A decades-long love affair with New Hampshire.

• Author: Barrett, Wayne M.
• Position: Going Places

IT WAS DURING OUR first visit to New Hampshire that we fell in love with the charm and pace of the area. It became an annual tradition: starting our trips on Columbus Day, we relished the idea of hitting the quaint towns just when peak season ended. The leaf-peeping crowds were gone and, from the hiking wails to the restaurants, we felt like the only two people in New England. It was the perfect place for a young couple. We could sleep in at a lovely bed and breakfast and then come down to sample freshly baked pumpkin muffins, or some other local treat, before enjoying a day with no particular agenda.

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Four kids--and a couple of decades--later, our vacations no longer consist of those peaceful strolls or leisurely meals, but one thing hasn't changed: we still love New Hampshire. Only these days, that means packing our brood into the minivan and doing a little more planning to find activities that will entertain a teenager and two 'tweens, as well as a preschooler. Our itinerary has evolved over the years. Starting when our oldest, Julie, was about two, we expanded our sites to include Story Land and Santa's Village. We still hiked--with our daughter in a Snugli carrier--but we couldn't resist these fantasy theme parks that are just perfect for toddlers and younger children. Now, at the ripe old ages of 12 and 14, the first two could not conceive of the idea that they could have a good time at these places. (Trevor, our 10-year-old, is pretty much up for any adventure.) Of course, we knew the truth--our children adore their little brother and would have a great time taking him on all the rides that we took them on when they were four, plus there are enough attractions that are "ageless." We also planned a few surprises that we were pretty confident would be a hit.

So, turning a deaf ear to their protests, we stuffed our offspring and all their gear in the car and headed off to the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in scenic North Conway for the first leg of our trip. This was our initial nod to the older three as this beautiful property has a brand new indoor water park, the 40,000 square foot Kahuna Laguna. Make no mistake about it, we are a water park-loving family, so we were sure this place would be a terrific choice, but, at a glance, we planned on spending a few hours and then moving on. Well, we had so much fun that we spent all day there, took a break in the late afternoon, and then came back again in the evening until closing. We rode the four high-speed slides dozens of times. Two of them used tubes (single- or double-rider) and two were body slides--one of each was open, one enclosed--and they moved fast, dumping into a pool of 82[degrees] water. We took rams tiding with the kids and racing them down, getting hoarse from screaming and exhausted from climbing all those stairs. It was just the kind...