Jay Gaulard

You are here: Home / 2018 / Archives for November 2018

Archives for November 2018

Visiting the Bethel Inn Resort in Bethel, Maine

One of my favorite pastimes is to travel around and visit different hotels and inns. Most of the inns I’ve seen and learned about have been located somewhere in New England. My favorites to date are the Blantyre in Lenox, MA, the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge and the Spring House Hotel on Block Island, RI. Click on those links I just shared. I think you’ll be pleased with what you’ll find. Those inns are huge and wonderful and beautiful all in one. If I had to pick one to run away and retire to, it would have to be Blantyre. It just suits me well.

I may have to add another great inn to my list, but I’m not sure about it yet. On the way home from our recent visit to North Conway, NH, we stopped off in Bethel, Maine. I’ve been eyeing this town since we moved to Maine from Florida. It’s out there in the middle of nowhere and it’s got lots of money. I simply don’t know what’s not attractive about that.

Anyway, the town of Bethel is somewhat built around the Bethel Inn Resort. There’s the inn and then a town green with a gazebo in it right next door. There are tree lined streets with old houses that are in nearly perfect condition. Main Street has restaurants situated on it and there’s pretty much everything else a small town offers nearby. Bethel is an out of the way, exciting place. I just wish it wasn’t two hours away from where we live.

While we were there, we decided to take some photos. This isn’t unusual for us. We did visit the inside of the inn, but it was so quiet that I felt strange about taking pictures. I will tell you that it was very nice. The word “elegant” comes to mind. It’s upscale and much more than what I was expecting. I didn’t know if it was going to be a country inn where everyone goes to kick back and relax or an exclusive one where only those who are “in” go to spend their days. I’m still not sure about which one it is, but when I find out, I’ll tell you.

Here’s the front of the building. Don’t worry, this isn’t all. It’s actaully quite expansive.

Bethel Inn Resort

Bethel Inn Resort Main Entrance

As I said, there’s a green and a gazebo near the inn. I took a photo of the gazebo for you. Everyone loves gazebos.

Bethel, Maine Gazebo

Toward the center of the green was a fountain. I admit that I had a bit too much fun taking photos of the water. I’ll summarize all that fun with just a photo or two.

Bethel, Maine Fountain

Close Up of Fountain in Town Green in Bethel, Maine

And finally, this is the fountain farther away. This image shows the corner of the green.

Bethel, Maine Town Green

That’s about it. It was a quick stop. We almost ate dinner at a restaurant right across the street from the hotel, but decided not to. We instead ate at Sunday River Brewery. That was a good dinner.

If we make it back to Bethel, you can count on many more photos. As I said, it’s a pleasant town and I wouldn’t mind exploring it some more.


Visiting the Christmas Loft in North Conway & the Jackson, NH Covered Bridge

Now that I’ve shown you all those wonderful photos of the inside of Zeb’s General Store in North Conway, NH, I think I need to turn my attention to the Christmas Loft. I’ve seen photos and video of this store online and I thought it was worthy of a visit. After all, what’s wrong with Christmas 365 days of the year? I’m just glad we visited the area during the cooler months. I couldn’t imagine browsing through Christmas items in July.

The Christmas Loft is about a mile south of the rest of the stores. The entire drag of North Conway is a few miles long, but most of the touristy stuff is up north, where I showed you yesterday. Up in that area, cars are packed, bumper to bumper, slowly moving on their merry ways. Down near the Christmas Loft, there’s a bit more breathing room.

Christmas Loft Sign

The Christmas Loft in North Conway, NH

Huge Bear at Christmas Loft

Even though I saw photos and some video of the inside of this store, I wasn’t quite sure of the layout. I thought it consisted of a small village on the inside and then just a few little trinkets to buy. I was right about the village, but there is a lot more to purchase than just a few trinkets. It’s Christmas all over the place.

This is the entryway, leading into the store. I threw a few lollipops in here as well because I like them.

Christmas Loft Entryway

White Snow-Covered Christmas Trees Indoors

Lillipops for Sale

After entering the store, we were led to its center. That’s where the village is. It’s basically a miniaturized version of a real Christmas village, if there’s such a thing. It’s actually really neat. I enjoyed myself as I took dozens and dozens of photos. I’ll show you the highlights here.

Christmas Loft NH Indoor Village

Christmas Loft Barber Shop

Christmas Loft Covered Bridge

Girl Inside House at Christmas Loft

Christmas Loft Policeman

Fake Barber Shop

Christmas Carolers

Even after entering the store, I didn’t quite understand the layout. I was too busy looking around the village to figure things out. After a while though, I did realize that the village was at the center of the building and if I walked through any of the doors of the village shops, I’d enter the rooms where the Christmas items are held. It was like the village was at the center and a “U” of stores surrounded it. Here are some of the more interesting items I found in the various rooms.

Decorated Artificial Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree Decorations

One of my favorite areas was where there were small village buildings all set up. There were quite a number of scenes. Some of them were of the Dickens Village variety and there were others too. These are some of the buildings I liked best.

Model Christmas Shoppe

Model Coffee Shop

Model East Junction Train Station

There was even an entire room dedicated to Christmas lights. Of course, I took some photos of them.

Hanging LED Christmas Lights

LED Christmas Lights

Tangled Christmas Lights

Here’s a model Santa Claus for you. He was about three feet tall and enclosed in a large case.

Large Model Santa Claus

If you’re into those small villages, you can really have a lot of fun in this store. They not only sold the ceramic village houses, but the small figures that go with them as well. I don’t think these are to scale, but I’m sure people do something with them.

Christmas Village Figures

Model Figurines

I saved the best for last. I love nutcrackers and there were a whole bunch of them at the Christmas Loft. I was in my glory. Take a look at these.

Nutcracker Collection

Two Nutcrackers

Guard Nutcracker

Large Nutcracker Face

There was so much more, but I couldn’t take photos of it all. It’s definitely worth a visit and I wouldn’t mind going back if I’m ever in that area again.

After a few hours of walking around and visiting the highlights, we decided to leave. After all, we had another two and a half hours of driving. We also wanted to take some photos of the many wonderful things we saw on the way in. During the trip back north, we stopped off at the Jackson, NH covered bridge. This is a big attraction and we definitely had to stop to take some pictures of it.

Jackson, NH Covered Bridge

Inside Covered Bridge

Side of the Covered Bridge in New Hampshire

Wooden Bridge Beams

I should have known there would be a tourist trap on the other side of the bridge. Yes, another general store. This one was called Flossie’s and it was very cute. Unfortunately, they didn’t want us to take photos of the inside, so I only have two from the outside to show you.

Flossie's General Store Sign

Flossie's General Store in Jackson, NH

The entire area is so beautiful. I haven’t ever spent any time in New Hampshire, so I was pleased. It’s a great state and I look very much forward to exploring it more in the future.

My next post will be very brief. On the way back home from this trip, we stopped off at the Bethel Inn Resort in Bethel, Maine. It’s a wealthy area and it’s worth the stop. I took some photos of the outside of the hotel and a few other random things. Until then – thanks for reading!