We didn't do as many things today as yesterday, but the things we did still warrant a mention. We were going to go on a sunrise drive up Mount Washington. That would have required us to get up by 3 AM or so, just so we could get there when the road opens at 3:30 AM. But after the trip up the day before, and the profuse rain all night, we decided it probably wouldn't be the best idea to go up the road in the dark, when it is possibly slippery, and the car has already been taxed. I was not complaining, for you know how I love my beauty sleep. Instead, we woke up at a reasonable 7:30, packed up at Carter Notch Inn, ate a delicious breakfast of apple French toast, and left.
We didn't get very far. Just up the road from the bed and breakfast is this mountain stream that cascades down as series of rocks, a beautiful piece of nature right off the road. It kind of reminded me a bit of Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan, but on a much lesser scale. Naturally, we had to stop and take a bunch of pictures. In the meantime, I stuck my feet in the water, which was freezing cold, took in the scenery, and my sister collected shiny rocks (apparently mica or quartz). It must be nice to live in an area where a scenic spot is just a few minutes drive away or right outside your door. After leaving the waterfall/stream, we stopped at this eclectic store in Jackson, New Hampshire called Ravenwood Curio Shoppe. Basically the outside of the store was covered with a hodgepodge of sculptures, found art, and glass work. While we didn't get anything, it was still cool to look. My favorite piece was this statue called "Art Deco Maiden" (the name is self-explanatory). We finally got out of Jackson, but not before taking a picture (or two, or a thousand) of the covered bridge that you take to get into town. All in all, it was quite a quaint town.
Since the weather was once again nice, we decided to go on those hikes we had missed the day before because of inclement weather. The first hike was up to Square Ledge, which was no walk in the park. Though it was only .5 miles one way, it was quite challenging for at one point, there is this nearly vertical rise over not-quite secure rocks. At times, it was quite scary, and I was sure I would fall to my death. Obviously, I did not. When we finally got up to the ledge, it was very nice and had a spectacular view of Mount Washington. With that, I was finally satisfied with the number of hikes and outdoor things we did on this vacation. We managed to fit in one more hike to Glen Ellis Falls, which wasn't really a hike. It was only .3 miles long one way, and was mostly over gravel pathways. I put away my hiking sticks since it was so easy. Even though it was short, the views of the waterfall were pretty awesome - the water clear and sparkling, everything you would imagine in a mountain stream. At the bottom, it was a bit crowded with people taking pictures, and I accidentally got my shoe wet trying to navigate the slippery rocks nearby the waters. Luckily, my hiking shoes are waterproof and my socks wick away water, so no harm was done, other than to my ego.
After a quick lunch at a Dairy Queen (what? Ice cream sounded good right then! Don't judge.), we started on our way to our present location, Norwich, Vermont and the Norwich Inn. Instead of the prescribed route by the GPS, we took this scenic highway called "Kancamagus Highway." It winds around the White Mountains, sometimes right next to some picturesque stream, often with people wading in. You couldn't ask for more all-American scenery. On the way, we listened to the Detroit-Pittsburgh baseball game, and were happy when the Tigers won 3-2. Once we reached the inn, we decided to just veg out, and ate at the restaurant downstairs. For dessert, my mom got a chocolate mousse, and my dad got some puff pastry with ice cream whose name slips my mind. Yum! Afterwards, we engaged in moderate exercise to aid digestion and walked around the area of our hotel. Other than a park with a gazebo that my family made a fool of themselves in, it wasn't very scenic. But it was still nice to get out after several hours in a car. Tomorrow we go to King Arthur's Flour Company, which make the delicious lava cakes that I have raved about before, as well as Dartmouth, where we will tour the campus. Should be another interesting day as our vacation winds down.
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