I think those are the lyrics of a song but right now the rest of it escapes me. That one phrase kept running through my head off and on all afternoon.
There’s something to be said for far away vacations where you have to catch a plane to get there. It gets you out of the house and on your way unless you want to miss your flight. I think I needed something like that today.
The morning started out ok. I did some last-minute housework, tossed in a last load of laundry, and ran the dishwasher. At that point I should have been just about ready to leave. The first delay was Rocky. Although I was prepared for his antics ( he does it every trip) it still takes up time. He gets in the suit case then on the suitcase then runs out the door and I have to chase him. He was especially persistent today for some reason.
Finally I got everything in the car. I had to drop off a pet bed at the tailor for a new zipper and I wanted to pick up another bag of dry cat food. The only other thing was to stop at the bank for my new debit card. That shouldn’t have taken more than 30 minutes tops for all 3 errands.
The first 2 went well but I ran into a snag at the bank. Thier machine was down so they couldn’t “pin” the card. Without a pin I couldn’t activate it and if I couldn’t activate it I couldn’t use it and that would mean no money for vacation.
The teller assisting me called the other branches to find one whose pin machine was working. So back to the car to drive to the Raynham Branch. I figured that was a good one because I planned to take RT 93 right through Boston and into New Hampshire. As I left the bank, pin activated and card in hand, I realized that all this extra running around had put me way behind. It was 1:30 and I needed to get some lunch before I tackled the drive.
There was a Papa Gino’s right there so I popped in thinking it would be quick. It wasn’t so by the time I left there it was after 2:00. As I got into the car I happened to look at my rear view mirror. I hang the house keys on it so I don’t lose them. They weren’t there. My first thought was to just go and deal with the missing keys when I got back but that’s not me. So I filled the gas tank ($46.00) and turned around to go home.
At the condo I rang bells until one of my neighbors let me in. I had a door key stashed so I could get into my unit but my neighbor wanted to visit. As I chatted with him and opened my door an orange streak shot out from the doorway. My neighbor said “man, he’s fast !” So much for getting in, grabbing my keys and getting out. By the time I finally picked up my keys and got back out to the car it was 3 pm . According to mapquest it was a 3 hour drive.
Which way to go…RT 93 through Boston? It’s rush hour now ..on a Friday! RT 128? Longer and still bottlenecks with the traffic out of Boston. Rt 495? It’s a bigger loop, longer mile-wise but there might not be as much traffic. So RT 495 it was.
At first I made pretty good time. I thought I might only be an extra 1/2 hour but almost as soon as that thought crossed my mind I saw brake lights. We slowed to a crawl for the RT 90 (Mass Pike) exit. We picked up speed again after that exit but then we hit the exit for RT 290 around Worcester. Once again stop and go. Once past that exit we began to cruise again until we got to Lowell. In Lowell RT 3 merges with Rt 495 and by now we were in the heart of rush hour. From Lowell to New Hampshire line and then 2 exits further north all we did was crawl. It was over 100 degrees and there were cars on the side of the road with their hoods up..over heated? There was also a 3 car accident that slowed traffic down. I began to wonder if I’d ever get to the mountains.
Finally I hit Concord, NH and from there on the traffic was pretty light so I was able to do the speed limit. I rolled into the Valley Inn parking lot at 7 pm, only and hour more than mapquest estimated. Not too bad but it sure felt like a lot longer than that.
Check in went smoothly. I have a unit on the 2nd floor. My windows overlook the parking lot but the unit is cute. It’s a 1 bedroom.
There’s a refrigerator, stove and microwave. The AC is kind of questionable. When it kicked on it rattled so badly I didn’t know what it was. I suppose they don’t use AC much here in the mountains. Waterville Valley is better know as a ski resort.
The bathroom is equipped with a whirlpool bath. I used my point and shoot to take a few pictures of the interior.
Tomorrow I’ll get out the DSLR and take some outdoor shots of the exterior so you can see it.
The desk clerk sent me to “The Village Square” for dinner.
He recommended “Diamond’s Edge” restaurant. I wish I had brought my camera then.
The Village square is a mall that is built around a “green”. There’s also a pond where you can swim and kayak and there were picnic tables where people were eating pizzas. I can see why it’s called The Village Square. The Diamond Edge is on the 2nd floor of one of the buildings and looks out over the “square”. The restaurant is really pretty and I was afraid that I was under-dressed until the host greeted me. He was wearing shorts.
I was seated at a window table. And wonder of wonders, the window was wide open! I am so used to buildings where the windows are sealed shut that this alone made it a treat. The waitress’s name was Amanda and she was excellent too. I didn’t have anything fancy. Some fish and chips (also excellent), a glass of Alice White Chardonnay and for dessert chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream on the side…and a cup of tea. I know I was very bad eating like that but it was very, very good. And I want to mention that I did not finish the lava cake. It was just too rich. It would have been perfect if it had been 1/2 the size. I’ll have to walk it off tomorrow.
I’m not sure which direction I’m going in tomorrow. I’m playing it by ear. I do expect to return to the “Town Square” to get some pictures. Maybe tomorrow would be a good day to check out the waterfall near the Kancamangus Highway. We’ll just have to see what the day brings for now, at least I’m here in the White Mountains. Finally! 🙂
