Tag New Hampshire

Okay, so we’re not sure what the top sights in New Hampshire really are, but we’d be happy to tell you what we saw!

Mount Washington Hotel and Resort is a beautiful retreat away from the bustle of the East Coast. It’s a self-contained mini paradise. We’re talking spa, pool, tea room, bar and dining room, wine room and of course amazing views of the mountains as well as the gold course. I assume there are great hiking trails nearby and the concierge would be happy to point the right direction. One of the greatest amenities, though, was the massive fireplace in the center of the lobby and the board-game room behind it. This is the largest indoor fireplace I’ve seen, and I imagine a bottle of wine and a good book would be great accessories for it.
We also got to see the former home of the late celebrity actress Betty Davis. Yes, she did summer in New Hampshire, as did many of the rich and famous once upon a time. Betty Davis lived in a small cottage in the woods off the beaten path outside Frankonia. Her home was made of wood, and has a secret passage way between the two bedrooms (tsk, tsk Miss Davis!). A beautiful arches wooden ceiling was the main highlight, and the new addition to the home stayed true to the time period, adding appeal and even more old-world charm. Of course the walls are covered in Betty Davis memorabilia.

Downtown Littleton is another great reason to visit New Hampshire. We were impressed by the world’s longest candy bar at Chutters. The oldest surviving building is indeed quite old, and beautiful as well. The whole downtown area is just as quaint as a postcard. My favorite shop was the Little Herb Shop where the owner was incredibly friendly and kind, and she carried a great selection of herbs.

But of course the most famous thing to see in New Hampshire are the leaves in fall, and we hit that perfectly. Driving up to the overpasses to see rolling red, orange and yellow hills was a joy no East Coaster should miss.

Leaving Niagra Falls, we headed into New York on the I-90. For those who don’t know New York, like we didn’t, I-90 is a toll road. We ended up paying thirteen dollars for the privilege of using the road. Once you’re on I-90 you’re somewhat trapped. They have stop-n-go centers along the route that have overpriced gas and food, but one teller confided in me that gas prices were higher by about 8 cents on the toll road.

I-90’s toll ends and the toll road turns into I-89. We got off the toll road with lighter wallets, and hit the 787N to the 7. This is where New York finally got interesting for us, but also where we exited New York in general. Coincidence?

Entering Vermont was a nice transition in terms of getting off the toll road and finally seeing some back roads and character. Farmhouses emerged out of the woodlands and those pastures gave way to mountains that bore small resorts, B&Bs and winding roads with stunning autumn views. Night fell as we entered the Green Mountain Forest, where around every precarious bend one finds another small shire of homes, small businesses and more stunning outlooks over fiery orange hills.

Eventually we hit the interstate on Vermont’s eastern border. This N-S highway boasts the worst drivers we’d encountered so far. Fair enough, they were distracted by stunning trees in transition, as were we. We followed I-91N until we saw exits for Littleton, New Hampshire. If you’re traveling along this route keep in mind that exits are not marked with what’s behind the trees so if you’re hungry you mind as well start swallowing your spit because it’s not easy to find the right exit for food. Here’s where a GPS would be of massive assistance.

New Hampshire is apparently sales tax free. That’s pretty amazing considering you can purchase stuff there and save yourself about 6%. We bought diapers for our sweet baby, but didn’t take advantage of that deal for much else. We were now set to spend the next week with family outside of Littleton.

See more photos of the trip on the Photos page.

Progreso

I suppose reading the blog might have been confusing recently for some of our more attentive readers. We posted blogs from Canada and Chicago nearly simultaneously, one praising the Olympic ski runs at Whistler, the other lauding a drive from North Carolina to Chicago. Meanwhile, posts from Mexico and Texas are also popping up. If you’ve been confused, you’re probably not the only one. Here’s what has happened since ATC returned to America:

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida- a beautiful and warm place complete with scenic palm trees and overpriced taxi rides – in early November, 2009. From Florida, we traveled by Amtrak to Columbia, South Carolina where our train arrived at the ungodly hour of 4:00am. We walked through the last of the hurricane season in Columbia while finding a hotel, and in the morning we booked it north….to North Carolina. We spent several days in the Carolinas visiting relatives and reacquainting ourselves with Krispy Kreame doughnuts and Starbucks coffee—two things sorely lacking in Serbia. No joke, the Serbians could use a few tasty treats to cheer them up a bit.

After our family time in NC, we rented a car and drove to Rockford, IL for some more family time before ATC was split as Lauren went to Minnesota and then Washington (and Canada) while Mike went to New Hampshire. Thus, the blog has postings from the slopes of Whistler, BC and the hills of New Hampshire almost simultaneously.

With the holidays safely behind us, Lauren and Mike have reunited and even managed to drive from Illinois down to Texas, where they were lucky enough to meet up with some Old China Hands (friends from Shanghai) who currently reside in Austin. Continuing on, they traveled south to find warmer weather and calmer skies on the gulf coast of Texas, where they launch mini-trips into Mexico weekly.

So, here I write from a windy but beautiful beach on South Padre Island, TX as the gulf waves crash before me and the salty sand and wind blow my hair into my eyes. The gin and tonics flow freely here, and while little on South Padre Island remains open past 4pm (this being a retirement community) I’m happy to report that this writer has finally found a quiet place to write, reflect and detangle.

Mount Washington Hotel Lobby - Ready for the Holidays

Also known as the Bretton Woods Resort, the Mount Washington Hotel is the one of the last remaining “Grand Hotels” of New Hampshire’s White Mountains.  Since it was built by Joseph Stickney in 1902, for a mere 1.7 million dollars, it has been host to a variety of historical events, politicians, and celebrities.  The Kennedy’s were known to vacation at the hotel during ski season in the White Mountains.  The hotel was a moderate success until Income Taxes, Prohibition, and the Great Depression reduced guests to minimal numbers.  The hotel closed in 1942 during World War II, was purchased by a Boston syndicate in 1944 for only $450,000 – a fraction of what it was built for decades earlier.

World Bank and IMF Conference Table - Mount Washington Resort

Shortly after the purchase, the Bretton Woods Monetary Conference convened while the Allies pushed their invasion through France.  750 delegates from 44  Allied nations met to discuss the commercial and industrial economic recovery of the world following the war.  The Bretton Woods Conference established the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) – which became part of the World Bank.

The IMF, still today, oversees the global financial system on a macroeconomic scale of countries who affect the exchange rates and balance of payments.  Initially created the stabilize the world economy following the war, the International Monetary Fund now lends money to developing a struggling nations through a system of annual donations from member nations.

The IBRD was originally created to fund reconstruction in countries devastated by World War II.  Now, the IBRD is one of the five facets of the World Bank and currently finances poor and impoverished nations by acts of lending.  I was amazed to discover that such modern day controversial and monumental conferences that affected the world, were brought about in the small rooms of the Mount Washington Resort – nestled away in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  The resort was giving a grant of $300,000 for hosting the conference and $18 per room from each of the delegates for the three week conference.

Like in The Shining

Walking over the creaky wooden floors and through the drafty hallways of this grand old hotel, I couldn’t help but hear in my head, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” and “Here’s Johnny!”  Or even worse, I thought I would see those two twin girls in blue dresses at the end of this hallway in the picture to the left.  Down the corridor in that picture, to the left, there was also a bar which was coincidentally empty except for one well dressed man cleaning a glass behind the counter.   That was it, I was convinced that this was the hotel from the movie.  However, The Shining was filmed in a similar aged hotel in the mountain of Colorado.  Just as in the Shining, Mount Washington used to close down in the winter as the roads were too snow covered to reach the mountain resort.

In 2008 the TV Show Ghost Hunters featured the Mount Washington Resort attempting to find ghosts of the past in the 100 plus year old hotel.

Regardless, visiting the Mount Washington Resort was a great historical experience and although we didn’t stay, maybe next time.