The Distracted Wanderer

After planning our trip and deciding that I wanted to try to spend a night or two in Bethel, Maine so that we could explore the area that Yankee Magazine had rated as the #2 spot for leaf-peeping in New England as well as the Rangeley Lakes region which was ranked #9, I then had to see if I could locate a nice place for us to stay that wasn't going to cost me several appendages in the process. Thank goodness for the internet as I was able to find a place that most definitely caught my eye and attention not only because the cost was quite reasonable but because it was historic and it was haunted. The Chapman Inn , located directly on the Bethel Common, is one of the oldest structures in Bethel having been built in 1865 by a retired sea captain but what makes its history so interesting is that it was owned by one of Bethel's most famous citizens - Dr. William Rogers Chapman.   Named for his father, the Reverend William Rogers Chapman who was a native son of Bethel, Dr. Chapma...

For those of you wondering how it was that I came up with the agenda for our trip to New Hampshire and Maine, I based most of the trip on Yankee Magazine's article The Top 25 Foliage Towns in New England .  I figured that if anyone knew where the best spots to see foliage were, it would be Yankee Magazine -  that most quintessential of New England publications!  Based on their article, I planned our route out with some of the Top 25 towns in mind.  Jackson, New Hampshire was listed as #12 while #7 was North Conway, the town we were leaving behind as we headed towards our next destination and #2 on the list - Bethel, Maine. By the time we got out of North Conway due to a traffic jam caused by people attending calling hours at one of the local funeral homes (whoever it was that had died, was most definitely popular), it was starting to get dark and was raining like nobody's business - to quote my old Gram B!   After talking to a native New Hampshirian on the No...