I feel people up here go to the grocery store way more often than other parts of the country, they are happy to go 2-3 times a week even though it’s 30 minutes one way minimum travel. In-laws do it as well. Source-moved here with spouse as it is her home town.

This is me. Trader Joe's, local butcher, local egg farm, Market Basket and occasionally, Whole Foods.

Yes. Sorta. Sap is flowing but sugar content is a bit low. Some aren't boiling it and some are.

Extremely tragic. I'm chaperoning some children today, including my own, at Gunstock today. Hopefully it's not too icy.

That's a fantastic painting!

does take much research, Biden has hundreds of videos where he says something so distasteful, racist, or corrupt/crony. just open your eyes, it’s not hard.

I'm from the PNW so don't really mind some gloom and drizzle, but we would like to be able to explore and will have the kids with us, (1-9yrs)

Even better when its Sunday the 5th

Healthy food eaters tend to shop daily or every other day. The folks that purchase large quantities of food for a week for instance tend to eat heavily processed packaged goods. Pasta, rice, bread, cereals, etc vs fresh fruits and vegetable, meat, poultry.

Sure thing. I’m don’t doubt that you believe what you have been told.

The OP’s reply (which I responded to) said they were traveling from Boston to Gunstock. Most people wake up early to go skiing, especially on Fri- Sun when the OP is going. It’s a reasonable assumption to have if you’ve ever been skiing up there.

I offered a suggestion for a place they could stop for breakfast on their way up the most direct route.

If they want to walk around or hang out, there’s plenty of other suggestions already posted.

I don’t know why you’re being so aggressive towards my suggestion. You’ve also offered nothing specific aside from saying “we have better spots” while not actually listing anything. I’m done responding to you now.

That was the Upper Case Monster.

The whole point of OP’s post is that they’re tourists looking for fun stuff to do in New Hampshire (not Maine) .. why do you assume they’re not stopping to wander around?

Deer probably, they're out a lot right now

93 is 20 minutes faster

What does the location being in a plaza have to do with anything? If you’re not planning to stop and wander around then it doesn’t matter.

Boston offers a lot more if they want to walk around. NH offers outdoor, rural activities (skiing, hiking, boating, etc.). If you’re looking for urban then you’re in the wrong state. There’s absolutely nothing that Portsmouth offers that say Newburyport wouldn’t. And if time isn’t an issue at all, then go to Portland directly to/from Gunstock.

If Gunstock - you can drive around the Lake (Winnipesaukee) in a day (a few hours if you don't stop often).

From Gunstock:

Route 11 into Alton Bay (scenic), swing around to 28A north (turn left, go over the bridge, then take a left) and stay on that to the end at 28. Take 28 north (turn left) into downtown Wolfeboro (scenic, shopping). Take 109N through Tuftonboro and at the end in Moultonboro, turn left (25 west). Take that through Moultonborough, Center Harbor, and into Meredith (scenic and shopping). Take route 3 south into Weirs (if you want to stop at Funspot (arcade) it's fun) for some scenes and maybe some shopping / lake side (not sure how much is open). Then, 3 south to 11 back to Gunstock.

You can also do the reverse (start in Weirs as opposed to Alton Bay)

You can also take 16 (to the southern part of Conway) or 93 north (to Lincoln) to the Kancamagus highway (very scenic drive through the mountains but it might be snowy / ice in early March) or take 16 north into Conway (scenic / shopping).

or in the middle of the aisle

Stay in the historic part - (Near Market Street / Congress Street / Pleasant Street - great shops, great food, and a bit of local history (Strawberry Banke is within walking distance from there)

Gunstock to Portsmouth is an hour, Gunstock to Bedford is an hour and then another hour to Boston either way. They are tourists asking to see what NH has to offer & it sounds like they are going to Boston after Gunstock (not sure same day or next.)

Tucker’s has decent food but we have better spots than a plaza with Kohls, Staples, and Tucker’s …

It is rare that I can find everything I want in one store. So my typical weekly grocery trip starts with Whole Foods, then Hannafords, then Trader Joes and last stop at Market Basket. At any one place you might think I was not buying much.

Not much reason to come to the west side unless you want to try Burdick's - they're a chocolate maker and have a lovely restaurant. If you want to squeeze in another state, Brattleboro, VT has a cute Main Street with shopping and food.

If they are going to Gunstock then I assume it’s for skiing so they’ll want to be there early. Going up 93 is the fastest route from Boston. Tuckers is very good and on the way.

If they’re looking to walk around then they may as well stay in Boston. I’m not sure what Portsmouth offers that Boston doesn’t.

Wife and I work from home in Florida. We wanted a place in New England for winter and summer fun. I started exploring by drawing circles on a map, indicating areas with both a lake and ski mountain within close proximity. Lake Winnipesaukee proved to be the best option. The last hurdle was finding a home within price range. Thanks to a great realtor (and some great luck) it all worked out.

How do you gather that from a three word answer? Get a life. 😂

Iron mountain trail head. Incredible views from the field.