Since the Summer Season was over on Cape Cod, it seemed like a good weekend to visit my family. I left my condo at 0745 and stopped at Sacred Heart so I could attend Men of Saint Joseph Meeting (0800). It was great to hang out with several guys I knew from church! We were done at 1000 and I left Lebanon. I headed south on I-89 and listened to an audiobook. I encountered a major traffic jam at the end of I-89 (junction with I-93) and eventually had to go back to the north on I-89 so I could access some surface streets. This allowed me to reach NH-3A and, finally, I-93. From there, I drove south to I-293 and arrived at Texas Roadhouse in Manchester at 1135. I had coupon that I'd got from an AT Hiker in March and this allowed me to order a nice lunch there (always good!). I was done at 1225 and got back on I-293, following it back to I-93. Instead of heading south, I went the opposite direction until I was able to get off at the exit for Massabesic Lake. From there, I drove around the north side on NH-121. Along the way, I found the rail trail I was looking for but no place to park. I did see some interesting "scarecrow people" between Auburn and Chester... Took NH-102 back towards the southwest and got on NH-28B; took that to NH-28. Continued listening to my audiobook on the way... Once I entered Massachusetts, I made my way to MA-114. Wanting to do some hiking, I got off the highway and found Harold Parker State Forest. The parking lot was almost full but I was able to do a little walking on the trail system there. The Fall colors were much more brilliant in NH but the slight lag in their changing gave me a chance to see the “early adopters” peeking out of a sea of green... It was cool but the sky was clear. Didn't see many people but did encounter someone on a horse (!) along the way. Nice break! After finishing my walk (1545), I drove on back roads until I found MA-62 and took it to US-1. From there, I continued north to Topsfield and encountered a traffic jam near the entrance to the Fair. At 1635, I paid for parking near the main entrance (skipped bus shuttle parking area) and then paid to enter the park. At almost the same time, I learned that Katie and her family were still far away... Undeterred, I continued inside the Fair and found it was VERY crowded. Oh, the (mass of) humanity! While waiting, I walked around, looking at events and attractions, and finally sat down at a concert venue and listened to a garage band playing "music". This 200+ year old Fair was amazing - but it was also so big and crowded that I was glad I’d already been to a smaller event earlier this year... Katie, John and Ella eventually arrived at around 1730 - I had to move to another area of the Fair to see them. When Ella's concert started (1800), I got to see my niece, Ella (@itselladuff on Instagram) perform. She was really good! She later told me she was glad that I had made the effort to watch her ("no one else in the family has"). I took a break at 1845 (when she started to repeat some of her songs) and got dinner (Cuban sandwich) and then walked around with John so we could see the record pumpkin (it was almost 2500 pounds!). Back at Ella's performance stage (near the kiddie rides), I enjoyed watching the families with small children clapping and cheering her. We all finally left the park at around 2015 (separate cars). I took US-1 to I-95 (talking to Mollie on the way). Google Maps kept trying to get me to change roads but I stayed on I-95 all the way to I-93 merge - this allowed me to reach MA-3 from the west (and avoid driving through Boston). I arrived at Katie's house by 2130 and the rest of them arrived about 30 minutes later. Not ready for bed yet, I stayed up late talking to John and Katie - we had a lot of news to share! Finally went to sleep at 2330. This is already shaping up to be a great weekend!
