Jace Vacation Destination #3 – New Hampshire – Stormy Weather

“Don't know why . . . There's no sun up in the sky . . . Stormy Weather . . .”

So for the first 2+ weeks of Jace's vacation, we'd managed to dodge any serious weather issues, but we're in week 3 and we're back in New England, where the old saying goes, “If you don't like the weather, wait a minute . . .”. First couple of days weren't so bad, but there was re-provisioning to do, and Barbara had a birthday cake to make for Jace's upcoming birthday at the end of the first week, and Barbara's birthday cakes over the years have become the stuff of legends. No such thing as throwing a box of Duncan Hines together with some canned frosting – oh, no. Themed cakes in every shape and style imaginable are the norm.

We filled the days with marginal weather by hitting the “heated” pool at our resort (could have been about 5 degrees warmer), a trip to the playground and Jace riding his bike, but sightseeing was pretty much put on hold until the second week of our stay at Danforth Bay. We did find out that Grover loves to use the slide at the park's playground, and he entertained himself, us, and other visitors with his new found skill.

As one fellow Tiffin owner told us when he saw this picture, "Grover is more ham than hound . . ."

Our lone attempt at hitting a local attraction in our first week at Danforth Bay was about 20 miles away at StoryLand, but while it remained dry as a bone in Freedom, NH, the town of Glen, NH just north of North Conway was hit by a local deluge with thunder and lightning added in for good measure. This resulted in a rain check to be used sometime when the weather was supposed to improve later in our second week.

Meanwhile, Jace ended up officially turning 7 years old on our first Friday here, but it ended up being a 3-day event, capped off by a cookout at Barbara's cousin Jon's house just 10 minutes down the road. Watching Jace work his charms on a room full of women is both eye-opening and scary. I fear for the female population of his town once he gets to dating age. He has this ability to charm women that you have to see to believe.

Another Barbara masterpiece cake, this time the Death Star from Star Wars

 

A few days later, the skies finally cleared enough to head back to StoryLand. For those unfamiliar with StoryLand, it's an older themed park based on all the popular nursery rhymes; Mother Goose, Peter-Peter Pumpkin Eater and so on. Its been a New England institution for decades, and as far as I'm concerned, for a seven year-old, it has all the fun of a Disney World without the sensory overload and exorbitant prices. They have live characters like Tinkerbell and Peter Pan who do shows throughout the day, and rides small enough for kids Jace's age. Jace pronounced it “The best place he's ever been to, and always will be”.

Enough said.

Not the easiest chair to get in and out of, I can tell you!

A little Humpty Dumpty action with rolling eyes

Great live action show with Tinkerbell and Peter Pan with Captain Hook in the middle with Jace

 

Even if you drive as bad as Jace does, you can still get an official StoryLand driver's license!

A couple of days later, we had sunny skies and much warmer temperatures, so we figured it was the best day to hit Mt. Washington via their Cog Railway, a steep, 6.000 ft slow crawl up to the summit. It's a fun ride, with entertaining brakemen on board your car to give you some history of the railway and the mountain while you're taking the 45-minute trip up and back down, with an hour for sightseeing in between.

Mt. Washington has about 60 days each year when it's sunny, warm, and the winds are calm. We happened to hit one of those days. Once at the summit, we could see New York state, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and might have seen the ocean from there if it weren't for some haze. In the middle of June, there was still a bit of snow in one area as well.

The only downside to the summit was actually due to the calm winds, as they don't blow the billions of insect residents off of the top of the mountain on calm days. They swarm. They crawl all over you once they land. They're a darned nuisance! Who knew we'd be wishing for gale force winds? But still, we were in shorts and short sleeve weather at the top of Mt. Washington, and the views were spectacular.

Expectations were high for a great day at the summit on Mt. Washington!

Jace holding on at the breathtaking speed of 5 mph!

Jace was pretty close to the summit here, but there was still a few feet to go

Jace and I made it to the top! Summit selfie!

Unfortunately, I was able to get a close up and personal view of the summit after I slipped off a rock on the way back from the selfie with Jace at the highest point on Mt. Washington and ended up face-planting on one rock, and breaking my left hand on another in what must have looked like a spectacular slip and fall to other visitors. Not so much for me.

 

Nice faceplant, Dave . . .

After some first aid at the station while Barbara and Jace found a postcard to send to our step-grandson, Noah, (Mt. Washington has it's own zip code, which is pretty cool, btw), we headed back to our train for the decent. Thank God we didn't do the drive up the mountain road and took the Cog Railway, because if we HAD survived the drive down, once we got to the bottom, Barbara would have surely killed me for making her drive down that mountain!

A painful 40-minute drive to the Memorial Hospital ER in North Conway ensued, where my injuries were confirmed and treated. Fortunately, they weren't busy that day, and I got right in. Next for me will be a follow-up at a VA facility, which is a story for another day. A few days of rest and recuperation for me, and some Barbara and Jace time together without me were on tap, and our New Hampshire stop on Jace's summer vacation was over. Could have been better.

Next stop, we visit another state in which we've never stayed in our RV - Maine.