Return Visit to the Adair Country Inn and Restaurant

Our house was so quiet after the kids all left.  I tend to get all sad and weepy at that point, so this year I booked a stay out of town to stave off the crazies.   We live near the ocean and decided that a trip to the mountains was just the change we needed,  and that meant staying at the Adair Country Inn located in Bethlehem, New Hampshire.    This was our second stay  - I blogged about the first here.  It's nice to explore new places, but it's also fun to return to favorite haunts.

Dorothy Adair Hogan

The house was a wedding gift (shh, don't tell the kids about this extravagant gifting!) to Dorothy Adair Hogan.   She and her husband were famous for entertaining high society - presidential hopefuls, actors, Supreme Court Justices - you know, your average dinner guest types!   The Adair remained Dorothy's residence until her death in 1991 and became an inn the following year.  

Mrs. Adair's hat collection decorates the upstairs landing and many of the rooms.  The landing library is pretty sweet, too.

The house is all that you'd expect from an old, well -loved and preserved estate.

The hosts, Barry and Kimberly Hunter are the perfect blend of friendly, helpful, funny and not intrusive.   We felt welcome from the minute we entered the door.

The restaurant at the Adair is outstanding.  We had dinner and breakfast there.  Dinner was superb - I had the most delicious mushroom ragout over crisp polenta squares and was too busy enjoying it to take pictures!   Breakfast is my favorite, though, because of these:

Early morning coffee on the deck is the perfect spot to enjoy the misty morning.

And the grounds - 400 acres of beautiful trails and gardens.

 I get to travel with the Most Interesting Man in the World.  He doesn't always sit in gardens,but when he does...

I'm not a fan of spiders, but I'm fascinated by their webs.  I caught this one decorated with all that morning mist.

The Captain, consulting the map of the grounds.  Silly me  - I thought we should just follow the big red arrow !

Love the little fern's shadow.

Crazy melt-down averted - mission accomplished.