The state of NH screwed us this year by lining up our vacation week with everyone else, so that meant we had to pay HOLIDAY prices for skiing in our own backyard. Never mind booking a place to stay with all those Massholes around (current readers excluded, of course). Anyway, Jason called last week and asked if we wanted to go skiing on Tuesday during vacation week, and we were all for it. We had a few coupons left from the SkiNH passport, so we were good to go. We figured we'd hit one of the local mountains for a day. Well, our one day ski trip turned into a two day ski trip to northern NH, with some surprise guests and a charming motel. Who knew motels could be charming? Who knew I would ever refer to anything as charming? I think I'm turning into an old woman.
The plan was as followed: drive to Loon on Tuesday, ski all day, stay someplace up there Tuesday night, and ski Bretton Woods on Wednesday before heading home. I wasn't sure I'd be able to find a place to stay considering it was vacation week, but I did, and it ended up being perfect. The Gale River Motel in Franconia was the place. The price was right, the service was outstanding, and the location fit.
Tuesday, Jason and Jack arrived, and we were on the road by 7:10 to Loon. By 9:30, we were in line with the boys, and actually a bit surprised at how good the conditions were, and how not-crowded it was. We avoided the main lifts most of the day, and once we did that, we rarely had a wait. We enjoyed skiing from the summit, and we even tried the South Peak for 5-6 runs. All in all a great day of skiing.
We left and headed up to Franconia, checked in, and all took a spin in the hot-tub. At 104 degrees, it was the ideal way to rest the aching bones and muscles. We all showered and headed to dinner in Littleton in a main street, glass window place right out of the 50's; pie cabinet and all. It sat across from the Jax Movie Theater, which actually had a woman in a small glass booth selling tickets. Where do you see that anymore? The Loring, maybe?
We headed back and partied in Jason's room, waiting for the Mulvaney's to arrive. They were a late addition to the ski party and decided to join us for some skiing Wednesday before heading back to Bolton and cousin Brian's for the rest of the week. According to Tom's GPS, he'd be arriving around 7:30. Around 7:20 he called, said they were almost here as they just passed the Laconia Ice Rink. Laconia? Did he say Laconia? The meat-head punched in the wrong town into the GPS and was still 1.5 hours away.
They finally did arrive around 9, and we passed out Christmas presents. Hard to believe, but this was the first time most of the three families were in the same spot at the same time. Julia received the American Girl Doll Emily from Auntie Yes-Yes, and was in heaven. In a room full of boys, she somehow outshone them all. Now every birthday/holiday gift giving just got a lot easier with all the accessories we can get her for Emily.
Wednesday we headed out, but not before stopping for a small deli where you could get a bagel, coffee, and a bag of weed for $4.99. We got on the slopes at 9:50, where we sat in lift line hell for the next 20 minutes. There were so many people there that it was literally painful waiting because the lines slope down, so everyone has to lean on their poles just to prevent themselves from sliding into the group in front of them. Almost 1.5 hours later, we made it to West Mountain, which we hoped would provide much needed lift line relief. It sucked too, and if it wasn't for the fact that we had plunked down HOLIDAY week prices (thanks again, state of NH), we would have left before lunch. But we stuck it out, and stayed on West Mountain. Members of our party came and went, and Owen, Evan and I actually never left until closing time. We got lucky as Tom used Julia's Disney Princess backpack to bring us lunch on the mountain.
I'm glad we did stay, because we had a blast skiing the bumps, tackling three sets of glades, and hitting top speed on a super wide diamond. Snow conditions were awesome, and I'd live to go back there during regular hours someday.
We packed up and headed home at 4, and were in Pelham by 6:30 or so, exhausted from our little trip. These guys, Liam, Owen, and Evan are all getting so good on the slopes that my heart swells with pride every time I see them out there. And having Jack and Thomas along for the ride as well gets everyone juiced up even more that they all push themselves to forget their fears in an effort to be better than the next guy. Thank God for helmets, which provide me at least a little piece of mind.
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