Family Weekend White Mountains
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BostonTeaParty · 08-12-2002, 03:27 PM

We spent this past weekend in Thornton, NH (near Waterville Valley). My DH's sister lives there with her family. I have a mini-trip report I want to post, but I'm having to fight both DS's and DH for the computer today. I will post it later this evening. I'm typing very fast to try and get in as much info. as I can before I'm attacked!!

Anyway, just a little pre-info. Last year we started a tradition of a weekend get-together at DH's sister's house. DH and both of his sisters got married in the same year, and last year we all celebrated our 15th anniversary together by having a big family party. We had such a blast we decided to make it a yearly thing. It includes our children which only adds to the fun.

I'm going to try and include a few photo's. They are large and when I try to reduce the image size the photo becomes a bit distorted.

Okay, gotta run...under attack...aaaaarrrrggggghhhh

Nanc [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[ 08-12-2002, 03:27 PM: Message edited by: NancyW ]

PS - I LUV WDW · 08-12-2002, 08:21 PM

Can't wait to hear all about it! We love the White Mountains!

BostonTeaParty · 08-12-2002, 11:49 PM

Finally got the computer to myself, here's our weekend trip report.

On Friday night, August 9th, my DH Paul, our two sons Paul and Chris, and I, headed up north to the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire. My husband has two sisters. One lives on the Cape, the other lives in Thornton, NH in the White Mtn. region. Starting last year we decided to have a family get-together each summer. It started last year as a celebration of all three couple's 15th wedding anniversary, but we had such a good time we decided to make it an annual event.

We couldn't have picked a better weekend weatherwise --- we had sunshine and hot temps. (high 80's low 90's) all weekend. Paul's sister and her family live on a HUGE tract of land (I mean acres and acres). Four tents were already set up out in the backyard for the kids. We arrived pretty late Friday night so the kids headed straight out for the tents and got settled in. They still managed to stay up even later. There's nothing like getting together with your cousins to get everyone worked up, laughing and having fun. We heard lots of shhh-ing from various tents and muffled giggles, but eventually things quieted down.

Everyone was up and about by 9(ish) on Saturday morning. My SIL Jan (from the Cape) was making french toast and pancakes for everyone, assisted by her daughter Katie. These pancakes were incredible!! [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] She added plenty of fresh berries (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) that were bursting with juice and just delicious. While she was hard at work, the adults poured fresh hot coffee and sat on the porch talking and waking up. The view from the porch is just breathtaking - mountains in the distance and bird feeders hanging from the posts. Even a nectar filled hummingbird feeder...those ruby throated hummingbirds are just so pretty. And high overhead hawks were soaring and circling. No matter where you looked there was something amazing to see.

After breakfast we were all joking and chatting away, getting caught up and just relaxing. The kids were in the yard riding around on the quad (ATV) and having a great time. Finally, we all piled into our cars, three Caravans (a caravan of caravans) and headed up to Franconia notch. We had a few extra kids in our car as the cousins decided they wanted to ride together. So in addition to our two boys, we had Nate, Becca, and Kerrie. We made sure the kids kept their eyes peeled for "The Old Man of the Mountain." The Old Man of the Mountain in a natural stone formation on the side of Cannon Mountain, that gives the appearance of an old man with an easterly gaze, 1200 feet above Profile Lake, and is the symbol of the state of New Hampshire. Our kids didn't believe us, they thought we were joking when we told them to watch for him. Becca and Nate, who live nearby, assured them it wasn't a joke and pointed it out to them. They were amazed and thought it was pretty cool.

Shortly after we passed by, we reached our first destination of the day, the Cannon Mountain aerial tram. The tramway brought us to the 4,200 foot summit of Cannon Mountain in approximately 8 minutes. On a clear day, we were told by the tram operator, visitors enjoy views of the mountains of New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Canada, and New York. Fortunately for us, it was an almost perfectly clear day. At the summit there are walking paths, an observation deck, cafeteria, and restrooms. We took some stunning pictures along the walking path. One of the pictures that I took of the kids with the mountains behind them, is so impossibly beautiful, the background looks fake.

This is running a little longer than I thought it would. I have to stop for now (I'm nodding off at the keyboard). I'll try to get back to this tomorrow.

[ 08-12-2002, 11:57 PM: Message edited by: NancyW ]

BostonTeaParty · 08-13-2002, 11:36 AM

A couple of pictures to go with the report. First, my SIL Bev's home in Thornton, NH. It's like Little House on the Prairie,isn't it?

For those of you who've never seen him, the "Old Man of the Mountain."

BostonTeaParty · 08-13-2002, 11:51 AM

The kids atop Cannon Mountain. Clockwise from left in the Red Sox cap is my son Chris, then Katie, Becca, Kerrie, my son Paul and Nate is front and center. In the background the scenery is so beautiful it looks fake. The picture is big, but I did shrink it some. When I tried to resize it smaller it became distorted. I think I have to change my camera settings to take smaller pictures. Hey, I'm learning.
[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

Nancy

BostonTeaParty · 08-13-2002, 02:32 PM

When we last left off, our intrepid travellers were high atop Cannon mountain, exploring the paths, taking pictures and practicing their yodelling skills. Our plans for the rest of the afternoon called for a refreshing splash at the local water park "The Whale's Tail." This waterpark is very small, with only six slides, a wave pool and lazy river, and a toddler's section. I learned that day that there are plans to develop 17 unused acres to expand the park. Since we only planned to be there for 2 or 3 hours that was plenty enough for us. It did the trick nicely, cooling us off while we had fun. The kids split up into groups so Paul and I hit the slides on our own. Of course the kids caught up with us when they got hungry. The benefit of being in a small waterpark (for them) was that Mom and Dad were very easy to find when necessary. Another nice feature was that while we floated along the lazy river sitting in our tubes, we could look up and enjoy the view of the mountains all around us. We joked around about having a lazy river installed around the backyard for our use at home. We hit the snack bar and everyone wanted fried dough and dipping dots. Have you guys tried dipping dots? It's a cup of ice cream, but it's literally a dish of individual balls the size of pellets you would put in a BB gun. They sort of melt in your mouth, very unusual, but tasty.

After snack time we rounded up the troops for the ride back to my SIL Bev's. Bev's house is really nice. It's a log cabin, and from the outside you would think you were entering Jed Clampett's place. But the inside is very modern and beautiful. They have a lot of quaint touches that make you feel like you are in a real mountain home. For drinking glasses she has mason jelly jars that we used for iced tea and lemonade. They also have a beautiful wood stove in the living room with big glass sliders looking out towards the mountains.

Once we got back to the house the kids went out back to ride the quad some more and play horseshoes. The adults started getting ready for the cookout. It was low-key this year. Last year, because it was a special anniversary celebration we had lobsters, champagne, a beautiful cake, and all sorts of special goodies. This year it was burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and steak tips. The champagne was replaced by Corona's with a wedge of lime. We also had a garden salad, a wonderful fruit salad, salsa and chips, and I made up a cheese and cracker plate. Of course when I started to work on the cheese plate, I couldn't pass up the chance to let everyone know that it was time for me to cut the cheese. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] I also brought a couple of fresh pineapples that we cut up and served. [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] Fresh is just so delicious and totally different from canned pineapple.

After a simple but delicious dinner, we cleaned up and relaxed a bit. As darkness fell over the mountains we were treated to a night time sky that rivals any planetarium. The stars were just incredible...like sparkling diamonds on a black velvet cloth...and millions of them. The milky way was easy to spot, and most of us witnessed at least one falling star that night (the Perseid meteors were beginning their annual mid-August show). Bev's husband Dave was lighting the campfire, the kids started shooting off roman candles, and it was almost time for Uncle Paul's annual campside ghost story.

I have to stop here for now. My family is fighting me for computer time. I'll try to get back later tonight to finish up our magical weekend in the mountains.

[ 08-13-2002, 02:35 PM: Message edited by: NancyW ]

PS - I LUV WDW · 08-13-2002, 05:29 PM

Awesome report Nancy! Love the pictures. It's been a few years since we have been on that side of the White Mountains (we usually go to the North Conway side)!

Pam

wdwlovers · 08-13-2002, 05:32 PM

Great report Nancy! Makes me want to visit! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Tara O'Hara · 08-13-2002, 05:34 PM

Awesome report, Nancy!! Love your pics!!

[img]graemlins/love.gif[/img]

Tara

GoofyMom · 08-13-2002, 11:07 PM

Wow, your descriptions are wonderful. I could almost see the hawks soaring overhead. Beautiful pictures too.

Bert & Sully · 08-14-2002, 12:19 AM

Great stuff Nancy! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

DVC_Don · 08-14-2002, 09:46 AM

Nice report Nancy. I never did a TR on our early July trip to the White Mountains. I'm am enjoying reading yours though. Thanks

AKLRULZ · 08-14-2002, 09:57 AM

Nancy, thank you for posting this. The pictures are wonderful! It looks and sounds like a super time was had by all.

Thanks again.

BostonTeaParty · 08-14-2002, 10:42 AM

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm glad you're enjoying the report. It's fun to share it with you. It really was a great time. As fun as the weekend sounds to you, I wish I could better capture just how much we truly enjoyed ourselves.

I really am going to try and finish this puppy today!

Nancy [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

BostonTeaParty · 08-14-2002, 10:56 AM

A couple more pictures to go with the report. These pictures were taken at Whale's Tail.

The first shot is of Paul, Nate and Chris cooling off under some fountains.

The next one is DH Paul's sister Jan (center), to the left is her daughter Katie and to the right is Bev's daugher Becca. I did reduce the images, but they don't look nearly as good as the originals.

[ 08-14-2002, 11:10 AM: Message edited by: NancyW ]