New England Road Trip Day 9: Plymouth, New Hampshire

A Truly Inviting, Quaint, Delicious Bed & Breakfast

Fresh-cut flowers, gourmet home-cooked breakfasts each morning, nightly wine and port wine and beer and cookies, a hot tub under the stars, and thick heavy bathrobes. THIS. This is what makes a hidden gem stay on Airbnb a destination and attraction all on its own, and why a good Airbnb can be so worth the extra research. I spent a lot of time searching for a cute Airbnb along our route from Acadia back to New Jersey, and was super excited for the bed n’ breakfast we chose for the next two nights. How often do you get to book an actual B&B on Airbnb?

Federal House Inn Historic Bed & Breakfast – Plymouth, NH

The Federal House Inn in Plymouth, NH is a 200-year old historic building kept in immaculate condition. We stayed in “Sally’s Room,” one of five guest rooms. The sheets were the softest ever, indoor décor kept with the period, fresh flowers brightened every room, and despite the antique floorboards creaking (in a good way, mind you), modern upgrades ensured the ever-important factors of strong water pressure and hot water.

The hospitality side of this stay was on point as well. There was a 24-hour beverage bar with tea, water, and beer. The host supplied nightly batches of freshly baked cookies or scones, paired with red wine or port wine if you so pleased. You can bet your money that we took advantage of the fluffy bathrobes and soaked in the backyard hot tub under the stars. Again, I was thrilled that this AirBnB was actually a B&B. Kevin, the host/owner, cooked breakfast each morning- incorporating ingredients from a local farm about 3 miles away. The first breakfast was eggs benedict and asparagus, second was Belgian waffles with local New Hampshire maple syrup and bacon. Kevin informed us the inn actually had a 200-year old maple tree in the backyard, and we learned a bit about the process of maple syrup production and the huge amount of maple tree sap required to produce a tiny volume of syrup. I adored the New Hampshire local syrup– it boasted a much deeper roasted, dark caramel flavor and we were basically drinking it at the table. We even paid a visit to the local farm stand to pick up a bottle of the good stuff for ourselves.

Squam Lake – Holderness, NH

Kevin told us that people in New Hampshire “boat by summer and ski by winter.” He was right. Growing up in Dallas and now living and working in the not-quite-so-outdoorsy Manhattan area, I had never really experienced the lifestyle of people who absolutely love being on the water until now. During our exploration of the various small towns around Plymouth, we found ourselves at Squam Lake in Holderness. Everyone loved water and sun here. We drove around the lakeside vacation cottage neighborhood and saw people sunbathing on decks, sunbathing on beach chairs, sunbathing on the sand, sunbathing in the water, sunbathing while lounging on little boats bobbing in the water.

Hesky Park – Meredith, NH

We also walked around Hesky Park in the town of Meredith and watched people hook up boats to their trailers as the fun-filled day of sailing came to a close. We happened upon a picnic table perched right next to the boat ramp and settled in for some people (or boat?) watching. Some needed a few tries inching back and forth on the driveway, but most efforts were smoothly successful. These people were so skillful backing their trailers down the submerged ramp and navigating their boats gently onto the trailer before towing the boat up the ramp, a wall of water flowing from the boat’s underside as it rose from the surface. I love this aspect of traveling- just walking around and exploring, happening upon little occurrences like this, getting a snapshot of how differently people in other areas live and play.