Day 1: Keene, NH with Susie & Claudia!

Salut mes amis,

Wondering where I've been? I've been on a New England road trip for the past couple of weeks, and boy, do I have a lot of photos to share with you!

The first stop I made was to revisit some friends I met a couple of years ago, in 2010. Remember when I visited Ashuelot Park with Annie, Sarah, and Elphaba? Well, I got to go again!

On August 6th, I met up with my friends Susie and Claudia in Keene, New Hampshire. After having lunch at Olive Garden and walking through Michaels together, we three decided to hang out in Ashuelot Park for a bit. We talked, posed for pictures, observed nature, and shared a bowl of Walpole Creamery ice cream.

Susie is on the left, I'm in the middle, and Claudia is on the right:

Here we are with Ashuelot River behind us; isn't it pretty? 

In addition to having photos taken of me, I brought out my own camera. I took pictures of the river, plant life, and numerous wildflowers that fell across our path.

Here is one picture that I took of the Ashuelot River dam. Can you see the man sitting on the opposite bank? I think he was giving us weird looks; I wonder why?

Keene is such a pretty city! If I was going to live in New Hampshire, I think I'd live here! It's not too big, yet not too small, and there are a lot of fun boutiques to shop in:

I think that is Queen Anne's Lace on the left, but there are a couple of different flowers that resemble it. It does look like lace, that's for sure. Do you see the bug nestled on it? I was quite proud of myself for being able to capture the bug while he was actually on the flower.

Aren't these flowers pretty? They look like some kind of wild daisy to me.

After we said goodbye to Claudia, Susie and I continued walking around downtown Keene for a little bit. She took me into an old mill that has been refurbished into a neat shopping center. One of the stores in the shopping center was a bookstore, which is where I was in the photo on the left.



I am posing next to a sign announcing Julia Child's birthday. Some of you may know that I'm a huge fan of the American chef best known for her cookbooks Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume I and Volume II. Mrs. Child, had she lived, would've turned 100 years old this year, and this bookstore had a nice birthday tribute display set up to recognize this fact.

There were several picture books discussing Mrs. Child's life and even one told from the point-of-view of Minette, her cat! I had to get a picture by the books (in case I decide to buy them someday).

In the lobby of the shopping center was this old-fashioned buggy. Immediately Susie and I hopped aboard so that we could pretend we were two elegant Victorian ladies going to a ball. There was a sign on the seat of the buggy that prohibited people from climbing on it, but we pretended to ignore that. You can probably see the bit of white paper sticking out from around us as we tried to cover up the fact that we shouldn't be in the buggy. We were quite the daredevils, haha!

When we'd had our fill of the buggy, Susie took me to the infamous Parrish Shoes sign, as seen in the movie Jumanji (the movie was filmed in Keene). I'd seen the sign before, but my guardian hadn't. She's a huge fan of the movie and had to see the sign for herself! 

Susie and I continued walking around the shops in downtown Keene for a bit, before having dinner at the local Friendly's. After dinner, we said goodbye, and I went on my way back to Bellows Falls, Vermont, where I was staying for this leg of the journey.

It was so good to see Claudia and Susie again (as well as some of their other friends whom we didn't get pictures with due to inclement weather)! I already miss them! Perhaps I shall have to make a third trip up to Keene someday?

Have you ever taken a road trip to see friends who live faraway?

~Sophie