March 5, 2023
A foot and a half of snow fell on NH over the last 24 hours, so I fled south for a LifeQuest daytrip this morning. I’m over the white stuff. I hiked through it up mountains five months a year for thirteen straight years, and I am burnt-out. Thank goodness southern MA, RI, and even CT are only a few hours away. Those places still get snow in the winter, but not SNOW! like NH routinely gets from November to April.
New Bedford Whaling Historic Park had bare ground, the sun was out, and it felt like spring. Hooray! Can’t wait until I can migrate as I please with the seasons. It won’t be much longer now.
Though I am not a fan of being reminded that whaling used to be a thing, I did enjoy my morning here. The historic district is cute and showcases cobblestone streets and original structures. The Visitor Center is large and airy, and the rangers were especially kind and informative. New Bedford used to be a big player in the whaling industry, and its ships went around the world and, in the process, helped create navigational routes through all the oceans. New Bedford housed many Quakers, and there was an egalitarian (for the time, anyway) community here, with people of various ethnicities and backgrounds working on the ships. There are information signs throughout the historic district, and a map with a recommended self-guided tour route can be found in the Visitor Center and at a sign on the waterfront.
