We were told to expect thunderstorms today but we were very lucky and saw no rain at all until we were on our way back to the Inn this afternoon and then it ‘tipped’ down. After that the sun came out and it was gorgeous again.

After a lovely breakfast this morning of french toast and sausage we decided to head for Squam Lake. For those of you reading this and are old enough to remember the film ‘On Golden Pond’ well, that is where it was filmed.

The countryside around here is very lovely but it takes a long time to get anywhere due to the speed limits. They are very low! At one point we went on the Freeway and actually managed 70 mph. The G-force was incredible and I told Si to beware nose bleeds!!

We passed through many pretty villages, one called ‘Andover’, that made us laugh as we used to live in Andover, Hampshire back in the UK. At one point we even drove through Bristol. Being ‘old folk’ as we are, we sometimes forget that we are actually driving in the US and not the UK.

Anyway, I digress ……………………..

We first visited Squam Lake over 20-odd years ago and not much seems to have changed. We didn’t go out on the lake on this trip as we did that last time, instead we spent our time at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Centre. It was great!

The Centre is an environmental education center and zoo founded in 1966 and opened to the public on July 1, 1969.  The mission of the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center is to advance understanding of ecology by exploring New Hampshire’s natural world.

The science center uses live animal exhibits, natural science education programs, and lake cruises, to educate visitors about the natural world. Using the outdoors as a classroom and native New Hampshire animals as teaching ambassadors, the science center teaches the ecological concepts of adaptations, populations, interrelationships, and habitats.

We were lucky enough to arrive at the same time as about 10,000 young children!! Young children make a lot of noise!!

Here are photos and videos of some of the animals we saw on our visit. All these animals were found injured in the wild or orphaned. They are kept at the centre if it’s not possible for them to be released back into the wild.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s another couple of ‘wild’ animals enjoying a snack!

One of the highlights of the day was our visit to the Otters! They were crazy, check out the videos. In this first video the otter was ‘performing’ non-stop for about 15 minutes!!

There’s no sound to the next video.

Now that’s what you call a back stroke!

There’s a beautiful garden at the centre too, here’s one of the flowers, complete with bee.

Tonight we went into town for dinner at The New England Inn Coach House Restaurant. The food was so delicious I forgot to take photos but Si had Korean Style Short Rib, he thought it was pretty d… good!! I had horseradish crusted cod and that was pretty d… good too. Si had maple syrup creme brûlée to finish and I had black coffee with Frangelico …. delicious!

All in all, a good day!!

PS: Just realised I’ve missed something out!! For our dear friend Ann …………… you asked me to be on the lookout for cowboy boots!! Check this out, unfortunately not for sale, but interesting non the less …. it’s a bird house!!