Did you know that there's a public meditation garden in Hanover looking over the Connecticut? If not, I'm not going to tell you where it is. Think on it and it will find you. I will, however, pass along some of my other favorite discoveries from New Hampshire and Vermont. Below I've focused on the following: outdoorsy, non-outdoorsy and food related. Clearly the three primary categories in life.
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Outdoorsy: If you're hankerin' for a great adventure in the woods, the first thing I suggest is to sign up for a trip through the DOC. But if you're marching to the beat of your own banjo and dying to exercise your independence in the outdoors, get your hands on a Dartmouth Outing Guide (available in the library). For me to pick out a single hike or outing from the veritable smorgasbord of possible trips in the White or Green Mountains, on the Connecticut River or anywhere in between would be an abomination. Granted, some outdoor activities are made more difficult when there's snow on the ground, so some of these activities might be best left for warmer months. Luckily, the skiing opportunities in the area also abound. If you're looking to go further afield than the skiway, Stowe and Killington are two of the bigger options. If you want to break away from the Skiway but don't want to spend a small fortune doing it, Pico Mountain offers passes for college students for $25 on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.
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NonOutdoorsy: For a semi-urban experience in under a two-hour drive, both Portsmouth and Burlington await you. (Burlington can also be reached via bus from White River Junction). In Portsmouth, soak up that salty ocean air, get a cup of coffee in a quaint caf, do a little shopping and grab a meal at Congress Street's The Friendly Toast (Portsmouth's equivalent of Lou's except quirkier). Check out the schedules for The Firehouse Center for the Arts or The Music Hall and catch a concert or performance. In Burlington, Church Street is where you'll want to go if you're looking to diversify your overpriced boutique shopping beyond Juliana and Bella, or if you're just shopping for a steal. Of particular note is Old Gold, a vintage and costume shop where they sell cowboy boots so cheap that you have to question the ethics exercised in acquiring them. If shopping doesn't do it for you, Higher Ground is a concert and comedy venue that brings in artists ranging from Brandi Carlile to Soulive to Matisyahu to Wilco.
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Food Related: Having trouble putting on your full freshman 15 with DDS as your only artillery? Get off campus and make your dreams come true with some excellent local food. Hit the Ben and Jerry's Factory, the Cabot Cheese Annex, a Lake Champlain Chocolates retailer and Cold Hollow Cider Mill all in one trip to Waterbury, Vt. Twenty-one year olds who are looking to break away from Keystone can visit the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, Vt., (just 20 minutes away), the Long Trail Ale Brewing Company in Bridgewater Corners, Vt., or Otter Creek Brewing in Middlebury and see how they stack up to Stinson's.
If exploring your college environment is the thing for you, then this list might be familiar batch of weekend activities. On the other hand, if you find Dartmouth's relative seclusion to be a chafe, maybe all you need is a couple of excursions to make you question just how isolated Dartmouth actually is.