Trip Report - NH Lakes - September 6th-7th, 2003

It just doesn't get any better than this!

The weather in New England on September 6th and 7th was a perfect 10!

Eighteen Miata's with tops down gathered at the rest stop off route 95 in Seabrook NH at 9 AM to begin a scenic drive through New Hampshire's White Mountain Region. Destination, Lincoln, NH.

The only rainbow visible on that day was the Colorful Caravan of Miata's streaming north on Route 95 with tops down, tunes playing and a lot of very enthusiastic club members embarking on a great trip and an enjoyable weekend.

The sun was so bright reflecting off the Red, Green, Silver, Blue, Yellow and White Miatas (along with a renegade black Audi and even a Toyota Sedan) that the National Weather Service satellites detected the bright colors in the sunshine as "peak foliage color moving very fast to the north".

Our first scheduled stop for a picnic lunch was at Lake Chocorua just off route 16. The view from the picnic area was Spectacular, quite a bit better than you would find in Medford Square. The shores of Lake Chocorua came right up to the picnic area and directly across the lake, Mount Chocorua rose out of the forest to a height of 3,475 feet perfectly centered in our view as club members displayed their picnic finery and enjoyed a great lunch. Speaking of picnic finery, a "best picnic" contest was held and first place went to Ray and Sarah. The follow up prize went to Frank and Reny. The Prizes were two very nice bottles of wine produced from one of the New England vineyards which will be visited on the Ultimate Wine Trip II on September 20th. Of course, these prizes were not consumed while driving as the colorful line of Miata's never wavered from a straight and true course.

After a terrific picnic alongside Lake Chocorua, the colorful Miata caravan formed up once again. Sheila and Al took the lead and Les Barton took charge of the rear element to make certain no one ended up in Maine or back in Seabrook wondering what happened to everyone else?

Our route of travel was 16 north to route 112 otherwise known as the Kancamagus Highway. The Kancamagus is 32 miles of some of the most beautiful scenic vistas in New England. Our first stop along the Kancamagus after a brief stop at the Ranger Station was Rocky Gorge. Here the cold clear waters of the Swift River coming down from the White Mountains flowed amidst the rocks and funneled into narrower spill ways creating its own mini rapids. Al and Les took some group pictures of all of us on a small bridge over the river. Can't wait to see those pictures guys, we are certainly the best looking Miata club in Massachusetts!

Further along the Kancamagus we made a brief stop at a scenic overlook. As the rainbow of Miatas streamed in and parked altogether in one area I noticed a group of Harley-Davidson riders who were already there watching us as we drove in. While walking from our cars to the overlook I remarked to one of the ladies with the Harley group that we all left our motorcycles at home today and decided to take the Miatas. Her reply to me was "Oh my God, that looks like more fun"!

Next stop, the Comfort Inn in Lincoln, NH and later that evening, dinner at the Common Man restaurant. The accommodations at the Comfort Inn and the dinner at the Common Man were outstanding and a perfect ending to a great day. If the conversational noise level in the private dining room we had at the restaurant was any indication of how much all the club members were enjoying themselves, suffice to say that "a very good time was had by all".

Sunday morning dawned with the same perfect sunshine as the day before. At 8 AM Les Barton gathered up the group and we all headed for Laconia and the Brunch Cruise aboard the Mt. Washington on Lake Winnipesaukee. The boat left promptly at 10 AM. The brunch, the boat, the cruise and the lake were all terrific.

The Mount Washington returned to its dock at the pier on Weirs Beach around 12:30 PM. From there some Club Members dispersed on their own but a small group did assemble to complete the weekend with an "ice cream" run to one of Les's favorite local stops.

Many thanks to Sheila Grenon, Al Meola and Les Barton for planning and organizing a great trip.