North Conway, NH
Settler’s Green
It’s so easy to fall into a routine. So much of my life is the same every day that I sometimes forget how easy it can be to intentionally disrupt that routine and try new things, so before the summer ended, I made a commitment to myself that I would go somewhere new that I had wanted to visit for some time.
According to my mother, I technically have been to North Conway, New Hampshire when I was really little, but does it count if I can't remember it? North Conway is a popular place for people in Maine to visit. Unlike Maine, New Hampshire doesn't have sales tax, which entices shoppers to cross the state border and go to big shopping areas like Settler’s Green in North Conway.
Diana’s Baths
Before I took to the stores, I made a stop at a scenic park just a few minutes north of the area. Like tax-free shopping, New Hampshire is also famous for the White Mountain National Forest, which contains quite a few waterfalls. Diana’s Baths is one of them. The historic site features cascading waterfalls, totaling 75 feet. On a good day, the water flows steadily from Lily Brook into pools for people to dip their feet in. On the day I visited, I hiked a little over half a mile into the woods and discovered pools that were only partially full and only a few, thin streams of water fell from the rocks above. Some younger children got their legs sufficiently wet, but most people were climbing the rocks to simply enjoy the view. I did think that the rocks were quite beautiful, smoothed with colored striations from years of water flow.
Nearby the falls were some remains from the buildings that had been constructed by the previous owners of the property, the Lucy family. In the 1860s, they built a waterwheel-powered sawmill. By the 1930s, the waterwheel was replaced with a concrete dam, water feed, and turbine system. The buildings eventually deteriorated and were removed in the 1960s, but pieces of the old turbine system were still visible between the trees.
After my visit to the Baths, I continued to Settler's Green. Truthfully, I'm not a big spender and didn't have much intention of buying anything, but when browsing the stores online, I saw an opportunity to continue trying new things. So the first place I visited was the boba tea shop. I may be at least a decade late to trying boba tea when compared to the rest of America, but in my defense, Maine isn't exactly abundant with boba tea shops, especially in my area. This was my chance though, and I ordered a mango flavored one. It tasted like a thin, mango lassi (which I had tried for the first time only a month prior), and I didn't realize how many tapioca balls were actually included. It was like eating a snack! I'm definitely curious to try more flavors in the future.
While I snacked on my boba tea, I browsed the wall of crocs in the Croc store, the books in the bookstore, and the chocolate in the Lindt store, where I came face to face with another trend I'm late to experiencing: Dubai Chocolate. The chocolate treat includes kataifi and pistachios—both which sound tasty to me—but unlike my boba tea, I was left a little disappointed by its flavor. It just wasn't as sweet as I like my chocolate to be. Still, I'm glad I gave it a try, and as I enter a new decade of my life, I'm extra grateful that I still put effort into trying new things.
