Tag Archives: mountains

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Resort hopping Part 3… The Eagle Mountain House.

December 17, 2019 Rivergirl 29 Comments

Last on our list of resorts that day was an old and well known establishment.

New England is full of quirky places like this.

With a nice big porch…

And a nice big view…

It was a pleasant spot to end the day.

Charming…

Cozy…

And full of antiques….

It was instantly welcoming.

I can’t say it any better than that.

The bar.

Oh, stuff it Dorothy.

You know us better by now.

But amusing sign aside…

The mushroom risotto cake appetizer left a lot to be desired, as did the cranberry gin fizz.

A definite meh.

We only stayed for one round and then headed into the gift shop… where I saw a wine tag that made me laugh.

As well as…

Are you ready for this?

A bucket of ducks!

Christ on a cracker….enough with the rubber ducks.

This was getting creepy.

Bidding farewell to the hotel, and the ducks….

It took all I could do to convince the husband he could not go rummage in the establishment’s old slate roofed barn.

The mere thought of not being able to gather up all the unloved tools and rusted treasures that must be stored in there? Practically ruined his night…

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Resort hopping Part 2. The Mountain View Grand.

December 16, 2019 Rivergirl 27 Comments

Hidden away in tiny Whitefield, New Hampshire is a gem.

A sprawling hotel…

Packed with old world charm.

Sadly they were renovating the front entrance when we visited so we had to sneak in the side.

Look at those doors!

Chess anyone?

I’m a sucker for a good porch.

And this one did not disappoint.

I could happily plop here with a good book….

A pitcher of margaritas…

And never leave.

Back inside, I checked out the wall of history…

And some great old photographs…

While the husband continued his “I shall pee everywhere I can in Western Maine and New Hampshire” challenge with an upscale rest room this time.

And speaking of rest rooms…

Even I had to check out the pink marble in theirs.

But ooh la la…

There were private sinks inside the ladies room stalls.

Is that some chic shit or what?

Moving on through the lounge…

We found a dining room… and the place where we would spend the next two hours.

The bar.

Don’t look surprised, you knew it was coming.

One Lemonflower Martini…

One Cranberry Orange Margarita…

And one Melon Margarita later…

(Don’t judge me.

They had a 6 page cocktail list and tequila soaked cranberries…. I had to.)

There were some crab cakes.

Some smiley face crab cakes… and yes, that was on purpose.

Crab cakes weren’t supposed to be served that time of day, or at all in the tavern for that matter….. but when you make friends with the bartender?

Anything is possible.

An afternoon well spent, we poured ourselves out the door.

And lamented the fact we wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

Even mid facelift..

She’s an elegant old broad.

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Cathedral Ledge Part 2.

December 3, 2019 Rivergirl 38 Comments

Mountain views.

Valley views.

Vibrant autumn color.

And love locks… Cathedral ledge has it all.

Even lovers with a sense of humor.

It was glorious… and that was only the front half.

Walking along the sides, we made friends.

Took 100 more pictures….

And simply marveled at the beauty of nature.

Even the husband was quiet.

Honestly, there’s only so many times you can say wow.

It really was a special spot.

This way?

Beautiful.

That way?

Fabulous.

Gaze in wonder.

Take picture.

Repeat.

There were rocks!

And trees!

And they made me realize how blessed I am to live in a truly wonderful part of the world.

We made one final lap along the fence line…

And strolled a few final steps across those marvelous rocks…

I tried again…. unsuccessfully… to get a double selfie where the husband actually looks at the camera.

But no matter.

We took one last look and bid goodbye to a place I’d revisit in a heartbeat next time we’re in the area.

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White Mountains trip Day 5. Cathedral Ledge.

December 2, 2019 Rivergirl 39 Comments

Are you ready for a deluge of photos?

Good, then you’re in the right place…

Because this was probably the most scenic spot we found on our trip.

Pulling into the park, the ledge loomed ahead.

We drove up a long, winding, foliage bracketed road…

And a short walk from the parking lot at the top?

Wow.

I’m going to run out of words to describe the view pretty quickly.

Breath taking. Splendid. Dazzling. Jaw dropping. Stunning…

See?

Speechless..

And look at the rocks!

And the trees!

And the even bigger rocks…

With people climbing up them.

I was one happy camper.

Even when I saw I couldn’t use the mountaineers as target practice.

It was glorious.

Every where you turned…

Magnificent views.

Made me feel like I was on top of the world.

More to come.

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Scrambling…

October 25, 2019 Rivergirl 49 Comments

No, not eggs.

Vacations.

You see, for the entire year my husband has been saying he’s going to retire in December. He also forbade me to book any vacations because he works for the Federal Government and can sell back his leave when he goes.

(He gets 5 weeks off every year, so the payout can be substantial.)

Except now that the day is rapidly approaching, he decided he’s going to work a little longer.

Yes, his reasoning is sound.

The old boss he hated has left and been replaced with a laid back, drama free manager.
Starting next year, they’re going to push teleworking from home 2-3 days a week…. and since he already works four 10 hour days, it will probably be a 1 day a week commute.
Good benefits.
Good pay.
The ability to dump more in our TSP (Thrift Savings Plan, the government’s answer to a company matching IRA).

I get it.

I do…

But our retirement plan was to travel, and I’d like him to be semi-mobile and breathing without a respirator when we do. (Hauling a corpse in and out of resort elevators is such a drag.)

Zombie-nuts

But back to the scrambling….

It’s almost the end of the year and I don’t have much time to plan and book 5 weeks worth of vacations before time runs out. It’s not easy with the holidays right around the corner. We have a timeshare on a points system and can go anywhere, but since he’s waited so long to request time off, he can’t get more than a week at a time…. which leaves out long distance trips. I hate spending 2 days flying back and forth for only 4 days on site. With the price of tickets these days, it’s not worth it.

So thanks to WordPress’s magic scheduling ability, as you read this… we are currently returning from a week at a ski resort in the western mountains of Maine.