We're Coming up This Weekend!!
 

All I can say is Y-a-h-o-o! We're finally coming up for a long weekend visit to look at houses, explore towns around the lake (again), meet up with friends, and dine around. We are staying at the Opechee Inn from Friday to Monday.

So far the plan is to eat at the Opechee for Friday dinner--look at houses Saturday and lunch at Church Landing. Not sure about dinner yet. (Lago, Common Man) Sunday we'll be looking at more houses and having dinner at the Woodshed. ( I crave their prime rib even after 10 years) We're going to travel from Wolfeboro to Weirs Beach to see about a daily commute for my partner (who secured a great job in the area). We're also going over to Bristol to check out the town. Most of the houses we are looking at are in Gilford, Meredith, one in Laconia (Pickerel Pond), and one in Sanbornton.

Can't wait. So excited to see houses we have been looking at online for months and see the big lake in person and not on a web cam.

If you happen to see a pale green Subaru Forester (L.L. Bean edition) around with Jersey plates, that's us. (honk if you're from the forum) If you're at any of the places we are dining look around for me and come say hi. My picture on the forum is pretty much what I look like except I wear glasses. My partner has red hair so you can't miss her. :)

I'll return to this thread after the weekend to report on our adventures.

Lakes Region and Area!!
 

Just saw your blog and welcome to the Lakes Region area. If I can assist you in your search I will be happy to. If you are working with someone I do not mean to interfere with that relationship. We are very proud of our area and love to share information about it!!!
Regards,
Sue-Ann
Roche Realty Group 603-566-5027

If you stay at Opechee you must stop by Irwin Marina just across the road. They carry Berkshire pontoons.

They also carry the "Mini Mount", which we could purchase for a mere $30k and be the talk of the lake.;)

Watch your speed in Belmont, they love to stop Subarus with out-of-state plates. I happen to have some experience on that topic. ;)

I am bringing a group of Boy Scouts to Gunstock on Saturday, we are camping in Barnstead on Friday and Saturday night.

Have fun!

Lobster Roll?
 

BTW-where can I get great lobster roll this time of year?
Need them for lunch the ENTIRE time I am up there :coolsm:

Moving?
 

You mean thar you are leaving that beautiful shore town of Ocean Grove.
Yea, I know it's Jersey, but the shore around there are nice.
Have fun in N.H.

Yes. Leaving beautiful Ocean Grove and a gorgeous beach for:

• beautiful lakes and mountains,
• SPACE,
• things to do besides shop,
• anything in nature,
• lobster rolls,
• more house for the $$,
• a LOT less property taxes,
• Yankee self-reliance and community spirit,
• nice people without a cocky attitude,
• Natural Science Center in Holderness,
• my old prep school (New Hampton)
• sailing, sailing, sailing,
• fishing, fishing, fishing,
• the smell of pine in the air,
• terrain that is not just flat,
• tolerable summer heat...

I think we could spend our entire drive up there naming reasons why we want to live in the lakes region.

But..I imagine someone from New York City could spend their entire ride down to Ocean Grove naming reasons why they would want to live here.

Cate,I'd go to the Lobster Pound for my winter lobster roll or look into the Sunday Brunch. My family and I love it and very affordable. Have a great visit and safe travel. Won,t see you starting a new job in training in PA.

You have brought a very positive level of excitement to the forum. There are so many great things to see and do. The mini-mount is special but you eill not be able to tow it with your Subaru!!!! :laugh:

We stay in slip #4 at Irwins throughout the summer. Our favorite dining spot is C. J. Avery's - http://www.cjaverys.net -. Home style cooking, excellent food, and they have a great bar! Prime to die for so if you find you spend too much time house hunting and don't want to travel all the way to the Woodshed (also excellent choice) try Avery's. Just across the street for Opeechee.

Enjoy your adventure. I am sure we will all enjoy reading about visit.

Thanks for sharing.

I can only think of one reason not to move there.....winter. But being from Jersey myself, our past two winters haven't been much better:(

Enjoy your weekend
 

Happy house hunting. We ♥♥♥ living in Moultonborough...but then, we were already from NH.

I see that you will be testing the commute to/from Wolfeboro. Will your partner be fixing the Wolfeboro Inn dining/service issue? If not, just curious where she landed her position.

Thanks

My family has a house at Pickerel Cove. Very quiet area to live in. Enjoy your house search.

Best of luck to you! We bought last year. There is a lot out there and we lucked out and are sooooo happy with what we found. We are in Melvin Village. Can't help you on the lobster end, I don't eat it.

We'll beep if we see you. We'll be at the Pine Cone in Melvin Village on Friday eve. Fun little place.

BTW you will see us out on the lake, can't miss the boat name, same as my log in on the forum.

Lucy Goose

The towns you have mentioned that you are looking in are all great towns, but have you considered Holderness at all? It is no futher than Moultonboro or Bristol atleast some parts of it. And I may have missed it if you did say it (sorry) I have lived here for almost 5 years now and love it....just figured I would throw that out there for consideration.
Good luck

If you're staying at the Opechee Inn, you should have dinner at "O", located right at the Inn. It's one of our favorite spots for fine dining. Their lobster mac & cheese is to die for! It comes in 3 sizes, but you won't be able to finish even the small one. :liplick:

CateP,
Have a safe trip up and a great time looking for your new home. I have enjoyed all of your posts and wait to hear all about your long weekend at the lake.

Great advice! The lobster mac & cheese is fantastic.

Cate!

Hope you have a GREAT visit! I gave up the high tech rat race and moved up here 9 years ago... best decision I ever made! The commute from Wolfeboro to Weirs sucks... no way around that unless you take a boat back and forth (its the BEST way!! ).

Check out the Lobster Pound for your Lobster Roll! Tell them just how you want it and they will take care of you!

Woodsy

Hi Everybody!!
Busy getting ready for our trip. Thanks for the input on lobster rolls and lobster mac and cheese. Sounds like I won't have to go far for those delectable delights. (and yes I am aware that I'll probably have to run around the inn about 50 times to burn all those extra calories ...)

For those who have been following our adventures, my partner was offered a great job over in the Weirs beach area. (year-round, fulltime) I can't say what establishment yet because there are still a few loose ends to tie up. But she is not going to be working in Wolfeboro. We're going over to Wolfeboro because so many people have recommended it as a great place to live. We need to establish whether a daily commute is going to be acceptable year-round for the next 20 years. (I work at home and commute to Waltham, MA as needed).

Looks like the weekend will be mild and in the 40's with some rain. Big melt-a-thon.

We LOVED Holderness when we went to visit this summer and I plan on spending a lot of time at the science center volunteering. As a location for living, we thought it might be a little father north than we would like and a little too mellow in winter. For now we are trying to target a few towns just to narrow things down. We may find our circle expanding once we spend some more time in the area. (Partner is moving up in mid-April and will be scouting things out until we sell the NJ house)

Cate,

The commute from Wolfeboro to the Weirs is not at all good.

I believe there are many great places to live on the Weirs side of the lake. Gilford and Meredith offer some great places to live and there are some very nice places close to the Weirs in Laconia as well.

Happy house hunting!

R2B

Cate
good luck house hunting!
Canoe in Center Harbor is also great for dinner and also the Lemon Grass on the center harbor, moultonboro line for awsome dinner
I have a couple of friends who spend much time at the science center volunteering.
have a great weekend!

frost heaves
 

A commute year round to Wolfeboro is probably, from Meredith, 45 minutes on a good day. The roads between Moultonboro and Wolfeboro can get some really bad frost heaves from this time of year until the frost is out. Not to even mention route 25 B out of Center Harbor...ouch! Natt's wife

You know you want to do it. In the day and age of 3.50$ for gas, its almost a no brainer, sell the Subaru, and get a F-450, and your all set... Hook up to the mini-mount, and travel around this summer...

F450 --- 50 - 60K
Mini Mount -- 30K
Gas for Mini Mount -- ???
Gas for Truck -- ???

oh wait I am getting carried away here... you wanted to buy a house didn't you?:D:D:D

Glad to here you are making it up, enjoy looking at house, and may you find the one that takes your breath away.

We usually go to Weirs or Laconia through Alton instead of going through Moultonboro because the roads are better.

Good call on the Lemon Grass! Cate take this advice if you are ever missing the NYC/NJ flavor. I would go out on a limb and say Lemon Grass is the closest metropolitan style restaurant in the area.

I'm guessing you are looking for that New England charm style restaurant for your weekend though. You have the Woodshed on your list so you'll get your fill on that night. Don't overlook Tavern 27, it has been discussed quite a bit in a thread. Another great choice would be Canoe in Center Harbor.

Cate,

You manage to get great advice from everyone.

I would add Lyon's Den in Gilford (Glendale) at the docks near the Marine Patrol HQs to your list of places to eat. Outstanding food, great views and yankee charm. This time of the year, the better views are at lunch, but it is getting better fast!

By now I am sure you realize you cannot do everything in one weekend. This is a great problem to have!

Good luck!

R2B

Sam and Rosie's are the best lobster rolls this year so far.
 

In my humble opinion. It seems to vary but last year theirs was the best and we recently had them and they were out of this world. If you are in Meredith they are just about 7 minutes up rte 25 on the left in Center Harbor.

Good luck in your search. Let us know what you find. Will you have your computer with you?

Cate,

I'm glad you're taking a serious look at Wolfeboro. Spend a weekend there and I know you'll love it. When we go over to the Weirs we also go through Alton. It's a beautiful ride over there around the south end of the lake. It would make a great commute. The commute from Wolfeboro to Waltham is no worse than any other place around the lake. It can be one bear of a commute after a winter storm, but other times not too bad.

We're HERE!!!
 

We arrived late this afternoon after getting stuck in major traffic around the Tappan Zee bridge. (NY/NJ) Flooding. Lots of closed roads. Set us back about an hour and half.

We have a beautiful room at the Opechee and the inn is lovely. We couldn't help but take little nap in the cloud bed. We just finished dinner and had incredible caesar salads and soft warm bread. That should have been enough, but NO, I had the lobster mac and cheese. What can I say...I've never had it before, but it was one of THE MOST delicious meals I have ever had. I ordered the "smallest" portion and it could have easily fed six people (no joke). My partner (Tracy) had the sirloin tips and garlic mashed. Incredible. Both of us had the remainder of our meals put in containers and they are now in the fridge in our room.

The "O" rocks big time. Great place to have a HUGE meal that you can enjoy days later. Worth every penny and the staff was excellent.

There is a wispy mist over Winnisquam tonight. Hoping the sky clears so we can see the mountains tomorrow. We are SO happy to be here.

Tomorrow begins our whirlwind house viewings. 9 a.m.

It's too bad...
 

... that you're not excited about moving to New Hampshire!

makes me happy...........
 

I hope some day to live in the lakes region, until then, I will root for the lucky ones who get there...........Cate, hope you find what you and your partner are looking for.

As do I...I wish you the best. :)

Same here
 

Same here! Moving from N.J. to N.H. CANNOT WAIT :D

And welcome to NH to Tracy too!
 

Hope you both have a wonderful weekend adventure. I know you have lived in NH before. Has Tracy also been in NH at an earlier stage of her life or is this a new adventure???

Welcome to The Lake!
 

Hi, Cate.
My partner and I bought a vacation condo right on the lake in Gilford in2006. It took only 2months to figure out that we wanted to be up here full time! There is so much to do in all seasons. Good luck finding your dream home!

One Year To Go!
 

I am in the same situation. I have one more year until my youngest graduates from high school; when he does, we plan to sell our house in Mass. and move to the Lakes region.

There are many great houses for sale around the Lake and it is killing me to not be able to move into one of them....ONE MORE YEAR!:(

Cate, I'm so glad you and Tracy are enjoying the Inn. When you first posted requesting recommendations for a place to stay, I just knew you'd love it there. There's not another place like it anywhere around! Enjoy your weekend, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you find your dream home while you're here. :D

So glad to hear you enjoyed your meal there, I always order the Mac & Lobster when I go there and I've never been able to finish more than half of it. It is a great dish. Also, just so you know you can order it as a side dish and get a nice little (key word) bowl of it.;) Be sure to check out the Home Show there this weekend as well.


Good luck with the house hunting. In case the view from there does not clear here is a sunset image I took from the parking lot of the Inn this fall.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...1/Opechee1.jpg


Excellent advice!

Your visit this weekend
 

We're Coming up This Weekend!!
 

Hey CateP
You should look at 60 Needle Eye Rd. Meredith off of RT 3 across from Pirate's cove.. Land, Lake and a beautiful home with dock too..
I might be right up your alley.. Close to everything but far enough to be in your own world.
Just thought I would give you a heads up. You never know..
Enjoy house hunting..

And SUCH a deal!

:laugh:

Just don't buy the one we want! :D:D:D

Seriously, I hope you two find what you're looking for quickly. Toad and I have been looking for over 2 years (not in the winters though) and have yet to find one that fits. But now that Toad's retired, I think we'll be getting really serious! Good luck!

Cate-
Hope you're having a great time - I'm excited for you!
I may be a little late in my suggestions, but you're within walking distance to Fratello's for dinner. Also, if you're looking for a great breakfast, Union Diner is right down the road from the Inn.
Hope house-hunting was fun! Let us know all about your weekend.

WOW-What a time.
 

Wow. What a whirlwind Saturday. We were booked solid with house showings and found two that we absolutely LOVED!! Can't say where, as we might be looking at the same house as others who are looking and don't want to get in a bidding war. (advice given to us yesterday)

We ended up at the Woodshed for an incredible dinner. (Prime rib) My appetizer was another food high experience...lobster crepe!! Oh my. Caeser salad was terrible at the Woodshed. They actually served it as a small head of romaine with dressing over the top. You had to make your own salad. I was surprised they served it that way. There was a rotted leaf of lettuce in there too.

Today, Sunday we saw a bunch more houses and discovered that antique houses were not going to work out for us. Too many "projects." We saw some brand new houses that were pretty nice, but it turns out that the setting is pretty important to us. We really want the acreage and don't want to see our neighbors...BUT we don't want to be to far from Laconia (Weirs Beach) where Tracy will be working.

Late lunch was at the Galley in Laconia. $12 lobster roll that was wonderful. I'm going to be going there frequently if I don't find a better deal and taste. Really good.

We drove over to Wolfeboro at the end of the day today from Weirs and decided it was just too long of a daily commute. LOVE the town and will visit often, but we won't be living there. The drive back to Laconia was gorgeous. Amazing views.

Had dinner at the Ellacoya Barn and Grille in Gilford and it was excellent. I had the caesar with steak. Tracy had the pastry chicken. Love the rustic ambience. Reasonable prices.

We have one more night in the "cloud bed" at the Opechee, then the LONG drive back to NJ. We have had such a wonderful time here. People have been very friendly and helpful everywhere we've gone. We are now even more certain we are moving to the right place.

Thanks everyone for the great restaurant recommendations.

P.S. I met one forum member at the Opechee !!!

And why not? You'd be living near Cate Park! :D

Hi Cate, glad you enjoyed your visit! I sent you a private message.

Home hunting
 

I'm enjoying seeing the Lakes Region thru your eyes and other than the moving part of your plans, I envy you... (I should explain - I HATE moving - I've done it over 30 times in the past 20 years - I've had enough!)

Hoping the house thingy works out for you - share about it when you can!

Did the forum member recognize you or did it come up in a random conversation? Just curious.

Location...Location...Location...
 

1) See what it looks like in Summer to be certain. :eek2:

2) However—in the Weirs area—June would be early enough to "detect" anything objectionable. :rolleye2:

3) I'd hire a Real Estate attorney to give the greatest spread of options on the purchase—plus the latest closing date possible.

CateP,

Were you able to look at this property? At $1.3 million it's smack dab in your price range.

Also, if you wake up some morning to find you've spontaneously multiplied, there's 4 beds and 4 baths.

This first time poster has obviously been closely following your search. Don't worry JudyZ...your property will probably sell someday...maybe? :rolleye2:

It came up in casual conversation because I mentioned how someone at the forum recommended the Opechee Inn. I also mentioned how incredible the forum members were because of the other advice, opinions and knowledge that has helped us. (talk about generators...:)

This was really funny Hilltopper. I checked it out and had a good laugh. :laugh:

Commute from and to Wolfeboro...
 

I would agree that the drive from Wolfeboro to Weirs Beach and back can be very beautiful, but in the winter there would certainly be some white knuckle drives. If you do decide on Wolfeboro just remember that I live in Weirs Beach in a house that is way too big and would be glad to offer Tracy shelter from the inevitable storms.

OMG Love this post!
 

If you can imagine extreme envy....I'm a new shade of GREEN! We are only able to enjoy the lakes region around our time off from work in MA. We have long term plans to make our time at the lake a much more permanent thing.
Welcome! and enjoy (Greener with envy by the second)!:o)

The Breeze
Wave 'cuz I'll be waving back:D

Cate, in your first posting on this forum, you voiced concern about you and your partner being accepted in the Lakes Region communities. I hope the response you've gotten from people on this forum have allayed all your fears. Reading through the postings on the threads you've started, I find such a warm, welcoming, loving group of people that it makes me so proud to live here. I think posters have been from all the towns around the lake and everyone would love it if you moved to their town. I think when you finally get to move here, no matter which town you choose, you'll feel just like this former Jersey Girl feels, that you've arrived in Heaven!!

By the way, you ate at two of my favorite restaurants for when we go over to Gilford to the movies; O's Steaks and Seafood and The Ellacoya Barn and Grill. Love them both!! Sometimes we go over to O's just for the meal without the movie!!

long drive
 

It's funny...I've made the Meredith to Wolfboro drive many times over the years, to go for dinner/drinks, visit friends, or just hang out for the day. And never gave the drive a second thought...actaully enjoyed it.
And then this past summer, had to make the drive a few times for non- recreational purposes. And a couple of times was running late...it was then that I realized how truly long and misserable it really can be. I actually said to myself on one occasion, sitting in traffic, "this drive sucks!"
Given a choice, if one has to commute to Ma at all..even a couple times a month, living in Wolfboro would not be ideal. Although it certianly seems to be a great town.
Travelling by boat, it is one of our favorite stops...when you can find a spot at the docks...not the easiest ones to navigate, though.

Welcome CateP!
 

I would love to help you with your real estate needs if you aren't currently working with another agent....for my contact information...go to "Professional and Medical Services" in the Classified section.
Have a great day!
Cami

Science Center
 

When you go to Squam Lakes Natural Science Center ask for Deb (Debs'Joy) at the entrance. She will give you the lowdown on the center and who to talk to if you want to give up some of your time for a good (and fun) cause.

PS: Welcome!

Misty Blue