Aug 20-21, 2024 – Gilford, NH

Aug 20, 2024 – Gilford, NH

Rain this morning and chilly. On our way north we passed through New Hampshire’s Lakes Region and decided that would be a good place to return to and explore for a few days. Campgrounds are very full, but we secured a two night reservation at Ellacoya State Park, just two hours away. The park is on the southwest shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in New Hampshire and the heart of the Lakes Region.

The campground part of the park is right on the lake’s shore and is basically a sparsely shaded level area with a mere 37 sites arranged in four rows. Each site has electric, water and sewer hookups and you can see the lake from every site. Sweet!

We needed some groceries and drove the five miles into town to find a shopping bonanza. There was a Hannafords and a Shaws, a Super Walmart and even a Lowes within a few block radius! It’s rare to find an area of small towns with such a wide compliment of shopping choices. Dinner tonight was a bit different.  We dug out an old recipe for sautéed chicken tenders over a bed of cannellini beans with sundried tomatoes and lemon juice.  Tasty.

Aug 21, 2024 – Gilford, NH

Our plan is to visit with Bill’s sister and her husband in Hingham, MA, over Labor Day and to then join friends on Cape Cod beginning September 4. It is difficult to find space in campgrounds these days in any event and especially so around a holiday. So we spent the morning plotting out where we could stay and, in an unusual move for us, actually securing reservations ahead of time. Then it was time to familiarize ourselves with the area.

Our first foray was onto Governor’s Island, one of several large, populated islands on the lake. Governor’s is mainly a residential area with many very nice homes distributed along its shores. The bridge across to it is short but high to allow boats to navigate around the island.

Weirs Beach was our next stop. Endicott Park Beach is a lovely, small park at the south end of town.

Endicott Park Beach from Boardwalk

Endicott Park Beach from Boardwalk

The area features a boardwalk that overlooks the lake and lots of parking so folks can let their kids loose into the two large Half Moon Amusement Arcades that seem to be a major attraction of the area.

Arcade Games Aren’t Our Thing

Arcade Games Aren’t Our Thing

But Arcade Seems to Fascinate Others

But Arcade Seems to Fascinate Others

This is also where the Mount Washington and US Mail Boat Sophie C cruises sail from. The current Mount Washington is a 230-foot steel excursion ship that offers a variety of scenic tours. Originally built in 1888 to ply the waters of Lake Champlain, she was cut into twenty sections and shipped by rail to be reassembled for duty on Lake Winnipesaukee to replace an earlier, wooden, steam-powered side wheeler. She was later cut in half to add an additional 25 feet to her overall length. Talk about repurposing!

Mount Washington Steams Away from Weirs Beach

Mount Washington Steams Away from Weirs Beach

Launched in 1945, the 74-foot Sophie C is the oldest of only two floating post offices in the United States. It still delivers mail and freight to the island residents on the western side of Winnipesaukee. And you can ride along on one of its twice daily two-hour cruises for a price … $46.   

Small Boats Dock Under Weirs Beach Wharf

Small Boats Dock Under Weirs Beach Wharf

Meredith, a little further up the west side of the lake was more our style. It featured lots of restaurants and shops of all types. We parked at Mill Falls Marketplace and wandered through its main building that wandered up the side of a steep hill through several stories of shops.

Emerging at the top of the hill we spotted the Hermit Woods Winery & Sweet Mercy Kitchen. Since it was time for a late lunch we figured, “Why not?” Like a couple of local wineries, it produces wines from local fruits rather than from grapes. We passed on the wine but Bill enjoyed a beer and we each managed to find a lunchtime treat on their menu.

Sculptor's Representation of World Wide Web

Sculptor’s Representation of World Wide Web

We turned around on our little tour at Moultonborough. There wasn’t much there that interested us and we decided to save the eastern side of the lake for the next few days.

We stopped in Laconia on our way back to the campground, mainly to see what “rail bikes” look like. Each pedal powered bike seats four people. The pedals power wheels that ride the tracks of a standard gauge railroad. Granite State Rail Bikes offers their customers a five mile round trip ride along the shores of Lake Winnisquam. They were closed for the day but, at $160 per bike, we’d probably save the experience for another day anyway.