My mom, my sister and I jumped into our rented Mazda after flying from Omaha to Boston. We were headed 3 hours north to New Hampshire!
As soon as we crossed the state line, we saw a huge sign that read “Welcome to New Hampshire! Live Free or Die.” Maybe it was the delusion of flying all day, but we thought this was the best state motto a state could have. We kept repeating the line throughout our trip, even when we were no longer in NH.
New Hampshire is a beautiful state. Although we only spent a few days in the state, I think I understand the motto more now that I’m back home. While it more than likely originated back during the Revolutionary War, it’s fun to find uses of the statement in today’s world. Think about how much our culture is centered around working and always being on the go. Are you really living free if you’re chained to your desk?
I present to you: a guide to New Hampshire AND a guide on how to live more freely.
Kancamagus Highway
The first thing we did, after checking into our cute Airbnb – and getting a good nights’ rest – was drive around this highway. It wasn’t too bad to reach from our Airbnb and it was a great way to see the fall trees changing colors! Some of the trees were still green but in other spots it was filled with bright oranges, yellows, deep purples and reds.
The highway also takes you through White Mountain National Forest.
Driving though the forest, there are a numerous amount of places you can stop along your drive. We made a few pit stops to see a small waterfall, get some pictures and walk around a little bit.
Once we came out of the forest, we reached a cute little town that had two things we needed: alpine sliding and food.
The place we found was Attitish Mountain Resort and it was $18 a person to go down the slide. We all really enjoyed the experience, so I think the price was justified. The price also included a ski lift ride up to the top of the mountain, where we could see more fall trees during our ride up.
We really tried to just go with the flow during our two nights in this state, stopping along the way whenever we saw something that intrigued us, trying different foods such as poutine, and even getting lost a few times.
Overall, New Hampshire proved that fall is better on the East Coast and that state mottos really can have an impact on how you view a new state.
Be on the look out for my upcoming blogs from the rest of our trip:
**Do you know your state motto?
**Do you enjoy fall?
**Would you go alpine skiing?
P.S. if you haven’t used Airbnb before, use my link to get $55 off your first trip!
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There’s so much to love about this post! I love that you jumped in your car and road-tripped around without a real itinerary. Spontaneity is the best 🙂 And the state motto is awesome. Sounds like you had a great trip around a very cool state.
thank you so much 🙂
We have not visited New Hampshire or any of the New England states but would love to. Especially in the fall. I love road tripping as well and can totally relate to this.
Most New England state are pretty small so it’s easy to visit more than one once you’re up there!
That’s the best part of road tripping, you can stop along your drive. Also how cool is that message on the sign board. And thank you for sharing the guide!!
of course – thank you so much for reading 🙂
I love that you enjoyed your visit to my home state! Yeah, we do have the best state motto, don’t we? The Kancamagus is such a pretty drive in the fall, and I love the view from the top of Attitash, too. I haven’t done their alpine slide since I was a kid. Thanks for reminding me about it!
you’re home state is beautiful !!
Wow, that scenery is something very special! We have lived in Dubai for many years, so when we are not surrounded by skyscrapers, all we see is sand. So the forests, trees and rivers in this state look absolutely incredible. Also, I checked out the slide link that you shared… now that looks like my kind of fun 🙂
i love cities but also really enjoy nature every once in a while 🙂
that’s the charm of a road trip – spontaneity and falling in love with paper map 🙂 White Mountain National Forest must be gorgeous at this time of the year.
I love such family trips. I have 3 sisters, and we also try to spend the weekend together sometimes. New Hampshire is on my list, and I hope someday I will be able to go there for a road trip through White Mountain National Forest. Attitish Mountain Resort looks so cozy.
I have visited many of the New England states and have visited New Hampshire a couple times, but no more than a day at a time. I would love to spend some more time there, and specifically I would love to explore White Mountain National Forest.
I’ve never been to NH but I’d like to do it by visiting by road trip thru the whole region. Great pictures by the way!
thank you so much !!