Best prep for peeping
Famous for its all-day breakfast and its maple syrup ribs, Parker’s Maple Barn (800-832-2308), in Mason, New Hampshire (boyhood home of the original Uncle Sam), features plump pancakes that taste like pumpkin bread just out of the oven: not too heavy and not too sweet. Grab a few maple-glazed doughnuts, if available, before heading off to pick your own apples at Mason’s Birchwood Orchard (603-878-0542, 206 Old Turnpike Road), then continue another 45 minutes along Route 124 to check out the striking scenery around Mount Monadnock.