The Christmas Loft in North Conway, New Hampshire is a destination unto itself. A person could easily spend hours at the store. Basically, it’s a model of a life sized Christmas village contained in a building. Surrounding the village are rooms that contain an extraordinary amount of Christmas items for sale, such as nutcrackers, string lights, artificial trees, decorations, model houses, and most anything else you can think of. While browsing through the product rooms is fun, it’s more fun to walk through the village. The overall room is dark and the village contains model street lamps, so the ambience is just perfect. If you’re in the White Mountains area, it’s a must see. In this post, I show off the many photos I took while visiting the store myself. Take a look at them to get a feel for what’s going on and then plan to stop by to get in the Christmas spirit. Continue reading…
Zeb’s General Store, North Conway, New Hampshire
Zeb’s General Store is located at 2675 White Mountain Hwy, North Conway, New Hampshire. If you’ve never been to Zeb’s, you’re in for a surprise. It’s one of the coolest places on the planet and if you find old fashioned candy, foods, touristy items, and home goods exciting, you’ll be thrilled to see the photos I’ve shared in this post. Laura and I have stopped by this location a number of times and it’s so much fun to see what the staff has to offer. The store is open most of the year and they’ve got an active Facebook page to keep their customers up to date if it needs to close for any reason. If you’re ever in or new North Conway, be sure to stop by Zeb’s. You won’t be sorry. Continue reading…
North Conway, New Hampshire
North Conway lies at the heart of the White Mountain recreational area of New Hampshire. It’s the town many folks call home during their year-round vacations. The village is jumping with activity during most of every season. Its Main Street is lined with stores and the greater area is host to quite a few activities. Think hiking, horseback riding, kayaking and canoeing, sightseeing, and so much more. I’m not sure you’ll having a moment of downtime if you do decide to make your way to this part of the world. So far, Laura and I have visited the White Mountains and North Conway a number of times and it seems each visit is better than the last. It truly is a remarkable place. In this post, you’ll find photos of one tiny sliver of North Conway. Please click through to read and enjoy! Continue reading…
White Mountains, New Hampshire
The White Mountains area of New Hampshire is a special place indeed. The entire range is like a playground; it’s host to so many things to do. If you’re a hiker, there’s certainly no shortage or trails, rivers, and waterfalls. If you like shopping, small towns such as North Conway and Littleton await your visit. If you enjoy simply driving around to take in the scenery, boy will you be in for a surprise. Back in 2018, Laura and I made our first real trek to northern New Hampshire for a special and memorable experience. Since then, we’ve gone back once and plan to do so every year from now on. For us, autumn visits are the best, but I wouldn’t mind making one or two during the winter to enjoy the Christmas season. Please browse through this post to read some of my commentary on our trips as well as view the many photos I’ve taken along the way. Continue reading…
Pico Ridge Hike, Industry, Maine
Getting to Pico Ridge requires a short hike up a small mountain located in Industry, Maine. The hike is only around a third of a mile long and the incline is relatively gentle. When you arrive at the ridge (a cliff), you’ll enjoy a wonderful view over Clearwater Lake all the way to the Record Hill Wind Farm in Roxbury. On a clear day, you may even see the White Mountains in New Hampshire. More close by mountains include Mt. Blue, Mt. Abraham, Saddleback Mountain, and Tumbledown Mountain. During our hike to this ridge, we took in the views and captured some beautiful images. Continue reading…
How to Debate: Learn & Get Better + Sample Debates
Whether we like it or not, debating is a part of everyday life. A debate can occur between a husband and wife, coworkers, friends, or people on the street. Debating is a good thing. It means that there’s a free flow of ideas and that’s important for a healthy society. Many of the problems that surround the idea of debating stem from the fact that far too many folks have issues with gaining accurate knowledge, thinking critically, articulating ideas, and expressing ideas coherently. With this in mind, I decided to write a tutorial that can guide just about anyone through a structured debate. Mind you, what I’ve put together primarily focuses on how to host or participate in a real debate, whether that be in an academic or political setting. The ideas contained in this post can also applied to friendly debates between individuals as well. Click through to learn all about debating and debates. Continue reading…
Philosophy: The Basics
When I was in college in my 20s, I thought philosophy was about sitting around with a bunch of guys talking about why we exist in the universe. It’s not really about that. I suppose some parts are, but more often than not, it’s about questions that touch on existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Yes, the “Why are we here?” dilemma will be discussed during the study of philosophy, but so will (to a greater extent) questions of values, ethics, and “right and wrong.” The study of philosophy also isn’t just a simple conversation to be had when the mood strikes. It’s a systematized study. It’s a very deliberate and organized field. It takes time and very careful consideration to appreciate and benefit from it. In this post, I offer the basics of philosophy, the way I see them. It’s a long post, but I encourage you to read through it if you’re interested in this topic. Continue reading…
10 Tips for Great Jiu-Jitsu Photography
One of the benefits of being an amateur photographer is having the freedom to focus on tiny little slivers of the world. We’ve got nature and wildlife photographers, astrophotographers, portrait, fashion, still life, editorial, architectural, and yes, even Jiu-Jitsu photographers. Of course, martial art photography most likely falls under the purview of “Sports,” but still, there are certain aspects that need to be taken into account when capturing these types of scenes. In this post, I touch upon a few simple tips you can use to take better photos of your classmates, significant other, children – whomever – while they’re rolling around in their next Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class. Continue reading…
How to Tie Basic Knots
I’ve long been fascinated by knots. I don’t know where or when this fascination began, but it’s here. Because of it, I decided to purchase a few knot tying instruction books to try my hand at tying a few. I did that. And then I began taking photos of my efforts and jotting down quick instructions for each. Those photos and instructions found there way here, right in this post. So, if you’re interested in learning how to tie some basic (and some not so basic) knots, be sure to click through to check out my post. Continue reading…
Bourbon & Sweet Maple Glazed Salmon Recipe
Like I said in the beginning of this post, where the heck has this recipe been all my life? This is one of those dishes that will knock the socks off of anyone you serve it to. It’s that good. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the ingredients; salmon, maple syrup, bourbon, soy sauce, vinegar, orange juice, cayenne pepper, and more. It’s no joke. I highly recommend making this dish if you’ve got some friends over and you’re grilling out. You’ll be the star of the town. I prepared this on my stovetop and it came out wonderfully, but a grill would have been even better. I’ve also recommended it to friends. They loved it too. Click through to give it a try. Continue reading…