Live Free, Die...or Just Visit for a Weekend.

So I decided I'm going to write a couple of series of posts about the places I've lived. You'll see the things I loved about them and the things I wasn't too fond of and I'll wrap it up with some tips if you ever want to visit. So first off:

New Hampshire: The place where I was raised.

What to love: You know when you're watching movies and they take place in the small, quaint towns? This is where I grew up. I lived down the road from the town hall and when I was younger, a general store. When we got a little older my mom would let my brothers and I walk to the store to get a small treat. We'd sit in the common enjoying our snacks and juice boxes and Rick, the store owner who knew 95% of the town would keep an eye on us to make sure we were OK.

Falls are absolutely gorgeous in New Hampshire. Everywhere you turn is a different shade of red or orange...and the weather is absolutely perfect. Cool enough to need a sweatshirt but still warm enough to enjoy being outside. During Fall it's hard not to find those traditional "Autumn" things. Harvest Festivals happen left and right where you can buy local farmer's goods; there's pumpkins on almost every door step and apple cider is stocked in every store. Fall has always been my favorite season...and I think it's because I grew up where the state thrived in the fall.

What not to love: While it's kinda cool to pretty much always have a white Christmas...it's not so cool to have a white Halloween, white Christmas, white New Years, and white Easter...it snows...a lot. And the snow just stays...lots of people joke that our four seasons include Spring, Winter, Winter Round 2 and Winter Round 3.

While the small town feel is nice when you're a kid and looking back now it is the type of setting I could see myself raising kids in...it's kind of a pain when your a teenager who is bored out of their mind. Why do you think I left to go to Philly for school? Now, there are cities in NH and places to go, but I honestly feel like we headed to Boston for more of the big time stuff.

Tips for traveling: This tips might be useful and might not be...it depends what you're looking for in a trip. If you're used to overly hot places...NH is fantastic in the summer. I don't remember too many a summer's where I was just dying from heat. It gets warm...but always bearable. And if you haven't ever swam in one, there are TONS of lakes to try out in NH.

If you've never really visited the New England area, try out the central NH area. There's some more tourist friendly parts of the state, like Lake Winnipesaukee (you get a cookie if you pronounce it correctly on your first try...just kidding...but kudos if you do!). The lake has lots of places to rent, hotels to stay at and things to do. Renting boats and all their accessories is simple enough to do.

Also, New Hampshire doesn't have sales tax. So, if you're on vacation looking to spend a little more cash...find some outlet malls. Tilton has some that I've visited on several occasions. Also, Tilton is about 30 or so minutes away from Lake Winnipesaukee.

Also, if you're up for it...NH has some GORGEOUS camp grounds. If you don't mind a tent for a few nights, I highly recommend looking in to it. I highly recommend camping in Coos County (another cookie if you get that one right), because honestly, that's what this part of the state thrives on.

Along with camping, NH has plenty of opportunity for those outdoor activities, boating, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, canoeing/kayaking, hiking, running, etc. I was outside a majority of the time as a kid, you normally don't get board if you like nature.

So if you're visiting NH, bring your camera. Set it to Black and White. And you'll leave with gorgeous shots. Also...no matter what time of year...bring a sweatshirt/jacket. There's a reason almost everyone in the state owns a Northface.

Another FYI: New Hampshire's motto, "Live Free or Die". Yup, we take that pretty seriously. No helmet laws, fire crackers allowed, if you're an adult you can choose whether or not to wear a seat belt and that's just a few.