Road Trip Part Deux

Mom and I just returned from two days in New Hampshire. I didn't really understand why my parents had bought into a time share---but now, having reaped the benefits of such time share, I forgive them.

We stayed at a resort on Loon Mountain. Included in the redemption of my parents time share points was our two bedroom, two bath condo complete with fireplace, balcony, full kitchen and jacuzzi tub. We also had access to the resorts indoor and outdoor pools and hot tub.

On the way up we stopped at Patternworks.

I'll have to photograph the swag later and post. Mom and I found some goodies, including Mission Falls, Wool-Pak (for the Afghans!), Koigu and more. It is hard to believe that the catalog we receive from Patternworks comes out of this fairly small shop. But it is bright and airy and flows well. The people who work there are lovely too.

We then hit the local outlet malls (I know, MORE outlet shopping?) and then headed for the Kancamagus Scenic Highway from Conway New Hampshire to our condo.




The weather was GORGEOUS! The trees in some spots are already beginning to change color! Hints of fall were everywhere. I can't even imagine how amazing the colors will be in about a month.

We had a lovely, massive Italian meal and honkered in for the night. We had a big day planned for Tuesday.

We headed out early to conquer the Mt Washington Auto Road. Mt. Washington is the highest peak on the east coast; part of the Presidential range and the Appalacians. The auto road is an eight mile treck up a very narrow road with no guardrails to the 6288 foot summit.

Yes, included in the admission price ($20 per car plus $7 per each additional passenger) you get a CD tour, a certificate of completion and this nifty little bumper sticker.

The views were spectacular. Mom was chatting up a woman who works in the gift shop who said they have about 5 days a year like the one we had. Usually it is rainy, foggy, windy and gross. The highest wind ever recorded was here, at 231 MPH. The ride down was scarier as there were many blind spots. I was happy to have had all that driving experience from Scotland and Ireland under my belt.

The view of the mountain from below is just as captivating

And of course, I bought a cheesy hat:

Im going to break the trip blogs up, as I don't want to jinx blogger's photo uploading capabilities. More later from Franconia State Park where we rode a Gondola and hiked the flume...