New Hampshire : A refresher during COVID-19

Time and again wise men/women have made me realize that no matter what the destination, right people make every experience memorable! This trip to New Hampshire was a perfect example of the same!

The past 4 months have been a constant strive for staying home,staying healthy and staying happy. The 3 H’s! It has taught me to be grateful for the privilege that I exercise, to put efforts in improving my health and be thankful for the people and the world outside that keeps on providing for us tirelessly. Thank you so much! And I think all of this made the trip sweeter than it originally could have been. A break from the monotony that had been our homes and our routine!

Originally we all were a little skeptical of meeting in huge numbers (16 to be precise). Few of us were driving from Boston, some from New Jersey and others from New Hampshire itself were going to meet at our Airbnb in Conway, NH. But we made sure to take measures as and when the trip unfolded. For me most were strangers (friends of people I know) and the remaining were people whom I knew a little too well!
From Boston me, Mayur, Shikhar, Radhika, Drashti and Cleyton (my US family) we met up on 2nd July and drove together up north . On our way to the Airbnb we had the pleasure of witnessing rolling fields, rain, sunshine, rainbows and every other ingredient to make the journey eye catching. And I still managed to snooze with all of that happening around me, which makes me think I might have a tinge of Narcolepsy! 😉

After 2.5 hours we reached our destination that was a 6 BDR/5 BTHRM, 3-storied house. I have always been a sucker for a grand house but always end up trying to save money and opting for the cheapest option! But this one was royalty in every way! It was a house with a pool, hot tub, barbecue grill and the deets that made it a perfect gateway. I entered the house dancing like a puppy, happy to be exploring every part of it!

Our night started out with meeting everyone and getting acquainted with the house (we made sure to use sanitizer and soap in the midst of all of this). Slowly yet steadily we all started to ease around each other and get more comfortable as we talked and talked about our lives! The give and take of words and/or experiences of a fellow human being are revealing and touching to the soul! We all are social animals, who can hardly stay put by themselves inside their homes forever! The times that we live in now have made us realize and appreciate the simple yet important times when we used to mingle with other fellow earth walkers. It is quite important for our mental well-being. It felt so new yet so routinely normal to be around friends, contradictory feelings with a sense of calm!

“Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god. ”

Aristotle

And seemingly our next 3 days were a blur of happy emotions.

On the next day, 3rd July, we explored the Glen Ellis Falls, Conway Scenic Railroad, cute fudge shops, our hot tub, barbecued various delicacies like eggplant, zucchini, pineapple, potatoes, paneer and danced our hearts out past midnight!

Our 4th of July : America’s Independence Day was celebrated by driving up to the top of Mount Washington (second highest peak in US). The roads were narrow and scary as hell, but the view up top was worth the scare! It was 6288 ft tall and the top was much pleasant as compared to the heat waves we experienced at the base. The view up top seemed like someone had painted the layers of mountains intricately, giving a sense of belonging to each and every one of us.
Right after our descend we went water tubing in Saco river which was the highlight of our trip! Our tubing experience ranged from us floating seamlessly on the river with drinks in our hands to getting stuck in branches and not being able to move forward, it ranged from us wanting to swing like Tarzan and fall into the river to failing miserably at it (because I didn’t have the kind of arm strength needed for me to do a full swing) and it ranged from us reaching the end safely to some of us floating far away from it whilst other swam to their rescue. It was a delightful experience with a lot of belly laughs and happy exclamations all turned into a unique experience for life! Later we explored the pool back at our Airbnb and played various games into the night!

The last day was wistful when we cleaned up and prepared to leave the Airbnb. We went to have one last experience of a Gondola ride in the Loon Mountains before we said our farewells. Once at the top of the mountain we could see an array of different terrains all tucked one behind the other, which was perfect to look at!
After millions of photos we rode the Gondola to the base and we hugged and voiced our promise of meeting again soon! It was a beautiful end to a perfect vacation with friends, made me realize how badly I needed it! I am sure everyone felt the same way! It was something we all dared to do in the cusp of Covid-19 taking all the precautions that we could! As we all were living a routine locked in our homes and were deprived of socializing!

P.s – It has been 14 days since and all of us are just as healthy as we were when we started out our trip! Phew!

Love love <3