Travel The East

We consider ourselves winter sports enthusiasts. We’ve run the gamut of skiing, ice skating, ice fishing and hiking hundreds of times, but up until this past weekend had never snowmobiled. After our visit with Northern Extremes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, it had us wishing we didn’t wait so long to try this thrilling sport. Northern Extremes' main rental facility is located in Bartlett, NH. As with any outdoor winter activity, make sure you dress warm. Similar to dressing as you would for skiing, without the ski boots. Our friends at Point 6 hooked us up with pairs of their performance, wool socks and we couldn't have been more impressed by their quality and warmth during our snowmobiling adventure!   The trip started with checking in at their headquarters where we received snowmobile helmets. Renters can elect to do a self-guided tour or a guided tour. There were many different tour duration options to choose from—ours was self-guided for

There are more ways to experience winter than just skiing or hiding indoors.  We chose to enjoy the alternatives at Lake Morey Resort in celebration of Valentines Day weekend and also our engagement two years ago.  Very few resorts offer so much to do for outdoor enthusiasts, by just taking a few steps outside their front doors. In under a 3 hour drive from Boston, we reached Fairlee, Vermont, the quaint town where the resort is located.  Lake Morey, a focal point of the town and neighboring areas has a surface area of 544 acres and average depth of 28 feet.  Fairlee is one of the oldest lake towns in Vermont dating back to the 1880's.  The resort has done an excellent job in preserving its historic charm through its decor and photographs of the resort's origins, adorned on the walls throughout the property. Lake Morey Resort is an obvious, prime location for vacationers in the warmer weather to golf, swim, sunbathe, canoe and much more. But it is also

This past weekend we made a short drive down the South Shore of Massachusetts to Myles Standish State Forest. This is one of the largest forests in southern New England with 26 miles of land surrounding around 20 ponds and lakes. The forest was a winter wonderland with heavy snow clinging to the tree limbs from a recent storm. The forest is accessible by a network of paved roads that have many different places to stop for hikes or bike rides. We drove around, stopping at random spots along the way to take photos and do short hikes down to the ponds. We did one longer hike around New Long Pond, that featured a nice trail along the water’s edge. Once we finished the day at the forest we had just enough time to stop at the Rye Tavern on the way home. This rustic looking restaurant offered a homey and cozy ambiance on a cool winter’s day and was the perfect way to finish the trip. Travel the East  © Kristy Albano & Matt Pickering            

While we may be facing an abnormally warm El Nino winter, this hasn’t stopped us from getting out on the slopes. This past weekend we took a day skiing trip to Ragged Mountain located in Danbury, New Hampshire. Ragged Mountain is a hidden gem of New England ski areas for a number of reasons. For starters, it’s located a little further off the Interstate 93 corridor than many of the other NH ski areas. The ride off the highway was enjoyable as we passed through a few towns and windy roads through the woods; giving us the feeling of a more private mountain vs. commercialized resort. The proximity to Boston was also a big plus, as Ragged is less than 2 hours away. This made for an easy day trip that didn’t require us to leave before sunrise. When we arrived, we couldn’t have asked for better skiing weather. The temperatures hovered around 30 degrees with no wind. Ragged has done a great job making up for Mother Nature’s lack of snow this winter. About half the mountain wa