Tag Archives: Sleigh

Jackson NH

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I had a vision of horses running through the snow and pulling a sleigh. Now I really didn’t care if it was a one horse, 2 horse or a whole team but to get this “vision” captured in a photo I had to go in search of snow and snow with horse drawn sleighs. christmassleighride1920x1200

I did a google search and came up with a few places but the one that caught my eye was the Jingle Bell Chocolate tour in Jackson, NH.

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This is a Holiday event in the elegant resort town of Jackson, NH.

For a small fee you are driven in a sleigh drawn by a team of Austrian draft horses around Jackson to different inns and locations. Some mentioned are the Wentworth, the Snowflake Inn, The Riverwood Inn and Flossie’s General Store.

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At each stop you get to sample a chocolate treat. You also receive a holiday bag for leftovers and a jingle bell.

The catch is that you have to be staying at one of the Inns. The sleigh rides start and end  at Nestlenook Farms.

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I figured I might as well drive up because the photo I wanted wouldn’t be from in a sleigh anyway.

It was a 4 hour drive but it was a beautiful day. When I left Taunton it was sunny and the sky was blue however as I approached Jackson the weather began to change. It started to get really cold and clouds began to roll in. It even started to spit a little snow. I was also getting a little discouraged as I passed through North Conway. There was absolutely no snow on the ground! How would I ever get the picture I wanted?

Jackson and North Conway are in the White Mountains and the White Mountain National Forest so you can imagine how scenic the ride was.

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Arriving in Jackson you drive over a one lane covered bridge, (Covered Bridge #51) also known as the Honeymoon Bridge. Originally built in 1876  it has had improvements and upgrades over the years. The name “Honeymoon Bridge” comes from a tradition of lovers kissing under it for good luck.

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In the end I did not get my “vision”.  It will have to wait for another day and different conditions but I enjoyed my explorations, Jackson Falls, The Honey Moon Bridge and the horse drawn sleighs on wheels.

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If any of my readers are from the New England area and know of winter sleigh rides, please leave me a comment. I’m still looking for someplace to get that photo and now we have SNOW!

In Search of the Perfect Christmas Card

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Its hard to believe another Christmas has come and  gone and the count down to the new year begins.   One of my favorite parts of the holiday traditions is making my special Christmas Cards.

The photos I use are always from the year before. In other words, I will use a photo from this year for next year’s card and so on. I do this so I won’t feel too stressed out looking for a last minute holiday picture. Usually I have something in mind. Last year I planned a trip to Disney World with the sole intention of finding a picture for my card this year. The result was the train.

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A few years ago I wanted to use one of the decorated homes in town.

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One year I was trying to get a good candle picture for my cards.

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So with a possible card theme in mind I took off to Jackson NH for a day trip.  Now a drive to Jackson from Taunton is about 4 hours.  I figured I’d have about two hours there to get the  special picture and then I’d need to head back home.

What I had in mind was a sleigh ride drawn by a team of horses. “Dashing through the snow”…but when I arrived in Jackson, there was no snow! Oh Oh. Strike one.

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Strike 2 was that to go on the Jingle Bell Chocolate Tour you had to be staying at one of the Inns. There was no room at any of the Inns, not that I really had time to stay overnight.

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Strike 3 was no sleighs (since there was no snow) well, in a way there were sleighs. They were mounted on wagon frames.

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To make a long story short, I didn’t get the photos I had visualized and at this point I don’t think they will make the cut for next year’s card but you never know. It all depends on what other shots I come up with. I had a good time and met some nice people and that’s what’s really important.