Ridge lines, lobster, and the quainter side of America. (Part 2 of 3–to see Part 1, go here.)

In August of this year, my family and I embarked on a 5-day mini-vacation to a part of America I’d never visited before: the Northeast, another part of America that I had never really thought of venturing to. I had heard it was beautiful, but my dreams always pushed me to venture out west towards the grander mountain ranges, towards some fascination that I’ve never quite been able to describe.

But in July, my parents suggested we take a trip to New Hampshire. My mom’s old teaching partner had recently purchased the property of an old campground and had renovated each of the cabins to accommodate 10+ guests. I looked up the location, saw that it was on a lake in the midst of nature, and jumped on board. I would soon find another state that would, once again, surprise the hell out of me.

Our friend’s camp was incredible. Located an hour outside of Manchester, we found ourselves surrounded by cabins of a beautiful color scheme on a lake without boats and with little trace of people.

The area nearby camp was equally beautiful, surrounded by forest and allowing us views of a mountain range to the north: the Whites.

My brother met us in New Hampshire on day 2 to join in on our family vacation. The only two young adults on the trip and with my fellow outdoorsy pal now in town, we decided that we wanted those mountains off in the distance. We wanted them bad. So we did some research and decided on a 7-mile day hike along Franconia Ridge, a portion of the Appalachian Trail.

“It will be easy!” we said. Little did we know that a 3,400 feet elevation increase over the course of 4 miles is actually a lot. We sweated our brains out and completely exhausted our bodies. But the funny thing is…I loved it. I wouldn’t have traded those 6+ hours for anything else in the world. Our hard work was rewarded (as it always is) with views like these.

Our hike took us along the ridge of three different mountains. The ridge was beautiful, but imaginably merciless under poor weather conditions. We lucked out entirely.

And for all you foodies out there, you should also go to New Hampshire for the lobster. We bought it pre-cooked and steaming-hot from a grocery store for $7 a lobster. It was a beautiful treat after a few days of sore legs.

Thanks to the Northeast for reminding me that there is more natural beauty in America than I had ever thought. And for the lobsters. You beautiful, beautiful red hunks.

Coming up next is the third and final Leah vs. America 2015 feature: West Virginia!