Not so Piteous Misadventures

The "plan" yesterday was to go to the beach. But, the weather did not cooperate: first fail.

Then, we decided to hike and drove to Ossipee, NH because my husband found a good sized mountain to climb there thanks to Google Maps (2 hour drive). We got there, with no address for trails to hike and couldn't find a trail nor a soul who could tell us where to find one (45 minutes).

So, we ended up at the sleeply little Ossipee Town Hall looking for guidance as many, if not most of the shops there were boarded up or closed for lunch. After waiting quite a while for the nice old lady who worked the desk to get off the phone -- "Yes, mmmhhmm...I'm the only one here. Yes...mmhhmm..that land is for sale. Well, land in Central Ossipee is $16.31 per thousand, West Ossipee is..." -- things started looking up when this sweet old man with a pompadour offered to help us. Though he couldn't tell us the location of any hiking trails per se, he did say we could hike on his property as he "owned a mountain." Hooray! Things were looking up. With our hand-drawn map in tow, we set out to find his land.

The map is great; we're there, parked, and strapping on our boots in under 5 minutes. Success! It's only a few minutes into our hike before we'd seen a great beaver damn, some interesting if not shocking animal scat, and, unfortunately lots and lots of flies. 5 minuets of swatting bugs was enough for my husband, who has little to no tolerance for bugs -- to give credit here, bugs love him as he is always hot yet they don't care for me as I am always cold. The little tiny flies were biting him incessantly, so our hike ends. Second, fail.

As we drive back south toward home, I sit quietly as my husband swears about bugs, Ossipee, and the day in general. I sit and scheme as I have an idea...

My idea isn't very revolutionary or original as it's the same idea I have about everyday: SHOPPING. Recently I was told about a place called Antique Alley in NH between Durham and Chichester.

After a bit of guesswork, we find Antique Alley. Of course, as this story goes, we get there at 4pm and all the shops close at 5pm. But, it's safe to say we're going back very soon. Here's a peek at our wares:

A large 1920s locket for me (early anniversary gift!):




















A 1930s Westinghouse fan that works really well!


























Finally, the day ended with a 1.5 hours sunset walk in Marblehead, MA: