The Mount Washington Resort

My wife and I are on the same page when it concerns the giving of birthday presents. We would appreciate more an experience as opposed to a physical gift.

I had heard other people talk about the beauty of The Mount Washington Resort. So I looked into it; completed in 1902, so it had the vintage vibe we both like, is situated deep in the woods of New Hampshire just northeast of the White Mountains, and the price was reasonable. Trifecta!

I called the number and made the reservation. The gentleman asked me what the occasion the stay was for so I told him it was for my wife's birthday.

After having lunch in Ashland, NH, I asked my wife, "Isn't a classic movie star buried around here?"
She looked it up and discovered Claude Rains is buried in Moultonborough, about 30 minutes away...in the direction of the resort. Off we go!

We find Red Hill Cemetery and locate his headstone (his name is difficult to read, it being black on black).

Claude Rains' home until his death.

The resort was beautifully lit up at night.

We have arrive and check-in, find our room, and open the door. Hmmm, this looks nothing the picture of the room I booked. My wife opens a door which we discover is the bathroom. We stand there with our bags trying to figure out what to do next. She looks in the bathroom and sees another door. I thought it was a closet, but she opens it and...



...this is our room! I said, wait, don't unpack, this is obviously a mistake. A room this size rents out for $700 a night. I go downstairs to the Front Desk and speak to the woman who checked us in. I explain the size of the room and how much I was quoted. She looked at her monitor and said, "You are here for your wife's birthday, right?" Correct, I reply. She looks at me and says, "We upgraded you as a gift." Pick.up.jaw.from.floor. I thanked her several times and returned to the room. My wife asked me what happened. I told her to unpack as they upgraded us to this room for her birthday.

The Great Hall was bustling with people. There was sampling of wine and dessert being offered.

In 1944, both the World Bank and the International Money Fund were created in this room.

We woke up early for a morning swim and were greeted with these mountain views.

The view from the back of the resort.

This is video is from the bridge crossing the river in the back of the resort.

The breakfast buffet was outstanding! I indulged in an omelet and the sausages were infused with blueberries. 

The mountain views from our table. The view I have at home when I eat breakfast is a wall. 

One of the amenities the resort offered was afternoon tea. I had never experience this, so I made a reservation for two. We had talked about attending afternoon tea in Boston, but never got around to it.

We sampled a charcuterie board from local vendors.

Goodbye!

Mount Major

A former colleague posted a photo of her hike to Mount Major on her Instagram. I was so inspired by her I went the next day.

There were a few tough spots that made it a challenge to continue upward. There is another trail leading to the summit which is not as difficult. I took the blue trail and she told me it was the orange trail that was a little easier.

Mount Washington Auto Road

I alway enjoy a good driving challenge. One of the challenges I have not completed was driving my car up Mount Washington. I had seen the bumper stickers everywhere, you know the ones that say, "This car climbed Mt. Washington". Finally in August 2017, I decided I wanted one of those bumper stickers. Not even a drive of three hours each way was enough of a deterrent.

We stopped at the base of the mountain for lunch (Dad came with me). After lunch, we paid the admission fee and up we went. As we were going up, the ride would only be tolerable in 2nd gear. I tried upshifting to 3rd, but the grade was too steep. Back to 2nd it is...for 30 minutes! There are mile markers along the road so you can gauge how far the summit is. The distance from the base to the  summit is 12.2 km (7.6 miles).

Mount Washington Auto Road

If you notice the second sentence in the sign, "...one mile of gravel road.." My first question is why is there a section of road that is still unpaved. Second, "Why hasn't it been paved already?" Ironically enough, this portion is also the narrowest. The drive was going fine until I encountered this portion. I stopped to allow a wide pick-up truck to pass me and when I let off the clutch, I stalled the car! I immediately engaged the e-brake and took a deep breath. If I did not do this right, the car would roll back several hundred meters and be flung off the side of the mountain. Start the car, first gear, little gas, clutch out, e-brake off, and start up the mountain again.

The weather was at the summit was sunny and calm!

You had sweeping views in all directions for 97 km (60 miles).

Going back down was as challenging as going up. The average grade is almost 12%, which means you will go very, very fast if you don't literally ride the brakes. I tried to use 3rd gear, but that accelerated the car to more than 105 kph (65 mph). Back to 2nd gear for another 30 minutes. 

Just for the record, a month later, Travis Pastrana did the same drive in under six minutes, in a highly modified Subaru WRX STI. Slowpoke!