After unpacking we went for dinner at a place called Flynnie's on the Avenue that had the absolute best clam chowder soup I have every tasted - and I have eaten lots.  We then decided to do a walking tour of historic downtown Marblehead.  This was a mistake as it soon got dark.  The streets in Marblehead never run more then two or three blocks and then end or head off in different directions.  Many of them do not have street signs or the same street changes names at every corner.  By always heading downhill, we finally found the harbour and then were able to make our way back home.  Most of the houses have a plaque which identifies the name and occupation of the original owner - often more than 200 years ago.  We went back in the daylight and fog the next morning to take a few pictures which are in the margin at left.

Our stop for the evening was in Merrimack, NH.  As we approached the motel, we drove by the Budweiser Brewery, so, after unpacking we went back for a tour of the Brewery. [Hold your mouse over a photo for a caption and click for a full size picture.]
 

It poured rain all day and night Saturday, so we built a fire and had a nice quiet evening.  We awoke on Sunday to find that the rain had stopped in Lake Winnisquam but had continued 50 miles southwest of us.  There was over 10 inches of rain and severe flooding and the governor declared a State of Emergency.  It remained cloudy for the whole week but we did not get any more rain.  West and south of us, the flooding washed out roads and towns and changed our plans of traveling into Vermont.
On Sunday, Ken drove Kathryn to the Tanger Outlet Mall - over 50 outlet stores - in Tilton which was 5 miles away.  Ken went back home and napped for several hours.  We spent a quiet reading and relaxing evening in the cottage . 

Monday was a nicer day and we decided to take a tour of the Lakes Region including Lake Winnipesaukee, which is the state's largest lake, just to the north of Winnisquam.  We were gone most of the day.  Here are some photos from the trip.

Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving and we found Hart's Turkey Farm in Meredith, NH which serves turkey dinners all year round.  We were able to enjoy a nice turkey dinner with all the trimmings for Thanksgiving.  We tried to order pumpkin pie for dessert but they didn't have any.  This disappointed Kathryn who loves pumpkins and was impressed with how almost every house in New Hampshire had already decorated for Halloween with cornstalks and pumpkins.  A few miles down the road we came across a pumpkin stand and we bought a pumpkin pie to take back to the cottage.

Tuesday was another cloudy day so we drove 25 miles south to Concord, NH so that Kathryn could go shopping in the Steeplegate Mall.  She had a short shopping day and Ken managed to stay awake.

Wednesday was the nicest day of the week and we went to tour the White Mountains National Forest, about 50 miles north, which has the best foliage in New Hampshire.  After picking up a pass and info at Lincoln, we started our way through Franconia Notch.  It is perhaps the most celebrated gap in the East with more scenic spots than any other White Mountain notch.  The grandeur of the notch was first seen by white settlers in the late 18th century and its fame quickly spread. 
The first site we encountered was The Flume Gorge, a chasm extending nearly 800 feet at the base of Mt. Liberty.  The 2 mile walk goes up along a mountain stream which tumbles in a series of waterfalls and pools between its 60 to 90 foot granite walls.  The Flume was discovered by 93-year-old "Aunt" Jess Guernsey, when she accidentally came across it while fishing.  She had a hard time convincing her family of her marvelous discovery.  The trip down passes through tree-lined trails and granite boulders left by the ice age.  [Click on the photos below for a larger view.  Most have captions - hold your mouse over the photo].
 

We continued our journey west along the White Mountain Trail through Crawford Notch and the Arethusa Falls; past Bartlett, Glen and into Conway.  Then it was back along the Kancamagus Highway to our starting point.  More photos.
 

This panorama is 4 photos from the Sugar Hill Overlook stitched together.

This was the best day of our trip.  The sun came out for most of the day.

Thursday was another reading and relaxing day.  My knee was a little sore from hiking and the fire was warm.

Sometimes great things happen by accident.  We were amazed by the number of trees that were multi-coloured - part would still be green and other parts of the same tree would be deep red and various shades of orange and yellow.  Kathryn wanted a picture of one she had seen earlier in the week so we went looking for it on Friday.  We headed east to Laconia, the biggest town in the Lakes Region.  It is situated between our Lake Winnisquam and the big Lake Winnipesaukee.  We didn't find it but we got some other great foliage shots around town.  On the way back we decided to go past our motel and continue on west to Tilton.  We crossed the freeway and entered into Tilton through a construction zone.  The traffic was backed up as far as we could see heading back east.  We knew we would be sitting for hours if we tried to turn around.  We found a small highway which headed south.  It crossed over and under the freeway several times before finally turning east and then back north to our "home".  This narrow road wound through the forest past huge houses and small schools.  We passed through "downtown" Canterbury and Kathryn got her photos of multi-coloured trees and a white church.  It was an incredibly beautiful drive which we would never had taken if it wasn't for the construction.  The photos below have no captions.  The house in the middle row is an example of many of the houses throughout New England.