Vacation Time!

November 2013

All Pages of This Report

We normally like to go camping in the early Autumn, often to the Mount Washington area of New Hampshire. However, with Paul's recent knee operation that was not an option for us this year. So we decided to combine our annual photography vacation with a visit to New Hampshire.

Note: Paul put together a slide show of pictures from our vacation, which include most of the ones in this report plus some additional. It takes about 20 minutes. If you want to see it, click here.

You might have noticed that we have been staying in Bead & Breakfasts for our photography vacation. We have discovered that we really enjoy B&Bs. Anne feels breakfast definitely is the most important meal of the day. (Let's not get into how many breakfasts Anne might feel are important.) One aspect of a B&B that we like is a chance to chat a bit with the hosts, which we are typically able to do since we go off season. Chatting with other guests is okay but less appealing since they typically would have less overlap with our stay. So imagine our delight when we found a one bedroom B&B, Brookhill, and they happened to be available for the following week! (We waited until the last minute to plan this particular vacation.) (Note: They have since closed.)

Mosaic Brookhill sign mounted above a red front door with dark trim

In case anyone is interested, my technique for finding a place to stay is to start with Google Maps and use the 'search nearby' feature to identify lodges in the area of interest. Then I look each of them up to see if they are appealing to us.

Susan and Rod run Brookhill. Our 'room' actually consisted of the bedroom and bathroom, a small kitchen, a dining area, a library room, and a living room with a fireplace.

Woman relaxing with a glass of wine in a cozy sitting room with a lit brick fireplace, bookshelves, and portraits

Large living and dining room with antique furniture, patterned rugs, and colorful floral paintings

Bedroom with a wooden canopy bed, white bedding, and tall windows

Noticing the portraits on the walls, we asked if they were of anyone in particular. Yes, in fact, they are - some of Susan's ancestors. They were painted by her Great-Great-Grandfather, who painted the official portrait of President William Henry Harrison in the National Portrait Gallery. How cool is that? !!

Susan inherited the artistic abilities, and it was evident in the decorating. Notice the quilt on the wall, with flowers? She made that. I didn't ask how much of a fabric stash she has, but I expect we could compare yardages. There were also little decorations here and there, such as an old fashioned bit made to look like a pair of glasses, and bird figurines at the top of windows.

Whimsical old metal bit made to look like a pair of eyeglasses hanging on the wall

Bluebird figurine perched on a window ledge against the dark glass

Close view of a classical female bust with softly lit profile and wavy hair

Outside the house were these wonderful mosaics, also made by Susan - from broken dishes. Our dishes are getting a little nervous that Anne might decide to try this herself.

Two colorful mosaic panels made from broken dishes mounted on the exterior wall

A landscaping detail:

Close view of a green rosette succulent surrounded by fallen pine needles in warm light

One of the lovely aspects of the inn is the view from the room. You can see Mount Washington without even stepping outside. Some of the various moods that we were able to see during our stay:

A close look with some snow on the mountain; notice the towers of the Mt Washington Observatory:

Mount Washington and the Presidential Range with fresh snow under a clear blue sky

With the sun in some clouds:

View from Brookhill across a field toward dark hills beneath dramatic pink and gray evening clouds

Last light:

Mount Washington glowing pink in the last light above dark wooded hills

With labels:

Annotated view of Mount Washington and nearby peaks and ravines as seen from Brookhill

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Updated April 2026