New London, NH (USA)

During the last month, I worked with the owner of First Stage Divers (located in Concord, NH) to set up a series of training sessions for me so I could obtain my Scuba/Dive certification.  Today was my first scheduled class!  After taking care of some chores in the morning, I departed my condo (0900).  My route to Colby-Sawyer College in New London started with a drive down I-89.  There was very little snow and the weather was pleasant - I guess Winter is really over...  I made one stop (0935) at the Grantham Irving station where I've always had good luck with gas prices: with discounts, I only paid $2.53 a gallon today!  Continuing on to NH-11, I arrived at the Hogan Center (swimming pool on campus) just before 1000 and managed to find Marley, my instructor.  I also met my fellow classmates: Lisa, Brett and Chris.  For the next hour, we all learned about our gear and how to prep it.  I felt a bit lost at the beginning (I'll get caught up on some online training during the coming weeks) but everyone was very nice.  By 1100, we were ready to get into the pool, which ranged in depth from 4 to 15 feet.  This made for some wonderful training with the regulator, masks, weights and other gear.  Gradually, we did drills and make our way around the shallow end to get used to everything.  Towards the end of our hour, though, we ventured all the way to the deep end.  Even though I had trouble clearing my ears, I was able to do almost everything that the other class members (who'd had one more session than I had) could.  Marley got some good photos of our underwater antics too!  After noon, we started wrapping up the class and learned how to clean and stow the gear.  After getting changed back into my street clothes, I joined everyone else at a nearby restaurant called Little Brother Burger Company.  My burger, called the "Bro Mac", was excellent - we also had some good conversation about the class, life in New Hampshire and Mud Season fun.  Saying goodbye to everyone (1330), I next drove (via back roads) to the eastern edge of Lake Sunapee - I followed NH-103A around the southern end (through Newbury) until I was able to get on NH-103B.  From the base of Mount Sunapee, I then drove a bit north until I reached the Harding Hill Farm.  Mollie and I had visited their Sugar House in early 2021 - since then, the company has become very successful and had even bought a brand new, $60K evaporator during the new season.  I spent some time touring and geeking out on the engineering of everything before buying some syrup and maple sugar candy (1420).  From the farm, I headed north and west on NH-11 until I passed through Newport.  I explored town a little bit but then continued west.  Soon after leaving town, I noticed some activity in an old building that had looked abandoned whenever I've been on NH-11/NH-103 - it was a new Brewery!  During the next 30 minutes, I tried a flight of four delicious beers, all made by the Rockingham West Brewery (departed at around 1500).  During a stretch of due-west driving, I believe I was able to see the snowy slopes of Okemo Mountain!  I continued towards Claremont and eventually reached the Market Basket - I wanted to check the prices there and get some exercise so I stopped for about 45 minutes.  The weather was pretty nice and I was able to walk along the edge of the Sugar River for a bit - all told, I almost walked two miles and learned that my Shaw's and Hannaford stores are better for most items than the vaunted Market Basket...  As I wrapped up my stop, I had a choice: find something else to do to kill another 90 minutes (so I could go to Mass at St. Helena's in Enfield) or head for home immediately.  Feeling tired, I chose the latter option, driving west on NH-103 all the way until it became NH/VT-12 and crossed the Connecticut River.  Getting on I-91 at Asctutney, I drove all the way to Norwich (the I-89 interchange was closed for construction).  I should add that I listened to audiobooks during the nearly 60 hours I drove today.  Arrived in Hanover (and reached my condo) at about 1700.  Felt quite good about how the day had gone and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and getting ready for the upcoming work week.  I'm planning to do some more diving next weekend!