Sassafrass & Coffee

This past weekend, my favorite couple invited Chris and I up to their cabin in New Hampshire for the night. It didn’t take much coaxing from either them to get me to agree to going, despite the associated 3 hour drive to get there. The cabin lies on the western end of the Kancamagus Highway, just there in a cozy little notch of Lincoln, NH. Of course, at this time of year, one will have to deal with the plight of the annual leaf-peepers and foliage freaks that come with the territory. I have patience for them, even when shopping in a tiny grocery store in downtown Lincoln which clearly can’t accommodate for so many tourists at 7pm on a Saturday night. Steve and Alyssa (pictured above – aren’t they a stunning couple?) assured Chris and I that the grocery store rarely sees such excitement.

I can’t begin to communicate how amazing this cabin of theirs actually is. When we pulled in, I started shrieking so loud that Steve could hear me – inside the car, and through the noise of the rain.

Despite the rain, we kept plenty occupied in the cozy little cabin. There was a pleasant little kitchen which overlooked the back woods. The backwoods which contained the river. God bless the wilderness. I love the Kancamagus National Forest for it’s amazing river and the smooth stones which you can sun bathe, slide down, and have a good time on. It beats sand for sure.

In their back yard, they have a part of this delicious river, complete with the smooth rocks and swirling pools which are so pleasant in summertime. It’s essentially a natural air conditioner when you’re suffering in the hot and humid New England summer. Of course, it was a tad too cool for us to go for a dip. We settled happily on staring at the river.

Steve and Alyssa couldn’t have picked a more lovely time to invite us up. When we woke up in the morning, we woke to your typical New England foliage – a palette of colors from nature, compliments of the shedding trees. There is no supplement for some sunshine and beautiful colors in the morning – even a good, warm cup of strong and dark coffee. You can see how one could wish to never return to the hustle and bustle of a busy city when there are such amazing things going on in the quiet solitude of the mountains. You don’t even take a moment to stop and breathe in the city. Up at their cabin, that’s what you got most of; time to stop, slow down, and breathe in the fresh air. The smell of the leaves that had fallen already, and had subsequently been soaked by the rain is unparalleled. I wish some genius candle company out there could capture the smells of these natural scents. Nothing is more pleasing.

I take that back. There could possibly be something more pleasing. Something like, o, I don’t know, maybe a fantastic cabin in the middle of the woods. A place to live among those natural smells and natural sights. This cabin possessed none of the things which you and I take for granted (save for electricity and plumbing). There was no internet and there was no television. (Okay, there was internet? But it was pretty much stolen from a neighbor’s wifi network which Alyssa haphazardly guessed the password to. Can you believe that shit.)

This is, by far and large, my dream home. I would have a fire every night, and I would curl up on my couch with some good knitting and some This American Life on tape or something. Talk about retro. When it gets too hot, I would go to the river and sit on the naturally cooled rocks. When it gets too cold, I would just throw another log on the fire.

Truly a slice of heaven, and I can’t thank them enough for it – even if it was so brief. Their company was the best I could ever expect. A conversation until 3am about how we individually “think,” a river and the woods. What more could a person ask for?

Maybe a silly picture of Steve sniffing roses in a diner after breakfast? =D