Spring Weekend at the Mount Washington Hotel & An Announcement!!

On April 22, 2017April 22, 2017 By careofmonIn TripsLeave a comment

Well hello there!! I apologize for my absence the past couple weeks. Things have been busy here as spring is gearing up and now that the sprint to April vacation has ended, I can relax a little and catch up! If you follow me on instagram, you might have seen my post announcing that I am pregnant!! My husband and I are expecting a baby boy October 1, which puts me right around 17 weeks right now. I have been feeling great, still able to exercise, so far so good! I did stop riding around 10 weeks, so I have definitely been missing the barn and Chandraki, and we decided this month to take a break from my beloved 4000 footers in NH. The actual act of hiking is fine, its more the length of time and the multiple bathroom breaks that are rough! We are so excited for this addition to our family, I can’t believe how fast the first four months have gone by.

My husband and I celebrated our first year of marriage a little while back with a much needed weekend up at the Mt. Washington Hotel! This history and location of this hotel make it so special to me, and its just beautiful. We stayed at the hotel for a weekend back in early July when it was warm and green, but this time around, the landscape was very different. There was still quite a bit of snow up there, it even snowed while we were driving up! This time around we did dinner in the main dining room, and the food was just amazing. My husband got a duck special, and I got the chicken pot pie arancini. Their dessert menu looked great but I was craving just simple chocolate, so we went to Morsels downstairs for some candy and a chocolate chip brownie! I wholeheartedly recommend the breakfast buffet in the morning. It was delicious and there were so many choices, there was no way not to leave satisfied. Here are some pictures of the beautiful Mt. Washington Hotel 🙂

Great Hall/Lobby of the hotel. The pillars, and the chandeliers, and the carpets, oh man, its so beautiful and just transports you to a different, more elegant time.

Fireplace in the conservatory, arguably my favorite room

Beautiful details of the ceiling in the conservatory

Looking out at Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Washington from the veranda

Panorama of the beautiful Presidential Range

There is an indoor pool and hot tub and as well as the outdoor pool, heated for these colder months.

When we are at the Mount Washington, we tend to just walk around the hotel a lot, exploring and enjoying the hotel and the property. Its so beautiful and there’s so much to do in the area as far as outdoor activities. Quite a few families were up there for spring skiing at Bretton Woods.

Here is my last post from this past summer at the Mount Washington, has more of the awesome history in it!

The Grand Mt. Washington Hotel

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Stroll around Phillips Exeter Academy

On April 6, 2017April 6, 2017 By careofmonIn Lifestyle2 Comments

So the April Fool’s Day snowstorm was crazy….we had about 10″ of snow from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening. It was heavy, wet snow, the kind that makes all the branches droop. Sunday was a really nice day though and the snow is already on its way out! I wanted to get out of the house and go to Laney & Lu’s for a treat, so I took Mizpah along for a walk around Exeter NH’s historic district after.

There were so many others out and about walking so it was the perfect walk for Mizpah to do some socializing. Mizpah is a dalmatian and they have a reputation for not always being the most social breed. She’s a dog who needs exercise daily, but more than that, she needs mental stimulation too daily. Having to walk on a sidewalk to my left and manage all the new smells and say hello (or not say hello) to other dogs on leashes, children, and adults is a lot of stimulation.

FullSizeRender-4 — The Squamscott River looking good with all the snowmelt! This river eventually empties into the Atlantic by Portsmouth NH

The Jeremiah Smith House, built in 1730. There are quite a few historic homes in Exeter but I sorta fell for this one because its green! You don’t see a lot of historic homes in green! Jeremiah Smith was a governor of NH BUT I didn’t think he was born until the 1750s, so not sure how this house is connected.

Here is the Jeremiah Smith Hall, the main administration building at Phillips Exeter Academy

The Academy Building at Phillips, home of the assembly hall….totally in love with the tall ship weathervane

Phillips Church, built in 1895 as a congregational church in Exeter and later sold to Phillips to be their school chapel

Here is the tower of the chapel, the stonework is beautiful and reminds me of a similar chapel at Groton School in Groton MA.

So these images are of the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH, not to be confused with Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Phillips Academy in Andover was founded by Samuel Phillips, Jr in 1778 and Phillips Exeter Academy was founded by his uncle, John Phillips, three years later. As you can imagine, there is quite a rivalry between the two schools. Phillips Academy is the one that the Bush’s went to as well as JFK Jr. Phillips Exeter is where Franklin Pierce, Ulysses S. Grant, and Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert went. Also if you ever read A Separate Peace by John Knowles, he is a Phillips Exeter alum soooo Devon School is really based on his alma mater.

The classic New England boarding schools with the brick buildings, crisp white accents, stone chapels, and grassy courtyards are beautiful. I wonder sometimes if I could live the teacher life at a boarding school. Maybe when I have retired from public school teaching and have gotten my PhD in biology (which I totally want to do, I will be the old lady shuffling around the lab with the 25 year old post docs saying things like “Back in my day..”), I will teach at a private school to supplement my summer travel account!!

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Hike up Mt. Hale’s Firewarden Trail

On March 28, 2017March 28, 2017 By careofmonIn HikingLeave a comment

Mt. Hale during the summer can be accessed by a trail head off Zealand Road for the Hale Brook Trail. It makes for a quick hike up 2.3 miles, down 2.3 miles. I did it in June a couple years ago and its steep, but fast. In the winter, Zealand Road is closed to traffic and becomes a snowmobile super highway! Another route becomes popular in the winter, an unofficial unmarked trail off the North Twin Trail. In the winter, there is an area to park at the end of Little River Road in Bethelehem and you take a herd path for a mile to the North Twin Trail for about a mile before you come to “the mightiest tree in the middle of the trail”. Its actually a small tree but the trail is so nice and tracked out right now, we didn’t have to search for it. Someone did knife a blaze into the little tree which is nooooo good, but in any case, it was easy to find.

Little River is beautiful right now, looks more like a series of small alpine pools with the rest covered in snow

Turning left at the tree takes you up the old Mt. Hale Trail, aka the Firewarden’s Trail. It is more gradual than the trail on the other side of the mountain, but takes longer at 4.7 miles. There are some switchbacks on the trail through these beautiful birch glades. I got a good picture of Mizpah in the glades. A group of backcountry skiers were on the trail too to ski through the glades which looked a bit scary, but fun. There was probably 4-6″ of new snow on the trails, so we used snowshoes the whole time to preserve and maintain the tracks.

I call this, ‘Mizpah in the Birch Glades’

There was a nice view area on the trail but no views with the cloud cover. The summit of Mt. Hale is wide and flat without views. There is a very large stone cairn that was barely showing above the snow, and of course the remnants of the fire tower were buried too. The fire tower on Mt. Hale was built in 1929 and removed in 1972. To see pics, head here. I wish I could have seen the tower when it was in use because the little cab on the top is unique.

Old Man’s Beard on the trees right before the summit!

No views on the summit, but the snow covered evergreens are so pretty

And of course, hanging with the pups on the summit is a huge plus. This cairn is usually so tall! SO much of it is under the snow.

The fire warden’s trail is used in the summer because even though its a longer trail, it is more gradual. Its not as easy to follow though I am assuming in the summer when there aren’t snowshoe tracks. In the summer you can park right at the North Twin Trail head too so you can cut off that one mile herd path. It was a really nice day, over freezing and no wind, so I was nice and warm. I wish there were views, but there is always next time. Mizpah was great, got to hang with a golden retriever up on the summit. I hadn’t hiked since my birthday, so I definitely felt out of shape, but it was such a nice gradual hike, I lived through it haha.

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Hampton Beach with Mizpah

On February 27, 2017March 14, 2017 By careofmonIn Lifestyle, Trips6 Comments

Yesterday was quite the day for my pup Mizpah. We did off leash fun at a park with awesome trails near us and then made the short trip to Hampton Beach. Massachusetts and Maine both have beaches with more lenient rules for dogs in the offseason. Maine beaches and some of the beaches on the cape actually allow dogs during the summer before a certain time and after a certain time…usually before 9 and after 5. I moved to New Hampshire, the land of live free or die, and our short coast line here is made up of state parks and there is a hard and fast rule that there are no dogs allowed. Even the short sections of beach that are considered “town beach” can’t be accessed without going through state beaches.

We went expecting to just walk along the boardwalk- not as good as walking on the beach, but still nice views. When we got there though, sure enough there were lots of people walking their dogs on the beach! They were all on leash. It seems like the rule is in effect, but just not enforced because the rangers aren’t around patrolling.

Pretty unbelievable that all the snow melted in much of the trails! My outfit was perfect for the weather. The needlepoint hat from Smathers & Branson, my Barbour Argon jacket (sold out but similar here) , LLBean scarf (sold out), and my LLBean boots held up nicely on this cool day.

One end of Hampton Beach, past here its mostly rocks up against the wall

Mizpah loves the feeling of sand between her paws

Down at the other end of the beach, a very brave surfer heading into the water

It was strange to be at Hampton with all the stores and restaurants boarded up, but it was also so nice and quiet! Hampton Beach is…..lively in the summer. The first time I went to Hampton was in 6th grade with two friends and I was totally overwhelmed in a good way I guess. The beach, arcade, and all the food. I had only ever been to Wingaersheek, Crane, and Good Harbor on the North Shore in MA where we brought our food in a cooler and just ran around the beach. The best deal on the boardwalk was at Sal’s Pizza- $5 for a huge slice of pizza and a can of soda. There’s the Candy Corner, the numerous trashy tshirt companies, and leaving the beach, we always had to stop for ice cream at Hodgie’s Too. Hampton is certainly not the most classy or picturesque beach, but it is definitely fun. Ok, time to stop procrastinating and pack for Florida!

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The Lighthouses of Portsmouth Harbor

On February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 By careofmonIn Lifestyle, TripsLeave a comment

The Piscataqua River is a tidal river that separates NH from ME, forms Portsmouth Harbor, and empties into the Gulf of Maine. Recently I ventured out into New Castle, NH, which is an island. Driving around the island I found a nice spot to see the Portsmouth Harbor Light and was so happy to see that from the same park, you can see the Whaleback Light just over the border in Kittery ME. Another site worth checking out in New Castle is Wentworth by the Sea, but I made the decision that visiting that historic beauty would need more time than I had…probably a nicer outfit too.

Portsmouth Harbor Light is actually at Fort Constitution. You can drive toward the Coast Guard Base and then follow the signs for the Fort Constitution Historic Site. From May to mid-October they actually do tours of the lighthouse! I am definitely going this coming summer. You can actually climb all the way up to the lantern room! Fort Constitution was originally Fort William and Mary. In 1791, NH gave the site to the US, and the fort was renovated and renamed something a little more American : )

Coastline of New Castle NH from Great Island Commons

Coastline of New Castle NH from Great Island Commons. The seagulls are so cute right now, all puffed up with their winter down.

I viewed the light houses from Great Island Commons, which is a pay to enter park in the summer, but is free right now! I also got a closer look at the Portsmouth Harbor Light from the end of Ocean St…..like I was one step away from trespassing on US Government property haha. The original wooden lighthouse was built in 1771. It was rebuilt in 1804, shortened in 1851, and then rebuilt again in 1878 lined with cast-iron bricks. There is an oil house built in 1903 and a keeper’s house from 1872 that is being used as US Coast Guard offices.

The Portsmouth Harbor Light is a fixed green beacon that can be seen 12 nautical miles out. Part of the reason for the steady fixed beacon and for the shortening of the light house was the construction of Whaleback Light, a little farther out in the harbor. Whaleback Light is actually just over the border in Kittery Maine off the coast of Wood Island. The original Whaleback was built in 1820, rebuilt in 1872 after a bad storm caused cracks to the foundation. The lighthouse is made of granite blocks and sits on a rocky outcrop in the harbor. There is a keeper’s living area and a storage area within the house. Whaleback has a bright white LED light (new in 2009) every 10 seconds. It originally had a fog bell, but at some point it was changed to a horn. The light was automated in 1963, so the last keeper to live there was James Pope, USCG in the early 1960s.

fullsizerender — Wood Island Life Saving Station & Whaleback Lighthouse

Wood Island is home to the Wood Island Life Saving Station. It was built in 1907 in Kittery, and before the USCG was around, this station had rowboats for the US Life Saving Service to help mariners in distress. The station is actually in the midst of a restoration to be used as a maritime museum! See the progress and more history of the station here.

Whaleback Light- love the solitary gull there on the rock

There is something about exploring the coastal areas of New England during the off season. Great Island Commons is probably packed in the summer with walkers, families, picnic-ers, and so on. I bet there are days when the parking lot gets full and they have to turn people away! It is definitely cold, but for me its rejuvenating! Getting out of the car to this beautiful scenery and that raw wind blowing in your face- talk about all the shivers! In the winter, these coastal areas are so quiet, and still.

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Birthday Hike up Mt. Cabot

On January 23, 2017January 23, 2017 By careofmonIn Hiking2 Comments

As part of our MLK weekend away in Jackson NH, we hiked up Mt Cabot on my birthday! Mt. Cabot is the 4000 footer that is farthest north, so having the opportunity to start the drive a couple hours closer was a huge reason to do that one. The hike itself is a gradual easier hike; the hardest thing about hiking Cabot is getting there.

We wore snowshoes for the entire hike, all 9 miles of it. The trail was so nice and tracked out, it would have been a shame to ruin it with post holes. The trail begins at the trout hatchery in Berlin on York Pond Road, which was nicely maintained for this time of year. You start out on the York Pond Trail, and then turn onto the Bunnell Notch Trail, and then finally the Kilkenny Ridge Trail to the summit. In the interest of time, we did an in and out hike, you can do a loop from the summit down over the bulge and horn from the Kilkenny Ridge Trail to the Unknown Pond Trail, but its a longer hike.

Some features as you get up near the summit include an outlook with a beautiful view, a cabin, a false summit where a fire tower used to be, and then finally the wooded summit which is past a Mt. Cabot sign which again looks like the summit. The fire warden cabin is available for public use. It’s free, first come first serve, and it sleeps 8. There used to be a wood stove in it that has been removed, and there is a picnic table inside. They keep a drum outside that collects rainwater in the summer. It’s a very primitive cabin that I believe is still maintained by the Jefferson boy scouts. Not a bad place to have a snack away from the wind, but I would only stay in there overnight if it was an emergency! The first firetower was built up there in 1911, it was rebuilt in 1924, and then taken down in 1965. It was a cold hike, the wind chill was down between -9 and -18. The sun was out though, and I had my warmest gear, so we made a great day out of it. On the way up to Jackson we actually stopped at IME in North Conway and I purchased some Black Diamond mercury mitts for myself and honestly, it made my hike so much more pleasant. They were $109.95 and worth every cent.

Had to take a pic of this fat little gray jay that followed us from the cabin to the summit!

Mt. Cabot was my 14th winter peak, and it really is one of my favorite mountains. It was a great way to spend my birthday. On the way back to the Eagle Mountain House we grabbed sandwiches at my favorite deli, J-Town. Then that night we did dinner at The Red Fox and drinks at Wildcat Tavern. All my favorites 🙂

Other posts from our MLK weekend trip up to Jackson:

Winter Weekend at The Eagle Mountain House, Jackson NH

Mountain Town Charm- Jackson, NH

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Mountain Town Charm- Jackson, NH

On January 19, 2017March 15, 2017 By careofmonIn Trips2 Comments

The first time I went to Jackson NH was back in college. I went cross country skiing around Jackson Village and immediately fell in love. For a New England girl that loves the White Mountains Region in all seasons, Jackson is where its at. First of all, one of the entrances into the village is through a red covered bridge. It’s called the Honeymoon Bridge. Through the bridge, the first inn on your right will be Nestlenook Farm. They have sleigh rides and ice skating there, and it is beautiful all lit up at night. There are so many cute inns with much history in Jackson. Someday I want to stay at the Wentworth Inn in one of the rooms with its own little hot tub on a little balcony. The complete list for lodging in Jackson can be seen here.

Ski Culture in Jackson

No matter where you stay or where you eat in Jackson, the ski culture is ever present. There are two downhill ski areas close by: Black Mountain and Wildcat Mountain. They are very different. Black Mountain is a smaller, family oriented mountain. They do horseback riding and other activities in the summer. This is where you take your family of five to get all the kids skiing, or maybe go with multiple families and the kids can’t get into too much trouble because the mountain isn’t THAT challenging. Wildcat is a different story. There is certainly beginner terrain on Wildcat, but it is a huge mountain compared to Black Mountain. The lift ticket is more expensive too ($79 vs $55 on a weekend), so probably better for skiers that will enjoy more of the mountain.

Cross country skiing is huge in Jackson as well. The Jackson Ski Touring Center is a nonprofit organization where you can rent cross country skis (skate or classic), snowshoes, and take lessons. (Side note: snowshoeing has gotten really popular lately!) The trail system is expansive. Most of the inns in Jackson are on the trail system which makes it fun skiing from one inn to another. The golf courses for the Wentworth and Eagle Mountain House becomes gentle sloping ski loops, and the trail that goes along the Ellis River is beautiful. There is a cocoa cabin on the Ellis River Trail that has come a long way since I started skiing there. To cross the river from the Wentworth golf course to the Ellis River Trail, you ski through another red covered bridge. So perfect.

All of the restaurants and inns have maps, signs, and memorabilia from the ski areas. Jackson is extremely proud of their ski heritage, and in a few places, you might even see photos of Benno Rybizka who might be the reason for it all. Rybizka was the second in command to Hannes Schneider, who was one of the most prestigious ski instructors in Austria/Switzerland. Carrol Reed had the vision of having a ski school like the ones in Europe here in New Hampshire. At the time, there were no ski resorts in New Hampshire. There were vertical areas that you would climb up and ski down….as many times as the sunlight and your body allowed. Reed raised the money to bring Rybizka over in 1936 and the Eastern Slope Ski School in Jackson began. It ran out of what is now the Wildcat Tavern and lessons were given on a slope on Moody’s Farm. Eventually Rybizka moved on to North Conway and started his ski school there where Cranmore Resort is now, and one is his trained instructors, Arthur Doucette, kept the ski school in Jackson going. He ran his ski school at Black Mountain for 25 years, and also founded the Jackson Fire Dept. The lessons, and money, and excitement that grew from the ski schools led to ski shops and eventually J bar/T bar lifts and now here we are. Downhill skiing is a huge part of the economy in New England, and as this article that chronicled this beautiful history says, it all started here. The article was written in 1965 so many of these historic ski heroes were still alive. Benno’s wife was model turned ski instructor Blanche Rybizka. Check out her photoshoot for Life Magazine in 1945 here. She was/is the epitome of winter slope style. This was in the days when Benno was up at Mont-Tremblant. The couple later divorced and Blanche married Dick Hauserman, one of the founders of Vail. They opened the first business in Vail, a ski shop called Vail Blanche. Her third husband was Cortland Hill, who was a Mammoth Mountain pioneer. The last name that she went by was Christie Hill, not sure if Christie was maybe a nickname due to her middle name or maiden name, Christainsen. She was a pretty remarkable woman, quite the skier- here is an article Vail Daily wrote about her when she passed in 2015 at the age of 100!

The Eating & Drinking Culture in Jackson

Jackson is the type of place that likes to work hard and play hard. Most of the inns have their own restaurant and taverns with nightly dinner and apres ski specials. There are really too many places to name here but I will cover a few of them!

Breakfast

For breakfast, definitely check out one of the inns!! The inns are ready for the folks that want to eat a little something before hitting the trails or have a nice big country breakfast. We have stayed at Christmas Farm Inn in the past and they have a really great breakfast. If you are like me and don’t like to eat a huge breakfast before skiing, get a little something to go from J-Town Deli! They have delicious breakfast sandwiches and burritos. They also have the best variety of Ritter Sport chocolate I have ever seen and stroopwafels!

Lunch and Apres-Ski

So when I am out skiing or hiking for the day, lunch is the forgotten meal. We usually eat snacks or just have sandwiches. J-Town Deli is obviously my favorite sandwich joint in town, but I will also say there is a grocery store called Grant’s Shop n Save in Glen which is not far from Jackson to get sandwich stuff and cheap snacks. For me, if there is a meal to save money on during ski/hike days, it’s lunch

Favorite Apres-Ski spots are the Shovel Handle Pub and Wildcat Tavern. The Shovel Handle Pub is really ski club rustic inside in a good way right next to Black Mountain. They have a great menu if you want to stay for dinner, good drinks, and live entertainment. Wildcat Tavern is my favorite. The vintage ski posters, booths made with double ski lift chairs, great menu, live entertainment, or great bar…..you pick, its all good. Parking can be a little dicey on the street, but it is a great spot. When its busy, settle in because the service can be a little slow, but the atmosphere is so great, I have never minded.

Dinner

Now, as I have mentioned, most of the inns have dining rooms and taverns where you can get a great dinner. We ate at the Highfields Restaurant at the Eagle Mountain House and it was delicious. Both the Shovel Handle Pub and Wildcat Tavern do a great dinner. For me though, probably my favorite place for dinner is the Red Fox Bar and Grille. Here’s why: they have woodfire grilling and pizzas! This is the Wentworth Golf Course Club restaurant in the summer months, named after a fox that was known for stealing golf balls! It is probably the largest stand alone restaurant in Jackson, and it has TVs which made it a popular destination for playoff football this past weekend. I love the brick oven woodfire pizza there, and they woodfire grill meats and vegetables, so I know this sounds random, but the woodfire broccoli is amazing. There are definitely some cute ski decor type stuff around, but this restaurant is a little more on the modern side of life.

Jackson NH definitely has my heart. Jon and I hope to someday have a little place up in that area and retire up there. I think that North Conway which is a little south might be a little more family friendly- think more hotels with indoor pools instead of the cute inns, bigger restaurants, larger main street, playground- but I love the quiet in Jackson.

We stayed at the Eagle Mountain House this past weekend! Check out my post on the Eagle Mountain House here: Winter Weekend at The Eagle Mountain House, Jackson NH

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Winter Weekend at The Eagle Mountain House, Jackson NH

On January 18, 2017February 26, 2017 By careofmonIn Trips5 Comments

Many years ago, back when I was in college, Jackson Ski Touring did a Hearts across Jackson Tour for heart health month. We cross country skied between all the inns, and each inn had a treat, some heart healthy, some not so much ha. It was really fun because you got to go in and see all the inns. I remember the first time I saw the Eagle Mountain House sitting up on its hill. Its a pretty big hotel for Jackson. I remember walking in and just wanting to stay. The lobby was cozy with a vintage telephone booth, and the elevator from 1930s still worked. This past weekend, my husband and I finally stayed at the hotel that I fell in love with so many years ago.

The Eagle Mountain House was first built in 1879 and was run basically as a guest house by Cyrus Gale. Cyrus was an avid fisher and outdoorsman, and like many farm houses in the area, he opened his doors to guests as more and more people were flocking to mountains of NH for that curative air and activity over the summer. In 1915, the original inn was destroyed by a fire. The carriage house is the only thing that survived. The carriage house was originally used for horses and carriages, then became the garage for automobiles, and is now a ballroom for functions. The inn came back bigger and better in 1916. The new sign boasted 125 rooms with 100 bathrooms. The wrap around veranda lined with rocking chairs was 280 feet around. Arthur Gale, Cyrus’s son turned the pasture farmland in front of the hotel into a golfcourse in 1931. For many years, the hotel was only open in the summer months. They would collect guests from the train stops in Glen or Intervale to stay for a couple months typically. When cars became the preferred mode of transport, it still could take upwards of 5 hours to drive from Boston.

We arrived in Jackson Saturday around noon and did some cross country skiing until we could check in. The trails over by the Eagle Mountain House were in great shape actually, so we did some skiing in the village, and then headed to our hotel so we could go right in from skiing. After checking in, we brought our bags up the antique elevator that won’t budge until the doors are closed by hand. Our room had a queen bed with a mountain view. There was even the antique telephone still in the wall.

The lobby still had some holiday decorations up and a few sitting areas. One of the sitting areas was around a Christmas tree, and another was around a warm crackling fireplace. A library beyond the lobby had a second fireplace with more comfy seats, a piano, historic photographs, and of course books. In the summer there is an outdoor pool, and there is a hot tub inside that wasn’t working sadly this past weekend. There is also a game room which was popular with the kids, and a small gift shop with mugs and tshirts. In the morning they had tea, coffee, and hot cocoa set up in the lobby, and then in the afternoon they added cookies to the to-go spread! The Eagle Landing Tavern was packed in the afternoons into the evenings. We ate dinner at the Highfields Restaurant on Saturday night and Monday morning. I got the beef tips, Jon got the duck, and both were delicious. Monday morning they had a delicious breakfast buffet. The french toast had the perfect amount of cinnamon and crispiness and then eggs benedict is made fresh that morning.

In the summer, they serve food and drinks out on the veranda, so we will have to go back sometime to do that. The views from the hotel are really beautiful. In 2012, the hotel was bought by George Heaton of Heaton Companies. They have really committed themselves to being caretakers of this historic hotel by gently making upgrades and maintaining the historic charm. An example of this? I believe the Eagle Mountain House was one of the last hotels up there to finally get air conditioning!

This hotel, as well as many other historic hotels up there were built for the guest that had to forced to finally come inside at night. Staying at the Eagle Mountain House in the summers of its hey day was about being outside away from the noise and pollution of the cities. The rooms were really meant to be for sleeping only, with the windows open in the summer! We really enjoyed our stay. Between cross country skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, and hiking, there is so much to do outside in the White Mountains!

I wrote a little bit more about the lovely town of Jackson here: Mountain Town Charm- Jackson, NH – Check it out!

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A New Hampshire New Year’s Weekend

On January 4, 2017February 26, 2017 By careofmonIn Lifestyle2 Comments

I am back to work today feeling refreshed after a week off. I would like to think that my students also feel refreshed and ready to learn annnnnd so I am going to continue to think that haha! I absolutely loved my New Year’s weekend this year. My husband got out of work early on Friday and we headed up to Gunstock Mountain for some night skiing. We had just gotten all that snow on Thursday so the conditions were great! Some areas were a little icy/bumpy because the snow gets pushed into piles in steep parts, but my skis are pretty new still, nice and sharp!

Lake Winnipesaukee view from summit of Gunstock!

View from the summit, we got one summit run in before the lift closed at 4!

View from the Pistol lift, the light made it all look strangely purple

View of the Stockade and the night skiing trails all lit up!

Saturday night we went to a friend’s house for a get together that included multiple bonfires, fireworks (because those are legal in NH, whaaaaaa?), and snowmobiling! It was such a fun night. We were all together in the living room for the ball dropping and champagne toasts.

Welp, I don’t have any resolutions. Trying to eat better and exercise, be kind to the people I love….those aren’t resolutions, they are things that I try to think about all day every day. I am doing my first dressage clinic/lesson this coming Saturday with the trainer who worked with the horse I ride when his owner first brought him here from Ohio. I am so looking forward to it, Draki and me have been working hard and have really made progress since I started riding him in the fall. Its been quite a year- I got married, bought a house and moved to NH, and started a new job. I can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store!

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Snowy hike up Mt. Liberty & Mt. Flume

On December 8, 2016December 8, 2016 By careofmonIn HikingLeave a comment

It may not technically be winter, but it seems no one has discussed this with the White Mountains of New Hampshire. They are already quite white! This past weekend we headed up the Liberty Spring Trail to Mt. Liberty and then over to Mt. Flume and back. You can do a loop going up the Flume Slide Trail to Flume over to Liberty and then down the Liberty Spring Trail but at this time of year, the slide is a slippery treacherous mess.

We left Mizpah at home because it was a seven hour hike, 10 miles, which is just too much for Mizpah in the cold and snow. On the ridge between the peaks, we used snowshoes, and then descending from Mt. Liberty, we wore microspikes. It was beautiful up there- the snow and the rime ice were so pretty. It almost looks like another planet up there.

Rime ice on the rocks in the cloud on Mt. Liberty

Those are trees on the slope there, trees frozen in ice from precipitation and freezing fog.

On top of Mt. Flume, the clouds finally parted!

The evergreens are magical covered in snow

Up on Mt. Liberty the second time looking back at Mt. Flume

Looking out to Mt. Lincoln from Mt. Liberty. This might be my favorite shot of the day….all the snow covered evergreens.

The last time I did Liberty and Flume was September of 2014 and it was wet and foggy. I was so happy to see some views this time. Liberty and Flume are a part of the Franconia Ridge which is probably some of the most picturesque mountains in the Whites.

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New England Classic Beauty

Tag: newhampshire

Spring Weekend at the Mount Washington Hotel & An Announcement!!

Stroll around Phillips Exeter Academy

Hike up Mt. Hale’s Firewarden Trail

Hampton Beach with Mizpah

The Lighthouses of Portsmouth Harbor

Birthday Hike up Mt. Cabot