Gilford, NH

This past weekend our travels brought us to Gilford,NH. Gilford is nestled between the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee and the Belknap Mountain range. This makes it a tourist attraction as there are plenty of summer and winter activities. The town motto is that Gilford is the "Recreation Center of New Hampshire". The purpose of our visit was for a concert on Saturday night.The Avett Brothers played a sold out show at Meadowbrook.

Gilford is just under a 3 hour drive for us so we spent the night to avoid a long drive back in the middle of the night. Booking a hotel room for the night proved to be difficult. Turns out it was Bike Week in Laconia (the next town over). That is a whole different story in and of itself. The only room left was a suite that felt like a condo at The Summit Resort (summitresortnh.com). If you are planning a week long family vacation to the area I would absolutely recommend this place, however it was a bit overkill for the two of us for only one night. Our suite included two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, a living/dining room complete with fireplace and a sleeper sofa, and a balcony. The master bath had an enormous jacuzzi tub, but it would have taken more time to fill than we actually spent in the room. The decor wasn't the most modern, but it was clean and well maintained.  Your stay also comes with access to the pools (indoor and outdoor), a volleyball court, racquet ball court, playground, and grilling/picnic areas.

Meadowbrook was about a 10 minute drive from our hotel. I will admit the thought of concert traffic almost kept me from buying tickets to the show. Spending 45 minutes trying to get off an exit of a highway or spending 2 hours in the parking lot after a show is not my cup of tea. Lucky for me the parking/traffic situations were not an issue at all. There was hardly any traffic on our way in. The parking system is very organized and moved quickly. On our way out the traffic was measured in minutes not hours. 

The actual venue itself was very nice. Once inside the gates there is a large area for mingling before actually going to your seats in the Pavillion. The perimeter of this area is filled with beer and food vendors. There are picnic tables and a grassy area in the center to sit and enjoy a beverage or meal before the show. There was also a small stage on which two bands preformed before the show on the main stage. They also played an acoustic set on this stage immediately after the show. We didn't stay for that, but I suppose that would be one way to pass the time while letting most of the crowd clear out. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the show. There is always something special about a concert outdoors on a summer night. Old Crow Medicine Show opened the show. They finished their set with a cover of Tom Petty's "American Girl" and the crowd loved it. The Avett Brothers were amazing. This was my first time seeing them live and I had been looking forward to it for months. 

If you have the chance to catch a concert here don't miss it. You can make a trip of it if you aren't from the area. There are certainly plenty of hotels and activities in the Lake Winnipesaukee area.

Check out the full concert and event schedule here:  www.meadowbrook.net

Before our drive home on Sunday we stopped for breakfast and some outlet shopping. We ate at a small family run restaurant near the airport called Kitchen Cravings. We went at about 10:30 and it was packed. The wait was about a half hour. It was a cozy little place. They certainly could use some more space based on the crowd that was there. I thought the food was delicious. The menu had many unique choices. Jay had a veggie omelet with wheat toast and home fries and I had "the trainer" which consisted of one pancake, one egg, bacon, and home fries. I'd say its worth a visit if you are looking for a breakfast or lunch pit stop. Before getting back on the highway we stopped at a small outlet mall. We didn't buy much, but it was a beautiful day to walk around outside. After a quick ice cream cone at DQ we hit the road. It was a great time for such a short trip. 

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