Zip line canopy tour

Wednesday, June 2 - This was the view from the starting point of our zip line tour. Mount Washington is the tallest peak on the right, and you can see the resort in the valley below. Our trusty guides, Jamie and Bobby, took us through every step of the way, including a ground school - aka "bunny" zip line - to teach us the zipping skills that we would need. Relax, steer to keep going straight, just a little hand pressure to break - think of it as your own personal hammock. Then the fun began.

We were on the tour with our new friends Sedna, Marvin, Jim and Bonnie. You become friends quickly when you are jumping off 100-foot high platforms together... Bobby took my camera to take a movie as he was the first one cross the valley in the longest zip: over 800 feet.

Sandy quickly got the reputation of group cheerleader and screamer. Every one of her zips had a different theme - whoops, "yee-ha!", tarzan... Here are a few action shots:































And there was even repelling:

All in all, it was an amazing experience. A perfect way to experience the White Mountains. Thanks to Jamie, Bobby and our new friends!

Zip line teaser

Wednesday, June 2 - We had an awesome time on the Canopy Tour through the trees on the zip line this morning. We need to hit the road to head to Montreal, so here's just a teaser. More to come... We even have video.

Perfect Morning

Wednesday, June 2 - This morning was perfect. I got up and went out for a quick run around the grounds of the resort and through the woods. Plus, it's National Running Day. Couldn't ask for a better day.

Tuesday, June 2 - The Mount Washington Hotel is amazing. Built from 1900-1902, it is still as grand as it was at the beginning. It was a little rainy and foggy when we arrived in the evening.

This hotel is famous for the "Bretton Woods Conference" in 1944, when delegates from 45 nations met to form the International Monetary Fund. There are several plaques on guest room doors down the hall from our room which showed which delegates stayed in which rooms, including someone from Iceland, one of our favorite countries.

Heading back to New Hampshire

Tuesday, June 1 - After coming back from sunrise watch, going back to bed for a while, packing up, and heading back to Cafe This Way in Bar Harbor again for breakfast, we hit the road to head back to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We felt like we got an extra day in there since we got up at 4am, did some sightseeing and went back to bed again!

Our destination today: The Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH. Not quite a direct route from Bar Harbor, but god bless Google Maps on the iPhone for getting us there. Sandy was a bit skeptical about the route, since we were directed to get of the interstate and drive through small towns and country roads. But I assured her we should keep the faith, and after seeing some nice countryside and stopping at our 3rd outlet mall this trip, all was well.

Portsmouth in a Flash

Saturday, May 29 - All reports said that Portsmouth was a great little town, but since we were on a schedule, we had to keep our stay to only about an hour and a half. First stop: Strawbery Banke Museum - an open air museum of a few blocks of Portsmouth with preserved old buildings. We got there about 40 minutes before closing, and the nice lady taking tickets couldn't believe that we wanted to pay to enter with only a few minutes left. When she hesitated, Sandy said, "Come on, Edie, let's go!" No time to waste. I told her we're happy to support the local ecomomy, and she said, "OK!", smiled, picked up the pace, and sent us on our way. Those crazy city kids...

Several of the buildings are open to explore, with their "residents" to tell you about their daily life in the olden days. We had a nice conversation with "Mrs. Shapiro"...

We then swung through downtown Portsmouth to see the town and get a snack. Great place. Picture perfect. However, Parking in a spot with a 15-minute time limit kept us on schedule. Next time we'll have to spend a bit more time...

New Hampshire: Best Welcome Ever

Saturday, May 29 - As our friend Chris J. - a road trip veteran - once told us, always stop at the roadside welcome center when you cross a state line. If nothing else, they usually have good maps. This was a big state for us, since it was a new state for both of us. And, the New Hampshire Welcome Center far exceeded our expectations.

We received a warm welcome from Ray, who not only gave us some great maps, but also gave us some great tips on what to see in the state. His first and very helpful tip was to take Routes 1A and 1B along the coast on our way to Portsmouth instead of taking the interstate, where there are some great views of beaches and lighthouses. We like the state route signs with the profile of the Old Man of the Mountain, who unfortuantely collapsed in 2003.

Thanks, Ray, for making our entrance to New Hampshire the best state welcome we received in our three road trips!