Celebrating in the “Live Free or Die” state, our dear friend Sammy (my college roommate from Hofstra, as well as my teammate/side base for our 2015 national championship/partner stunt championship/USA world championship) turned 28 on October 2nd, 2020. Our closest group of friends traveled in (mostly from NYC but in my case, from Denver) to celebrate a spooky weekend in honor of her special day.
Yes… Kait, Sam, Jenn, and Alison are all back together (what a notable joy!), but Sam’s family & boyfriend, who we love so much, were also there to host the best party/weekend. Here’s a breakdown of what we did over the weekend, what New Hampshire was like in the fall, and where we went in the area, not necessarily in chronological order:
Most importantly, we basked in greatness that is the fall season. Since we came to New England in October, the leaves were destined to turn and the temperature had dropped for colder weather. After a long 6 months living away from each other in the year 2020, we were thankful for a crisp affair with our best friends. This was the longest I’ve ever been away from the northeast AND from these three since we met (!!!).
Over the course of 3 days, we had some DIVINE food and beverages:
- While I worked from home, Alison made me NY bagels that Sam had brought up from the city. Not true to NH but still VERY important.
- The drinks and charcuterie boards at Flag Hill Winery were amazing. We had $5 flights of various wines/spirits (I LOVED the raspberry wine & I’m totally NOT a wine person but this tasted like juice) and we had all the right meats and cheeses to snack on while catching up with one another.
- Drinks afterward came from a super cute bar called Sonny’s Tavern, alongside exceptionally kind service. Must be a NH thing because they don’t have taxes. Here, we had specialty cocktails and to-die-for truffle fries.
- A majority of our time on Saturday was spent in Salem, MA. The amount of witchiness needed a blog of its own; you can find details on our food, drinks, and activities in Salem HERE.
- When we came home from Salem, we went to the Cocheco Country Club with Sam’s dad and boyfriend for some beers and super soft pretzels. The views were perfect and the beer cheese was almost as good as Jenn’s.
- Before leaving, Sam MADE SURE I had to get lunch at La Festa. She treated me to a buffalo chicken pizza slice (my FAVORITE), garlic knots, and cinnamon knots with icing (I am currently drooling typing this).
- If the weather were a little warmer and the world were a little less pandemic-y, we absolutely would have made a stop to our favorite seasonal ice cream stand– Dover Delite.
The cutest weekend also had the cutest activities. Everything was perfectly spooky and created the perfect fall reset to such a crazy year.
Sam’s fam threw a spooky birthday party, decked out in b&w Halloween décor with endless food & cider. We had tons of cake (for 3 days) and danced around in witch hats.
We passed through Demerit Hill Farm to see some pumpkins, a little petting zoo, and a potential haunted walk. The attraction wasn’t open, so we snuck in to see the Halloween greatness be created. From there, we continued the spook through a foggy woods walk back to Sam’s party.
If the spooky party wasn’t enough, but then neither was the foggy hike, but then neither was a day in Salem learning about witch trials and Halloween, we created an ultra spooky Netflix marathon. Sam’s boyfriend, Matt set the TV up outside on the patio with tons of candles, a warm fire with 5 seats, and Haunting of Hill House on display. We watched our favorite spooky show while Alison freaked out every five seconds that a murderer would come for her from the woods.
After Jenn, Alison, and Matt had to head back to NYC early on Sunday, Sam and I had the chance to take a morning walk around the Dover Community Trails. We took our time strolling through the beautifully warm-colored paths while watching leaves fall and taking in the smell of autumn. We even partook in some barefoot grounding on rocks by the river to connect with nature.
My favorite part of this short, but wildly exciting trip?
Obviously, of course, getting to be with my 3 best friends again. Our group doesn’t go a day without interacting via group message and they make me feel all mushy when people say you’ll meet your best friends in college (speaking of… sis asked me to be a MOH in her wedding, too). I’ll never get tired of them bluntly putting me in my place and roasting me for things other people don’t. I’ll forever cherish our memories and our laughs, because we know all too well they don’t happen as often as we hope.
I loved this weekend so much and can’t wait to head back to the Hampsh one day again soon. I miss my LTN best friends already!
-kait
KSL 
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