and it kept the girls interested to the extent that they wanted to do everything again and again! We only lured them away with the promise of trying our motel outdoor swimming pool, and this was just what we needed on a warm, busy day. We also had the whole pool to ourselves again…

We took Mr Patel’s recommendation for our evening meal and drove three miles to the Italian Farmhouse, part of a highly-regarded local chain called the Common Man. We were a little taken aback to find a huge car park with barely any spaces left – perhaps there was a big event on and we wouldn’t find a table. We gave it a try nevertheless, and were told there would be a 35-minute wait – it’s simply a really popular place with the locals, even on an ordinary Tuesday evening.

So we took a seat and nibbled bread as we waited – again, there were books and puzzles to help pass the time (and pictures to colour for the girls). Pretty well on cue we were shown to our table in the main restaurant – no shoving young families away out of sight – and then the customary attentive service, even to the point of the manager, Paul (whom we had noticed earlier as a very hands-on, get-stuck-in sort of guy) introducing himself later on and hoping we had enjoyed our food. The sheer numbers seemed to be stretching the staff to the limit (never a moment’s rest) without compromising the quality of service or causing noticeable stress.

We had an excellent two-course meal with coffee for well under £10 a head. The girls had spaghetti with chicken/sausages (the best Ellen had tasted) and no marinara sauce by special request; Kirsten chose a lovely succulent chicken and spinach lasagna and I rose to the challenge of a 12″ Meat Lovers’ pizza – a little too crispy round the edge but otherwise tasty. We shared two desserts – a chocolate mousse and a Tollhouse Cookie Pie with vanilla ice cream (sort of Shoo-fly Pie with chocolate chips and walnuts).

All in all, we’re glad we made this stop-over in New Hampshire, and it’s a pity we don’t have more time here. But tomorrow it’s a long drive across to Maine and I have been sitting typing in the dark in this motel room for long enough now – that’s another 1000 words or so.