New Hampshire

We stayed at the Hilltop Equestrian Center to break up the drive back to NYC from Maine.  It was Alexi and Mateo's first time in New Hampshire, and Sharon and David's first time there since 2006.	Sharon found the Hilltop Equestrian Center on Air B&B (currently for sale if you are interested-the whole farm!), and a horse farm is absolutely the coolest air b&b we have ever visited.
Mateo and Alexi pose in front of one of the horses.	Many of the horses at this family farm had their faces covered to protect them from flies in the summertime.
Mateo is a big time animal lover (like Sharon).	Here, Mateo pets one of the friendly horses.
We hiked around the equestrian course.	Alexi is a big fan of walking sticks while hiking.
Sweet Chipper is the offspring of a championship trotter.	Alexi got to take the first ride on Chipper.
Mateo got the second ride on Chipper.  It was soooo cool and our first time riding a horse bareback.	This was also Sharon's first time riding bareback, and it was really fabulous to have a co-owner Jim as her guide and his loyal dog following Chipper and trotting around the track.
Award-winning horses abound at the Hilltop Equestrian Center.	The best part of air b&bs is they have kitchens where you can cook.
After a day of traveling and horseback riding, we happily collapsed into our beds.	We had to go to bed early, because a great activity awaited us early the next day...
Alexi and Mateo dressed warmly in their matching Acadia shirts and are all smiles in anticipation of....	...our whale watching adventure!  We had planned to go whale watching in Bar Harbor, Maine, though the tour was sold out.  David found this awesome Granite State Whale Watching Tour in New Hampshire online, and though the day was stormy, the whale watching was a go.
We dressed in our raincoats due to early morning showers...	...though by the time we boarded, the rain had mostly subsided and the only water we felt was the spray from our boat.
When you sight your first whale, you feel such a rush of awe and happiness.  All the whales we saw were humpback whales.	Usually only part of a whale's body is seen above water, so when you see the whole body emerge it is really breathtaking.
The marine biologist who served as our tour guide introduced us to Satula, who is spotted often at Jeffrey's Ledge since it is a feeding ground.	This is Owl.  Whales are purposefully not given human names, since it is usually difficult to tell the gender of the whale.  Marine biologists saw this whale pregnant, so they know this is a female whale.
You bond with your fellow boatmates while on a whale watching tour, and alert others when you spot a whale.  It is quite amazing to see the tail of the whale (the largest of all!) above the water while the rest of its body is submerged.	The tale of the whale is the last part of the whale's body you see before the whale dives below the surface of the water to feed.  There were "oohs" and "ahhhs" on our boat when we saw Satula's tail in a perfect arc above the water.
It was a super wet and windy day, and we are so happy that our whale watching tour did not get canceled.	Whale watching and bareback horseback riding are experiences we will always remember and treasure when we reminisce about New Hampshire.