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Mount Washington - Part 1
Written by: Stacey Stern
To take your family on a rustic adventure reminiscent of your own childhood memories, New Hampshire has all the best pieces to make a new trip down Memory Lane.
To take your family on a rustic adventure reminiscent of your own childhood memories, New Hampshire has all the best pieces to make a new trip down Memory Lane.
Saturday night, while putting our 5-year-old daughter, Amanda, to bed, she asked to have her Cinderella alarm clock set for 6am Sunday morning. My husband, Sal, complied. At 6:15am the next day, Sal was awakened by Amanda's alarm, while she slept right through until 7:30am. We managed to pack up the car and leave at 8am.
Seven hours later, including an hour stop for lunch, we drove down NH-16N passing the Tanger Outlets (oooh), and arrived at The Old Red Inn & Cottages in North Conway. We were greeted by the owner, Dick Potochniak, and shown to our little red cottage, number 5. Outside was a barbeque and a picnic table. We entered through a screened-in porch leading to the living room/kitchenette. There was a couch, chair, TV/VCR, sink/refrigerator/stove combination, and cabinet of dishes and glasses. There was an air conditioner in the window, and a gas fireplace. Off the living room was a bathroom and two bedrooms. The bathroom only had a shower. One bedroom had a Queen-size bed and dresser; and the other had two twin beds and a dresser. Both had an open area to hang clothes. The floors were wood and sloped in all different directions, and the décor was very rustic. I felt nostalgic for my family summer house, which I went to every summer from 6 months of age until I was 21. Amanda and D.J., our 14-month-old, had each had a gift bag waiting with a stuffed tiger, curly straws, coloring books, and crayons.
After unpacking, we opted for a swim in the heated pool located in the center of the property. This was D.J.'s first time in a pool, and he loved splashing Amanda. After we got dressed, we asked Dick to recommend a place to eat. He suggested the Muddy Moose, which was walking distance from the inn. We decided to drive and made a right out of the parking lot, and an immediate right into the next parking lot. The restaurant is very family friendly and is decorated with stuffed moose heads and antler light fixtures. Sal and Amanda started with New England clam chowder, which was so good we all ended up sharing it. D.J. went nuts over the Oyster Crackers -- I think he remembered them from our Maine trip. Sal and I shared the Tim Buck Two, pork chops with a maple syrup glaze, with rice and candied carrots, and a full order of ribs in blackberry sauce, with baked potato and candied carrots. We enjoyed the pork chops, but the blackberry sauce was really excellent. Amanda had her favorite plain pasta, and D.J. shared a little of everything.
After dinner, we drove to the center of town to look around. Rinaldi's Homemade Ice Cream and Gelato at the Eastern Slope Inn, Main Street in North Conway caught our eye, so we went in. Amanda had vanilla, Sal had chocolate chip, I had mint chocolate chip, and D.J. had some of each, with his own spoon of course. We continued window shopping, until we came to a lovely park. The Mount Washington Valley Band was playing their free Sunday night concert in the gazebo by the Community Center, while children played in the playground next to it. Amanda played on the jungle gyms and went on the swings, and D.J. walked around the field. There was a sand pit and a sprinkler area, and a Tetherball area. As the sun began to set, we left the park with both kids protesting, went back to the cottage and watched the cooking channel (Amanda's favorite) before going to bed.
Read part 1 | Read part 2 | Read part 3 | Read part 4 | Read part 5
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