Travelog part 5: New Hampshire and the wedding

Thursday: a lot of driving, punctuated with stops at two great quilt shops (more on that to come).  

Granddaughter Rachel and her fiance Austin chose the Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough, NH, for their October 23 wedding.   The Center Harbor Inn was the lodging for most of the wedding party, and we stayed there, too.   We checked in on Thursday afternoon.  

Right:    Lake Winipesaukee in the evening (looking east; sunlight reflected off the clouds).  

Across the road from our hotel—former home of Keepsake Quilting. Still empty! The retail store closed three years ago or so (now mail order only out of North Carolina).

 

Friday:   We thought it prudent to figure out how to get to the wedding venue, five miles from the hotel    Here is their website. It's now surrounded by a state park and that's the part we explored on Friday.  

One of several waterfalls in the park.  (Also the third waterfall we saw on this trip. The other two were at Cuyahoga National Park.) 

Left:  amanita (poison!) holding pine needles.  Center:  a Thomas Kincaid gatehouse.  

Friday evening:  Rehearsal dinner and a little reunion.   (There were former spouses, current spouses, stepsiblings.  Everyone got along.)

Right: the bride and groom.

Ryan is Austin's son.  Stevens told Ryan, "You're four. I'm 81."  Ryan said, "No one's that old!" 

When Jean clasped Stevens' hands in greeting he said, "Do I know you?"  She replied, "I'm your first wife!"  They had a good conversation and at the end they kissed.  :)   

Saturday morning:  we went to Plymouth, NH, to the Museum of the White Mountains.  We saw more beautiful scenery and went to, yes, another quilt shop.  

 

 

 

The wedding was at 5 p.m.   Trams took guests and the wedding party up the mountain to the Castle.  The sun was shining though it was breezy and chilly (45 degrees).   

 

Maid of honor (Alyssa) and mother of the bride (Stevens' daughter Julie).  Ryan was the ringbearer.  "Hi, Great-granddad!" he greeted.  The flower girl was a charmer!  

The breeze blew the veil to the side and the sunlight filtered through it.  
 

The reception was held indoors at the Castle's carriage house.  

 

Granddad and grandsons. (Today was the first time that Stevens and E had ever met, and just the second time for Stevens and D.)  It was a very special moment.   

We won a bouquet for being the longest-married couple.  This picture shows my red suede shoes (which were surprisingly comfortable). 

The favors were apple cider donuts and bottles of maple syrup. (The donut stayed fresh as long as our breakfast on Monday!)

The carriage house  had story of Thomas Plant, the shoe magnate from Boston who bought the land and built Lucknow, now known as the Castle in the Clouds, as his retirement home. 

 Wikipedia has this entry about Plant.

Next:   more sightseeing on Sunday!