It was early but not too early when we left for our week away in New Hampshire. We'd packed insanely, as we usually do, and my husband had loaded up the truck partially with all the stuff we were taking along with us. The new cap he'd ordered for his truck makes him feel more secure about everything tucked away into it.

It was cool and it was wet. Raining, as usual. The last peek I took online at the ten-day weather forecast for the Waterville Valley didn't look promising. But it often rains while we're down there, and we seldom miss a planned forest walk, despite the rain. Since our hikes are always in forested areas, the tree canopies do a fairly good job of keeping us reasonably dry, and we always have rain gear along with us, in any event.

The light rain that was watering everything as we departed from home soon turned to heavy rain. And it was heavy rain that pervaded the atmosphere for the six hours we were on the road. We often enough, doing that trip, as we have over many years, encountered rainy conditions. So apart from the distance and traffic, there's rain to contend with.

We bypassed Montreal, using the new highway, more than pleased to pay the bridge tolls to avoid the heavy traffic that Montreal always hosts. And when we reached the Derby Line crossing into Vermont, it was still raining. The U.S. Customs/Immigration officer was decently courteous unlike many we've come across and we were soon off again.

A few miles down the road took us to the Vermont rest stop that we usually make use of. But since it was raining, although by then lightly, we took our puppies for a stroll along the grass to enable them to relieve themselves, but decided it would be nothing if not unpleasant to sit at one of the picnic tables to eat our brunch. So that was done sitting in the truck, with Jack and Jill beside us, sharing everything but tea and coffee.

They will eat clementines and bananas, and will never refuse as many bites of rye bread and sliced chicken as they can manage to wheedle from us. From the rest stop it takes about an hour and a half to reach the cottage we had reserved for the week. Halfway there, we drive through Franconia Notch. And by then the rain had notched up again and was falling hard once more. Which doesn't make for great sightings.

Clouds were hitched to the mountain summits and not going anywhere before dropping their loads.