New England Vacation Part II

The next part of our vacation was an historic journey through northern New Hampshire to see where my parents grew up and to introduce David and Hadley to where I came from. Literally. Where does the story begin? What are the events that lead up to the story of me? Heritage is a crazy thing.

So we headed off and travelled up through Massachusetts (going through Hadley, MA), into Vermont where David's biggest excitement was that they served Green Mountain Coffee at the rest stops. One of the beauties of travelling through New England, is that you come across small towns like this that look like they have not been touched in 50 years. Here is a wooden bridge in Bath, NH.

First stop on our tour was the "center of town" in Landaff, NH (pop. 378 - no I didn't forget a number) which consists of a church and another building. Located here is a World War II Memorial with my grandfather's name on it.

The next stop was to the Allbee Farm in Landaff. This farm has been in the Allbee family since the 1800's and is where my paternal grandfather grew up. The Allbee Farm is on Allbee Road, you know where Allbee Road and Cemetery Road intersect. And not to be disappointed, the Landaff cemetery IS on Cemetery Road.

About a mile in, the unpaved road ends at the Allbee Farm. How absolutely gorgeous in this barn? Though it is no longer a working farm, the site is pristine. I wish my Grandmother were here to tell stories of meeting my Grandfather and all of the fun they had at the farm.

We spent the afternoon with with my dad's cousin Sally and her husband Cliff who live there. Sally's mother was my Grandfather's sister, and the last of the 5 Allbee siblings to pass away just last year. Sally gave some great family tree info to me. She has all the historical records. It's wonderful to hear her talk, as she and her husband are quite lively with some wicked accents. It's fun to see pictures of her Grandchildren as well with the traditional Allbee features. (i.e. big Allbee teeth and eyebrows). After our visit, we headed out to the Landaff Cemetery to see what is virtually the Allbee family tree with graves going back to my Great Great Grandfather.

Following Landaff, we took a brief tour through Littleton, NH where my father grew up. My grandfather had his own farm there. When he sold the land, they put a highway through it, and built a neighborhood of homes which is where I remember visitng them. In 1996, Littleton was also rated by Outdoor magazine as one of the top 10 places to live in the country. There is also a Vietnam Memorial here with my Dad's name on it. Unfortunately we will have to visit it and take pictures on our next trip.

Our final stop was Whitefield, NH where my mother grew up. This is a very small town of 1,800 people. Can you imagine living in a town so small? That is less people than I went to college with. We lived there until I was 7. I remember ice skating on this common in the winter and going to Blueberry Pancake breakfasts in the summer.

Just on the other side of town lies the Mountain View Grand established in 1865. This is a little gem nestled in the heart of the White Mountains. Aunt Betty has memories of working there as a teenager. Every Memorial Day, the rich folk from NYC would get driven up to spend the entire summer there until Labor Day. Aunt Betty was a waitress all day which included several outfit changes.

The Resort was shut down for most of the 90's, until it was purchased and completely renovated. I would love to spend the entire summer there and watch Hadley run up and down this porch. While sipping on a pre-dinner cocktail of course.

The Lobby, bar, dining rooms, and rooms were just as gorgeous. I am going to be posting for Restroom Critic soon about the beautiful bathrooms.

Our final destination before heading home was a visit to Hadley August's namesake, August Gronemeyer, my mother's father who died when she was 14. It may seem gruesome to have a picture of Hadley near a grave, but the entire time, it felt like she was talking to someone. It was quite cute.