"Camping" in Ossipee

Michael, Elleigh, Lucas and I went "camping" on Sunday. Not real hard in-the-woods camping. We felt a little guilty about going for a whole day away from our house projects, but I think we are both very glad we did. We didn't have our annual family BBQ in August. And we didn't go to a 4th of July party this year. And we really couldn't think of anything we have done outside this summer or fall, not even using the pool since it didn't turn out to be a pool summer.

So, we drove up to Ossipee to a private family campground run by Paula's family to spend the day. The foliage was beautiful on the ride up which was a treat since neither Michael or I had a chance to see much foliage yet this year. We even had to drive by another swatch of tornado damage on the way there where a cluster of houses looked to still be in the repair process and all of their trees were blown down.

The whole family had fun for the day. I got to knit around a campfire with Paula, Tracy, Donna and Alison. I kept working on socks for Gabriel. Michael played Scrabble and another Banana word game with Sue, Paula, Alison and Anthony. Elleigh and Lucas got to go for a few walks in the crispy leaves and bark at the camp dog Daisy. Michael had wine. Gabriel and I did not.

And the food was wonderful! The camping day included a gourmet camp chef named Fred and his sous chef side kick, Anthony. I helped to de-silk some corn, but for the most part just waited on for food to be placed near me and the bump. There was tasty aged cheddar and Gruyere cheese. The corn was fire roasted. The pork tenderloin was stuffed and hand-tied at the campsite and then baked over the coals. And I had hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows.

Yes, HOMEMADE marshmallows. Fred made his very own marshmallows for the trip. And you may wonder why anyone would make their own marshmallows when you can buy a whole bag of Jet Puffs for a buck. If you ask that, you have never had a homemade marshmallow. Better taste, better texture, better melt spread when squished between two graham crackers, and better fire retardancy when being roasted over an open flame for S'Mores made with Ghiradelli chocolate. Mmmm!

It was such a fun day and evening. Thanks for inviting us, Paula! Even the trips to the out house proved enjoyable.

Three Chimneys Inn

Michael and I went to the Three Chimneys Inn in Durham last night. We wanted a special place to go for a lazy length dinner to celebrate. It is our 7th anniversary of meeting each other today, and then Monday will be the first anniversary of our engagement.

We've been to Three Chimneys Inn a handful of times now. Built in 1649 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Three Chimneys Inn is one of the oldest homes in the State. So the Coppers Dining Room feels very historic and there's a restored cooking fireplace in the corner too.

Michael had the New England Clam Chowder and we shared an order of Crispy Fried Calamari with pepperoncini, lemon, lime, red pepper and roasted garlic. There's plenty of the calamari left over. We each had a spinach salad tossed in a pineapple vinaigrette, with roasted pineapple and almonds. Just perfect for the lady who has been craving pineapple! For dinner, Michael had jerk marinated chicken skewers with sweet potato chips. The jerk seasoning was warm, but the mango salsa helped to cool it down. I had a grilled Delmonico steak served with fresh green beans and a warm mixed potato salad. And for desert, we shared a piece of bourbon pecan pie with vanilla ice cream and fresh cream. The texture of the pecan pie was wonderful.

Thank you, Debbie, for our gift certificate!

The ride out and back to Durham afforded us the opportunity to see some of the tornado damage. It was quite the reminder of how powerful Mother Nature is. And on route 4, the section of the road that had been closed, the news photos just didn't do the damage any justice. There is a narrow strip of destruction that cuts along the edge of the lake across the road and into the woods, but the density of the houses there on the lake's edge meant that many houses were destroyed. Some are flattened, some are half standing with the other half of the house missing. A business just across the road from the damage seems unscathed, but then there is tree damage beginning again in behind the building.