Cranachin

Company is coming to visit (NE of Boston) for antiquing and leaf peeping.

Dates of October 1-4 are set and can't be changed.

Given that the best color at that time is likely to be Northeast Kingdom and "Route 100 Valley" in VT, northern NH, and western/northern ME, what are your suggestions about the towns or routes that will maximize both activities? I know places we could go just to see foliage, but not to combine the two.

Any specific shops to recommend? They are looking for (among other things) old toys, old sports equipment (ice skates, golf, fishing), old advertisements, old globes and maps, small wooden furniture. Places that resemble grandma's attic (along with great deals and bargaining) are preferred over Christie's/Sotheby's type places.

On previous visits I have taken them to Essex, MA, and to the Route 1 corridor in southern ME. Not likely to be very much color either place at the beginning of October, though.

dfrostnh

The color might not be perfect but how about a quick drive up Rt 93 to Concord NH then travel east on Rt 4 to Portsmouth. You'll go thru Northwood's Antique Alley. End up in Portsmouth for dinner? There's quite a few shops along that road.

Cranachin

dfrost--

Route 4 certainly sounds like a possibility, especially as part of a larger circle trip.

Thanks for the input!

Jaya

Here is a web link to the antique places on Route 4.

http://www.nhantiquealley.com/

There are many areas of NH with antique places, but it's not possible to drive to them all!

You might really enjoy visiting the Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH. It's off of exit 18 on Route 93 (just slightly north of Concord) and not far from getting back onto Route 4. If you're into antiques, you'll love how wonderfully this Shaker Village has been maintained. Spend a few hours and you can have lunch or dinner there too. If the weather is nice, it's a fantastic experience.

Their web link is http://www.shakers.org/

Enjoy your trip here and reply with any questions!

Cranachin

Jaya,

Thanks for the link on Route 4. I'll have to see if there is any interest in Canterbury, or if the other desires overrule it.

I'm assuming you mean it's not possible to visit all of the antique shops in NH over a long weekend, not that visiting some of them requires hiking or boating in. Or do you?

The goal really is to combine leaf peeping and antiquing, so that, for example, Keene probably would not be on the itinerary for early October (unless the antiquing is so outstanding that it clearly trumps the lack of color at that time). The same would apply in reverse to areas with great color but no antiquing.

dfrostnh

Shaker Village is beautiful and a beautiful area. Great suggestion. You can take Rt 132 (I think)/Mountain Rd from Canterbury to Concord, then Portsmouth St to Rt 393 for a short ways to Rt 4. You could also include a stop for fresh apples.

Jaya

You can drive north on route 93 to the "Lakes Region" which is the Lake Winnepesaukee area. The town of Meredith would be a good overnight spot. From there you can continue further north on route 93 until you see the amount of leaf changing color you want.

Another direction is from Concord you can instead go from route 93 north and then take the split and get onto route 89 north towards the towns of New London or even further to Hanover (home of Dartmouth College).

Either direction will provide beautiful views and lovely NH towns to drive through, spend the night, and/or have lunch/dinner.

Fall in NH is nice almost any direction you drive.

Cranachin

dfrost and Jaya--

Thanks for the advice. There is much interest in Route 4. There was no interest in Canterbury - I asked. Don't know about stopping for apples - maybe for already picked ones. Desire really is antiquing.

Any suggestions for stores or antiquing towns/areas along 93 and 89 corridors?

Does anyone else have comparable suggestions for Maine or Vermont?

I get the feeling there is little interest in "strictly" sightseeing-type activities (especially time-consuming ones like Canterbury), so no need to suggest stops like that for this particular trip.

Jaya

Here is the link (should have thought to look for it earlier for you) for essentially all antique places in NH. I hope it helps you locate areas that have a good concentration of antique shops that fit in to your driving plans beyond just route 4.

The link is http://www.nhada.org/

I'm in the Manchester, NH area and can help you with apple orchards for picking in the Manchester area if it's on your driving route, but the colors may not be too good yet in this area. We don't get the good leaf colors until about the second week of October.

Hopefully some Maine or Vermont Fodorites will help out for those states.

Cranachin

Jaya--

Thanks for the NH website. I looked at a number of the shops with links from it, and most seem either to sell higher-end merchandise than my friends are looking for or like they will charge more than my friends will want to pay (they really are bargain hunters!).

I'm not sure most of the places they liked best on previous trips are the kind that have websites, to be honest. They are not really junk shops, in that they do sell antique (or at least old) merchandise, but they are not fancy places, either. One favorite was a lady who sold things out of a building (old barn or garage) next to her house in Maine - no frills, lots of good stuff at great prices, which equaled much business from my friends that day.

I too hope some Maine or Vermont Fodorites will chime in!

Jaya

As you drive along the roads with the "website" antique shops, you are likely to find the more quaint shops that don't advertise as well.

I also like the "in the barn" type of places and they are dotted along many of the roads here in NH. Once you get onto roads like route 4, you'll find them.

Happy antiquing and I hope you have a lovely visit when you do travel up here - even if you end up in Maine or Vermont.

Cranachin

Jaya--

Thanks very much! Do you have any other roads like Route 4 in mind?

I think my friends would like to spend at least a little time on the coast again, but I can also see them drooling over NH's lack of sales tax!

Cranachin

Any advice from people in Maine or Vermont?

Cranachin

Figured I would top this off to see if anyone has any advice, now that the leaves are actually changing.

Cranachin

You can read the trip report at

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ing-the-tr.cfm