Jackson, NH...in Black & White

I managed to finally scan some of my photos from our trip up North. It had been MANY years since I even had my hands on my old SLR film camera, but I knew it would be the only thing that could reignite my love of photography. And, while we were up there while the leaves were changing and there were still plenty of colorful leaves to peep, I needed to use black & white film. It is my one true love. I know it's cliche, but if it wasn't for Ansel Adams, I'm not sure I would feel the way I do about photography. There, I said it.

So, anyway, here are a couple of my faves from the trip. OH, a bit of good news, too...having had my camera stashed away for a number of years (I'd say at least 5) I discovered on the way up to New Hampshire that there was a large black blob in my viewfinder. I cleaned my lenses and mirrors and everything I could from the outside, but to no avail...every time I took a picture, I thought, 'well, that could be good; or, it could have a huge black blob in the middle of it.' Getting my pics back I could see that the gunk inside does not affect the film. Yippee!! Also, I still have an unfinished roll in the camera...just like me to get side-tracked! Better get on that!

And...some eye candy...enjoy!

Jackson Falls

A little pond we passed on our walk through the outskirts of town. A tunnel leading 'to the fourth hole' on the golf course. More Jackson Falls. My Ansel Adams inspired trees. (This one I altered in photoshop a bit more. The others I just altered the color a little. I'm not sure how i feel about the black & white film that is processed as color. It seems to turn out a little on the purple side.)

I am always amazed at how black and white photos make me feel...happy. Seems strange, but maybe it's the nostalgia of it?

Castle pictures...just for fun

Our badge of honor!

Working backwards, this morning.... I managed to get the 'brake for moose' sign. Sadly, the only moose we saw, was dead, in the back of a truck. This was posted on the gate to an inn's dumpster. I took it for reference, so I'd know what to do if we ran into a bear. We did not.

Back to the castle...

We had lunch after our tour. There is a small restaurant in the carriage house. We ate in old horse stables! So cool!

Okay...more castle pics:

Hubby making a wish Awesome tiles in the bathrooms

There were several sewing machines in this house...at least 3 This one was actually in a 'sewing room' with this basket I thought this looked like a giant tarantula!

The bedroom the couple used when married The wife later moved down the hall to her own room when she got tired of Mr. Plant's infidelity.

The awesome library to the right of this little alcove, was a secret room he had built for himself He was just 5 feet tall (his second wife was 6 feet tall). The door was short, but the ceiling inside was of normal height.

The game room is the first thing you see as you enter (front or back) and this is the view coming down the 'grand staircase'

there were lots of really interesting things, and this is the 'brine cooled' refrigerator. Everything was just so beautiful...vacation eyes, maybe?

And, the needle shower sounds scary, but it's just a surround-type shower. And I want one! Again...it's just beautiful to look at! Obviously, my pics don't do any of it justice!

A visit to a castle

Before heading off to Jackson, New Hampshire, a few of our friends said they had actually been to the area where we were headed! And a couple of them said, if we had time, that we should check out a place called Castle in the Clouds. It seemed that no one could really recollect where exactly this place was, but having the internet to tell us anything we could ever need to know, I researched it and realized that it was only a short drive out of the way. Since we had nice weather on the way home, and didn't want the whole day to be about driving, we decided to see what it was all about.

I'll skip the wordy commentary and post a few pics:

a long winding road to the top of the mountain had two stops for photo ops New Hampshire is loaded with waterfalls, and this one was on the way to the castle Once we got to the 'carriage house', we took a trolley up to the castle (and then later walked down a short path to get back to the carriage house).

The castle entrance this was technically the 'front'...it looked out onto Lake Winnipesaukee.

There was so much cool stuff to see. Here are a few of my favs. I think i might have to dedicate a whole separate post for the rooms and views! Cool old typewriter.

Stickley furniture in the entrance. I worked with Gustav Stickley III, and he said, 'sure, everyone knows his stuff now, but he never made any money from it.' The Gus I knew was working at least 3 jobs when I knew him.

Intercom system of yore. View from the second floor veranda.

This was such a beautiful place, I honestly didn't want to leave. And we only got to hike a bit of the 45 miles of trails they have on the property!

You should check out their site if you're at all interested... www.castleintheclouds.org

I will post pics of the interior...including one of the 'needle shower' system!