Vacation Hike #5, Mt Jackson

On Friday, I climbed Mt Jackson in Crawford Notch. It's always been a favorite, but it occurred to me that I haven't been up there is almost ten years - not since before we moved to Texas. The view was awesome, but it was incredibly windy up there - windy enough to make me feel fairly uncomfortable. I was getting too cold (from being soaked with sweat in a strong wind), and I was worried about slipping and falling. The last thing I would need was to twist an ankle two and a half miles from the car!

Swimming in the Saco

Grampy told us about a secluded swimming hole on the Saco River - the current was slow, the water was deep, and the bottom was sandy instead of rocky. Sadie dove right in - which was awesome to see, because she hasn't had a chance to swim since Texas.

Mountain Blueberries

When I climbed Mt Crawford on Wednesday, I found that this summit too was covered in wild blueberries. I filled a sandwich bag with blueberries and brought them back to Lori and the kids. We've been putting them in our cereal every morning (and everything else we can think of), and they've been delicious!

Vacation Hike #4, Mt Crawford

On Wednesday, I hiked up Mt Crawford. Like every trail I did this week, I had it all to myself. On the way back out, I ran into one other group on their way up, when I was less than 10 minutes from the parking area. I love the solitude I find on the trail so early in the morning. The only thing that I worry about is running into bears, but so far, so good. All I've managed to 'run into' is spiderwebs. Being the first person on the trail every morning means that I've got to 'break trails' through hundreds of spiderwebs on my way up the mountain. Ick - I'd almost rather be breaking the trail through snow that that!

Trail’s End

Every time we come up North, we always end up going to Trail's End for ice cream. They've got all kinds of great climbing structures for the kids, and this monster truck is one of Sean's favorites.

Storyland, Part 2

We went back to Storyland on Tuesday, with our 'next-day' passes. We hit all the usual favorites, but we also checked out the surface this time. Sean didn't want to try it, and said it would be boring. But as soon as we got inside and saw the acrobats, he was in awe. He saw people riding unicycles, juggling, doing flips, performing magic, and all kinds of great stuff. He was clapping like mad, and was trying to do the two-fingered, super-loud whistle that Grampy does.

Vacation Hike #3, Table Mountain

On Tuesday, I climbed Table Mountain. This was a new one for me. It's on the back side of Attitash, with views to the south - which is not usually the view I get. I took Sadie with me, and she was eating it up. When we got to the top, it was all I could do to convince her to turn around and head back down - she just wanted to push on and on.

Vacation Hike #2, Black Cap

On Monday, we all climbed Black Cap. What a difference a year makes! The kids climbed all the way up and down by themselves, and no one asked to be carried. Both of the kids really enjoyed the view from the top. Now that they've seen the reward, I might be able to get them interested in hiking more with me. The whole summit was covered with wild blueberries, and the kids were picking and eating them by the handful. We took Sadie with us too, and she has never looked so happy. We really need to get her out on more easy hikes - she was practically bouncing up the trail!

Vacation Hike #1, Mt Avalon

I took my first morning vacation hike yesterday. I was originally planning to go to Mt Willard, but once I got to the trailhead I decided I was feeling stronger than Willard, and headed for Mt Avalon instead. It was a beautiful morning, and the trail was absolutely empty. The whole trip I only saw two other people, and both of them I saw on my way out when I was five minutes from the parking lot. The view from the top was fantastic, but there were so many flies up there that I couldn't bear to stay very long. Everything from tiny little mayflies, all the way up to great big horseflies. And since I was the only interesting thing up there at the time, every single one of them decided to come over to investigate. Still, a great hike! Headed to Black Cap today, with the fam. Stay tuned for pics!

Storyland, Part 1

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Storyland with Grammy and Grampy. They have a deal where if you buy a ticket after 3PM, they'll give you a pass to come back another day for free. They've got a new ride this year - Splash Battle. We all got thoroughly soaked, but it was good fun. Near closing time, the crowds really thinned out at there were almost no lines for any rides. We rode the polar coaster, and the operator let us ride three times in a row, because there was no one queued up. We're planning to go back to the park later this week.