New Hampshire

I went to New Hampshire last weekend.

Because I could.

And because I was invited to go on a road trip with Kerry. But mostly because I could. It's been a long time since I went adventuring for adventure's sake. For the last several years this has comprised mostly of day trips to or mini outings to learn the terrain or inventory of an area. Sounds boring enough, but I liked going to a new place and finding something extraordinary even if it was at the local International supermarket.

When Kerry started talking about a weekend up north, I remembered my road trips in college. Forget about the destination for a minute, even the journey was a marked improvement. Where I was usually in the backseat, I got shotgun. Checking a map every five minutes? Now we have mapquest. Limited budget of college years became a cooler full of snacks, a six pack of diet coke (we'll talk about Mommy's addiction later) and a few twenties designated for crappy, greasy delightful road food. And foraging for decent music every thirty minutes was replaced by an ipod full of swing music, gravelly voice seducers and an audio book about the CIA that had my attention for over six hours of the ride home.

Or maybe that was Kerry's evil plan so I would shut up. Didn't work, but I was distracted for a good portion. I consider myself well read and have an okay understanding of history but even I had to ask a few questions along the way. I mean, who uses Halcyon in every day conversation? And just for reference sake: hal c yon

n.

1. A kingfisher, especially one of the genus Halcyon.

2. A fabled bird, identified with the kingfisher, that was supposed to have had the power to calm the wind and the waves while it nested on the sea during the winter solstice.

adj.

1. Calm and peaceful; tranquil.

2. Prosperous; golden: halcyon years.

We left Virginia on Friday and drove up north, carefully avoiding Interstate 95 and all the traffic that always seems to accompany that road. I'm sure it won't have improved by the time you're old enough to read this and drive that highway. It was a gorgeous drive and I got to see some areas of the country that I either haven't seen before or have forgotten. We had french fries, milkshakes and a slew of other food that I would have tried to avoid feeding the three of you. And it was gooooood.

Kerry's home town was a delightful and I kept looking around her parent's house and finding wee surprises. I unknowingly usurped Kerry's usual bedroom and found ABC blocks nestled underneath the bedside table. Her mom used a small quilt rack to hold the towels (or maybe we've been reinventing a towel rack all these years?) and had a tiny pastry box holding four incredible chocolates tied up with a pretty ribbon. I wanted to move in. Or at the very least steal the bed and put it in the back of the truck. But that would probably mar our chances of going back, so I'll wait until next time.

More later. You guys are getting frantic on the playground and are a bit distracting. I wonder if popsicles would help?