Category Archives: New Hampshire

The Valley Inn and Town Square, Waterville Valley, NH

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Thanks to my friend Eric I have the lyrics to that song that kept running through my head. Willie Nelson’s On the Road Again. I think the 2nd verse says it all!

 On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again
And I can’t wait to get on the road again

I think that should be my theme song.

But today’s post is a little housekeeping. I didn’t take the time to have pictures ready to share when I told you about the adventures I had just getting “on the road again” to get here. I had some pictures of the interior but I was lazy and did not take any outside. Well, I’m going to rectify that omission now.

Here’s the Valley Inn.

That’s just the entrance . The building spreads out from the entrance.

My unit is the 2nd floor just to the left of the entrance as you look at the picture.

One more picture of the front. I had to get the sign in.

Around the back is the swimming pool.

There’s a pool table and game room next to the towel room and changing rooms for the pool and that about sums up the resort. So let’s get to the Town Square.

The Town Square is basically a liitle shopping mall but it’s designed to function as more of a gathering place. It’s right next to a little pond called Corcoran’s Pond that has certainly been very popular with this hot weather.

Here’s the pond.

Ahhhh Summer on a pond..can’t beat it.

These kids know how to keep cool!

And there you have it. This was my introduction to Waterville Valley.

Practice Picture #1

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I was fooling around with the remote release on the camera so I will be sure it will work when I need it most to get that prize-winning picture!  So here’s practice picture #1. It’s of Covered bridge #44 which was restored or rebuilt just a few years ago. So there’s the bridge and there I am and I have the  sign.

It was really a neat place. When I decided to practice here I didn’t know there was a swimming hole with an old-fashioned rope swing under the bridge.

I tried to get a shot with these boys jumping from the rope with me holding the sign but once they knew I was taking their pictures they kept falling off or dragging their feet. We couldn’t get another clean shot no matter what we tried. Stage fright? 🙂

Vacation!

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It’s official. I am on vacation from now until next Friday. A whole 7 days to pursue whatever I want to pursue.

I’m sure the posts will get more interesting now. You’ve all been very patient. Probably more patient than I have been. I hate being stuck at home. I like to be on the go especially in the summer because the good weather only lasts so long in New England and then we’re back into the cold and snow.

There isn’t much to report today. Just getting myself together. It’s hard to say goodbye to the kitties but maybe I should think of it as their vacation from me. Mapquest says I’m looking at a 3 1/2 hour drive. I don’t think I can check in before 4pm so I’ll do a last load of laundry and run a few errands before I head out.

Mount Washington Cog Railway Photo Contest

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A couple of updates  to start: The first is that I didn’t hear from the bank today. I was told they would call me to pick up my new card and set up my password. Maybe it didn’t come yet. Or…maybe they forgot to call. I think I’ll drop in on the way to work in the morning.

The second update is the dinner. As always my friends Diane and Joe served up a wonderful meal along with great conversation. Diane was the chef of the day and since its soooo hot we had chicken salad… very excellent chicken salad but the crowning glory was her desert. It was a lemon pie that was like a chiffon with whipped cream. It was so smooth and light. As I said in the beginning, a wonderful meal but it’s really the company I enjoy. Diane and Joe are both warm friendly people with lots of interesting things to talk about. Last night topics ranged from consignment shops and thrift stores to gyms, spas and workouts, to blogs and vacations and travel.  The evening just flew by.

I was even honored with a visit from Maxine, their very pretty cat with lovely green eyes. I wish I had a photo of her but Max is a bit photo shy and only approached me when the camera was out of reach. Still I’m just honored that she was willing to come out to “say hello” as she usually hides or sleeps most of the time when I am there. Maybe she’s mellowing as she ages.

Now to the main point of the blog. This morning I had a few minutes before work so I was checking prices on the places I want to go in New Hampshire. The Mount Washington Cog Railway is definitely high on my list.

The Price of an adult ticket is $62.00 (gulp!) but of all the places I’m planning to visit, that is the most expensive so I guess that’s not too bad. I’ve certainly spent more on tours and trips but I guess I think it’s expensive because it’s close to home. I don’t think twice about something like that when I travel like we did to Sedona

 or South Dakota.

But as I was reviewing the web pages I spotted another Photo Contest.  At the end of the Season, a winning photo will be chosen and the photographer will receive a ride for two passengers in the cab of one of our new eco-friendly, biodiesel locomotives next year! Now that’s interesting and unlike a far away prize, I live close enough to be able to use it! So it looks like I have 2 photo contests to try now.

And lastly my travails with computers and money continue. Today as I went in to enter my time worked so I can have a paycheck waiting for me after vacation, the computer system locked me out. That was at 10:30 in the morning. When I left work at 9 pm  HR, payroll and IT were still working on it and I was still locked out. I have 1 more day of work before vacation so here’s hoping they get the problem resolved. At this point I can only shake my head and laugh. I have never in all my life, with all my ups and downs financially,  had so many little annoyances in such a short time in the money department. It feels like an obstacle course. As long as these money issues  stay small like this I can handle it!

Well, time to wrap up this post. Can’t wait to get back to the travel stuff! As you may have guessed , this is just “filler” til I have a chance to get “more places to go and things to see.” Thanks for hanging in with me during this interlude.

Planning the New Hampshire Vacation

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I started looking into the things to do in New Hampshire when I head there the end of the month. I don’t want to give away my ideas for the photo contest but I don’t mind sharing some of the things I am considering. I had most of these on my list before I ever heard of the photo contest.

This past spring while trying to get pictures of the whales off shore on Cape Cod I met a vacationer who told me about the Moose Tours. He showed me pictures he’s taken of moose so that is high on my list of things to do. My online research shows there are a number of outfits offering these tours but I think I will be loyal to the guy I met on the cape and use the outfit he works for.

The Time Share where I am staying is the Valley Inn at Waterville Valley so I will be using that as the base of operations.

I found a reference to a waterfall near Waterville Valley called Sabbaday Falls. It says it’s off the  Kancamangus Highway which is awesome. I have the directions so that is on my list.

At Cannon Mountain there’s the Flume Gorge and The Aerial Tramway. Both sound like great opportunities for some amazing photos. I can’t wait to check them out.

I also pulled up the Mount Washington Cog Railway in my online research. I am not going to hike Mount Washington and I don’t want to put my car through the drive up. I’ve seen those bumper stickers that say “This car drove Mount Washington.” Maybe if it was newer but I’m having enough trouble keeping up with its aches and pains. I’m not going to add to it by pushing it up a mountain. If I get to the top of Mount Washington it will be on the Cog Railway!

I also heard about the Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves.  The online information says there’s a board walk as well as more “ambitious” routes.

Any suggestions of not to be missed places within reasonable driving distance from Waterville Valley?