A Red Chair on the Move...

I drove north to Concord, New Hampshire to pick the chair up from Nancy Henderson (innkeeper at Sunset Hill House in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire) to deliver it down to Connecticut to the Inn at Harbor Hill Marina.

One of the BEST things about the Red Chair project is the chance for innkeepers to step outside of the everyday, explore their own areas with fresh eyes, and then meet up with other innkeepers to continue the chair's incredible journey.  So as the northern inns head into their busiest season (read - they are busy showing guests a great time, not photographing red chairs!) we decided to MOVE the chair south to Connecticut which is in the tail end of summer season.  I was enlisted to make that journey happen.  The Red Chair does not travel UPS:)

Driving the New England states on a gorgeous fall weekend ... hmmm, it could get a lot worse!  The sun was shining, the roads were wide open and we made record time to the meeting spot in Concord -- the LL Bean outlet store.  Nancy Henderson was (as advertised on her website) the world's happiest innkeeper, and she shared with us photos of the wedding ceremony the Red Chair participated in while at her gorgeous place.

I had noticed in the recent shots of the chair, that she was looking a bit peaked on the face.  Someone seems to have put tape on her and removed a layer of her charming red paint!  So on the drive to our next stop, I sat in the back seat and gave her a bit of a touch up.  Call me a celebrity stylist, or the best hair and makeup girl in furniture-land, but I was able even with the rocking of the car on country roads to give her a bit of a face lift.  Here are the BEFORE and AFTERS:

I really wanted her to look great for a special meeting planned that afternoon.  I don't want to reveal too much about this visit, as there will be more to say about it on their website in the upcoming days, but for a piece of famous furniture touring New England, this meeting is much like Brad Pitt interviewing at Vanity Fair.  I will tease the story with this photo, and you can come back and read more soon...

We spent the night in Keene, New Hampshire then started south the next morning to drive back to the Atlantic coastline  -- Niantic, CT.

Along the way, the trees were just beginning to turn, and we stopped at this wonderful farm stand in Winchendon, Mass (we were on Route 140 South and you can't miss this place on the left) where we met Livvy Tarleton who allowed us to take a bunch of photos.  What a gorgeous place!  You can see Livvy herself in the lower left photo.  The fruits and vegetables at this spot, most grown right here on her farm (Sunset View Farm) were luscious and hard to leave without buying the place out, but we had no cooler with us so with a few firm Macintosh apples in hand, we waved goodbye and pushed onward.

The drive from Keene to Niantic takes about three hours.  We rolled into the Inn at Harbor Hill in the mid afternoon and were given a spectacular tour of this great spot by innkeepers Dave and Sue Labrie.  We were really impressed by the new building they just expanded into, with all the top of the line amenities and balconies overlooking the marina.

These guys have been inn-keeping for ten years and they are PROS with a great spot, right on the water and gorgeous water-view rooms.  We really enjoyed our time with them, and like all great innkeepers, they steered us to the best spot on the nearby coastline for lunch, the Dog Watch Cafe on the water in Stonington.  Check out the Salade Nicoise we ordered there:

View from the terrace overlooking the marina at Niantic's Inn at Harbor Hill -- a great spot on the Connecticut coastline.

All-in-all, it was a great trip and I will serve as Sherpa to this lucky chair any day.  I look forward to hearing and seeing more of the journey in the days to come, as this Red Chair continues to be embraced by the MOST hospitable and knowledgeable in the the travel biz -- the innkeepers of New England!

--Beth Colt, Woods Hole Inn