This was my first road trip since my 6-day, 2,100-mile trip around the east coast of the U.S. in November 2019. It dawned on me that I hadn’t even spent a night off of Cape Cod since then. I was heading north from Cape Cod into northern New Hampshire then Vermont and back home through Western Massachusetts.
My goal for this trip was to take at least 500 photos and shoot at least 30 minutes of video. Did I make it? We’ll see.
I signed back up for AAA before leaving on the trip which ended up paying off. No, I didn’t need a tow or tire change. I got the Plus membership for half off which was a bonus. Another big ‘plus’ was signing up for the Shell Fuel Rewards and getting 30 cents per gallon off for gas for my first fill-up. I did end up using that.
The plan on Day 1 was to drive from Cape Cod up to Lincoln, New Hampshire, and stay at the Pemi Cabins for the first time since 2012. Since check-in time was 3pm I decided to take my sweet time and had a whole itinerary of places to see on the way up. I left the Cape around 9:30am.
Packed and ready to go! Of course, when driving from Cape Cod north through Boston to get to New Hampshire I met a familiar friend, traffic. I think the only way I’d avoid traffic when headed north would be to go so far west around Boston that I’d add another hour to my travel time. Not going to lie, I did debate it.
Even with the itinerary set I still managed to totally miss the first location I had listed. For some reason in my mind, the first location I wanted to see was the birthplace of H.H. Holmes. Who is that? Read on.
H.H. Holmes is widely considered to be America’s first serial killer. His reign of terror was in Chicago from 1891-1894. It would take a lot to explain his story but the main talking point is he built a ‘murder hotel.’ What? Yes, a murder hotel. Here is a link to a story about it. H.H. Holmes
It was fitting that when driving up to New Hampshire to visit a serial killer’s childhood home I ran into weather that almost killed me. Ok, I wasn’t that close to dying. When driving through the middle of nowhere New Hampshire though it was heavy sheets of rain and hail. It got so bad that I couldn’t see. The only saving grace was the car in front of me was white and I essentially used them as a guide to shepherd me to safety.
The birthplace of H.H. Holmes is in a small town named Gilmanton. The population is just under 4,000 and is about 20 miles northeast of Concord. That’s about all I got.
Of all the irony on this road trip I took was the fact that when I got to the H.H. Holmes house it looked like a house you’d expect a serial killer to live in. Now, I’m not saying the people who live there now have bodies buried in the backyard but they could stand to spend a few bucks to clean their yard and maybe paint the house.
The Birthplace of H.H. Holmes I know you want to know so the first place that was on my itinerary to visit on the way to Lincoln, NH was the Swing Bridge in Milford. It looked really cool. Has anyone been to it? Did I make a huge mistake by missing it?
One thing I had to get used to on this road trip was being in the middle of nowhere with no cell service and no WiFi leaving my GPS at times as a blob of green color with a little blue dot in the middle representing my car. For the most part, I enjoyed it until I needed to punch in addresses for my next stop and the GPS would be frozen.
This was the case at the birthplace of Daniel Webster in Franklin. If you don’t know who he is I’ll put a link to his story in this post. The house is what you’d expect which is good if you enjoy history like me. There was also a closed museum and behind that an old worn barn. These places made for great photo opportunities.
A purpose of planning an itinerary on the way to the Pemi Cabins was so that I’d take my time and maybe stumble upon places I hadn’t planned on. This was the case in Franklin, NH. I was on my way to the Daniel Webster house when I turned a corner heading into downtown Franklin. There on my left beside an abandoned railroad bridge was a 15-foot-tall sculpture of a man made completely out of old kayaks. This forced me to stop and get some photos of that and the surrounding area.
The giant Kayak Man in Franklin, NH An example of taking my time was going down a random rural back road and finding a farm with a bunch of sheep. I stopped and started taking photos all the while a dog was barking at me. It turns out it was ratting me out to the farm’s owner. I know this because when I was driving away the owner was glaring at me. Sorry I was just taking photos, there was no room in my car to steal a sheep.
When putting together my itinerary for this first day I was all gung ho about checking out covered bridges. They are a very unique aspect of northern New England although I know other states have them. I got lots of photos and videos of Squam River Bridge in Ashland, Smith Covered Bridge in Plymouth, and Blair Covered Bridge in Campton. By that point I was all set with covered bridges for the day. I actually had another I wanted to see but by this point, it was 4:30pm and I was hungry and a bit road weary so I headed to the Pemi Cabins.
Not before partaking in another tradition of visiting northern New England, visiting Hannaford Supermarket. On Cape Cod, we’re stuck with tons of Stop & Shop and Shaw’s with an occasional Market Basket or Whole Foods. So when I get a chance to check out a different grocery store it’s a big thrill. It’s like visiting different amusement parks except filled with food and fewer rollercoasters.
Hannaford in Plymouth, NH because of course.
Also the first time I visited a Hannaford in 2010 in Maine they had raspberry Fluff. I loved it and basically have searched for it every time I go to a Hannaford ever since. Unfortunately the last time I saw it was 2016, but I still check each time.
I last visited Lincoln, NH in 2012 and this trip was immediately better than that because I actually remembered my memory card for my camera. Otherwise, I stayed in the exact same cabin and think that if/when I return again I’ll choose the same cabin a 3rd time.
Being road-weary and starving by the time I got to Lincoln I decided to stop and get dinner at McDonald’s. I downloaded the app to my phone to get some good deals. It was raining but also sunny when I arrived in Lincoln so as I sat there fooling with the McDonald’s app I was also waiting to see if a rainbow would appear. There wasn’t one but it would have been an interesting shot of the rainbow over McDonald’s though.
I had to drag myself out for an evening photo shoot once I sat on the screened-in porch at the cabin. The rushing water was so soothing it was like meditating. I ended up shooting a lot of video of the cabin I think for my own memories as much as sharing with others.
I headed north to shoot the sunset. Not far from where I stayed is a marker for Betty & Barney Hill who were part of the first widely publicized UFO abduction on September 19, 1961. It happened on that same stretch of highway in Lincoln. I plan on making a video using my old podcast audio and the new photos I got. If you don’t know their story here is a link: Betty & Barney Hill
Luckily when driving north on I-93 in NH there are signs when scenic overlooks are coming up. I found a viewing area on Gov. Hugh Gallen Memorial Way. It’s a short road that ends at a dead end and then a walking bridge overlooking the mountains. I had to get to the sunset location so I didn’t have time to go walk around but I bet it’s worth it.
For years on Instagram, there has been a sunset spot I’ve wanted to visit. It’s St. Matthew’s Chapel in Sugar Hill, NH. The photo is typically from the right rear of the chapel looking toward it with loads of lupines in the foreground. I made it a point to leave time to drive 10 minutes north to shoot this spot. As with many places I visited on my road trip this was relatively in the middle of nowhere and the roads to it were quite hilly.
There were 2 issues with the St. Matthew’s Chapel shoot. One, the lupines were no longer in bloom, but hey goldenrod was fine to give splashes of color to the photos. Two, that heavy rain I mentioned earlier? Yeah, it left the area soggy and having to walk through the tall grass to get shots among the flowers soaked my shoes pretty bad. The photos were worth it, plus for some reason, I was smart enough to pack a 2nd pair of shoes so it was all good.
Sunset at St. Matthew's Chapel in Sugar Hill, NH The night ended magically and that’s not hyperbole. I sat on the screened-in porch in the dark with the rushing river passing by. While there I enjoyed an edible and played Hawaiian music on Pandora. I didn’t want that feeling to end and stayed out there until it actually started getting chilly. One of my favorite nights ever.
Originally my plan was to grab my tripod and camera and head outside to try to get some long exposure night shots. After all, I was in UFO country , right? However the edible was too good and the scenery too soothing so I just stayed inside.
I had even more plans for Day 2 and had to make sure I got enough sleep. It would start with a breakfast 12 years in the making.
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| Finishing with the Smith Covered Bridge, I did see enough of them on Day 1. |
