On Monday, our last full day in the Sunapee region, we again awaken to foggy, rainy conditions on Chalk Pond. After breakfast at home, we again climb into the car for a bit more exploring, heading north again along NH-103A. This time, we park in the large park-and-ride lot near the town of New London, and cross the street into the short forest trail that climbs up to Clark’s Lookout. The walk is chilly but pleasant, with the birch and oak forest providing a good bit of shelter from the faint rain. At the top, we see a foggy but beautiful overlook of Lake Sunapee’s northern reaches, framed by colorful oak canopies and blueberry bushes in the undergrowth. We take some family portraits here: Jane and me with Jordan, and again all five of us with a tripod shot. Jordan, for his part, happily cooperates as long as I keep him entertained by dancing and making a fool of myself for a few seconds as the camera timer counts down toward the shot.
Back at the car, we continue east onto Newport Road and soon turn off onto Little Sunapee Lake Road, to go poking around the smaller lake that is Sunapee’s more intimate, quiet cousin. At the boat launch on the lake’s western end, I photograph a beautiful maple tree, along with distant shots of mist rising from the lake and partially obscuring the colorful foliage of the opposite shore. Then, we continue our drive, winding up at Spring Ledge Farm just outside of New London. Jordan has become an old hand at these New England farmstands: he happily goes bouncing between the piles of pumpkins displayed outside of the farm store, and I take a photo of him and Jane standing beside a derelict tractor (“trac-tah!”) just outside of the farm’s sorghum maze. After exploring the premises and documenting some of the beautiful foliage in the nearby woods, we buy Jordan a little baby pumpkin. The folks minding the farmstand are incredibly gracious when we ask whether they still have any cider donuts on sale (for the grandparents have never had these before, and I was hoping to have them try); they wind up digging into the back storeroom and giving us a box of day-old donuts (leftover from the weekend rush) free of charge! A glowing example of small-town New England kindness, and one of the reasons I love traveling in this region so much.
Back at home, after a sampling of the donuts and another lunch of leftovers, it’s naptime again (for, basically, the entire family, as we are all running on the toddler’s one-nap schedule).
Post-nap, we awaken feeling refreshed. After some family photos on the back porch with Chalk Pond’s foliage in the background, we again set off around the shores of Lake Sunapee, this time winding our way south, poking into some lakeside drives, and detouring over to Lake Sunapee State Beach, which is deserted for the season. Here, Jordan instantly runs off to go check out the nearby playground (unfortunately, the slide is wet), while I pace along the water’s edge, photographing the distant boathouses. Near the parking lot, one of the most colorful, ruby-red maples I have seen all week (which is saying a lot) is putting on a show; I take some time carefully composing both horizontal and vertical shots featuring this tree’s beautiful foliage.
To close out the evening, we drive back up to Sunapee Harbor, spending some time exploring the harbor area that my parents missed in yesterday’s rain. Out on the dock, we take some family photos (Jordan gradually less and less cooperative, as he just wants to explore and see the boats). Jordan and the rest of the family wind up watching a local dude take his boat out of the water with his pickup truck, while I head into Harborside Trading to peruse the gifts and pick up our trip magnet. With the sun beginning to set, we do a loop along Lake Avenue to see more of Sunapee’s waterfront houses, before ultimately taking the scenic route home, northward along Jobs Creek Road. After another fantastic home-cooked meal (baked salmon in ponzu, and grilled boneless shortrib marinated in garlic soy), we head home to Boston the following morning; my parents buy a cake to celebrate Jane’s birthday before they head home to Plymouth.
