I loved Canobie Lake Park. Spent quite a bit of time there myself growing up. We also went to Story Land and Santa's Village quite a bit, or up the Kancamagus highway (Swift river was a great playground). I loved Story Land, mostly because it scared the crap out of me. Those giant cartoon figures were all smiles, but it seemed (to me) that they were hiding some insidious plan for when the lights went down. I always wanted to go there at night, but my folks weren't up for that. I was the weird child who loved being scared. My grandparents lived in Maine, and I spent most summers terrifying myself in the Maine woods. For my money, you won't find a scarier place than that... (Except maybe SK's imagination?)
It sounds like we have very similar childhoods- I know!
About the woods. I have a story for you. This happened in the woods outside of Near the Derry - Hampstead border. I was trail riding with my instructor's daughter. She had her pony and I had my horse. We were a little bit off trail and right there in another words we found this abandoned cabin. So creepy! I was probably 14 or 15 and she was 11, so we felt that it was a good idea to approach it. There were what can only be described as set Satanic phrases, words, and symbols, scrawled in red. Didn't look like spray paint - spray paint doesn't pool and drip. What possessed us to go enter the cabin, I still don't know. We tethered our ponies to a tree and inside we found bedding and a fire pit. The walls or creepier than the outside of the place. Years later, I saw the Blair witch Project… similar kind of house.
We did spend quite a bit of time driving along the kankamangus en route to dog shows.
My favorite hiking/fishing spot (not counting coastal ones) were the trails by the Piscataqua River. I think I went to Storyland when I was younger… Now that you mention it I'm thinking of the town and Dr. sleep.
Have you ever been to Laconia? There is hickory stick farm (just a duck restaurant)
They have the most sensational duck and something called zippy pineapple salad. We bought their cookbook and still make the salad every single holiday.
That Eda Ville rail way was a nice day trip too. Speaking of day trips, Vermont! Smugglers not sure, the skyline restaurants, the seven Gables in Stowe. .
I hope all that stuff is still there, it took my mom and me 20 minutes just to remember the name of the Piscataqua, and my father and I hiked there all the time.
Daytrip's… LL Bean? . . .very different trip going with your parents then when you go with your friends in college at 3 AM.