Back Country Roads, the White Mountains and a Train Ride - oh my!

Day 26 – June 22, 2014

Augusta, ME/(Portland Jetport)/North Conway, NH/Concord, NH

220 miles – 5 ½ hours!  Lots of slow back roads!

We were up early and on the road so we could get Daddy to the airport in Portland, which was about an hour drive.  It was so sad to say goodbye to him.  I know he really wanted to stay (and seriously considered the possibility), but it just wasn’t feasible with work and the house.  God bless him.

Bye Daddy:(! 

 The kids and I were on a tight schedule, because we had a train to catch.  According to my navigation, we had sixty miles to go and two hours to do it.  It shouldn’t have been a problem, but it was.  Oh, my patience was tested over and over again.  We traveled on some pretty country roads that were very congested on this beautiful Sunday.  There were quite a few lakes in the area and I often found myself behind trucks that were towing boats, while moving 25 miles per hours.  Grrrr.  We also had a Camden bathroom emergency that ended in a debacle.  Decorum prevents me from sharing more.

We missed the 11 a.m. train, so I bought passage for the 1:30.  Out of curiosity, I asked how we could possibly get to the mountains in just an hour round trip.  Well…that would be because we weren’t going to the mountains, just traveling through the valley.  Damn - I messed up.  Apparently there’s a cog train about ninety minutes north of North Conway.  According to the ticket agent, the cog train up Mt. Washington is a three hour roundtrip.  There was no way we’d make it to that train, ride it for three hours and get back to Concord (where our hotel was located) at a decent hour.  Do you remember when I mentioned on my blog, back in May, that I was worried I hadn’t done enough planning for this year’s road trip?  This is a perfect example.  Kind of a rookie mistake.

The kids and I walked around the village and had lunch.  It was very, very crowded, but I loved it!  I took the kids to an old fashioned five and dime store and gave them each a dollar.  They had a blast.  I got to witness in action, the economic theories I’ve formulated for each of the children.  Audrey left that store without a penny to her name.  Hunter had fifty cents left, which he tucked away in his wallet.  Barrett gave his dollar to Hunter and Cammy ran around asking the clerks “What can I buy with this?”  He thought he had his dollar spent (fuzzy math), only to get 51 cents back, which his sister promptly attempted “to borrow.”

We took our train ride and it was lame.  I was stewing a bit on the train as we observed trees, with a few mountains in the back ground, in a first class car that didn’t even have a bar to help me wash down the regret I felt over the small fortune I’d spent for this “journey.”  Seriously, I would have seen more driving in the car!

The kids in "first class."

Our view, those are the White Mountains, in the distance.

Then we drove to Concord, and I seriously fell in love with New Hampshire.  The ride was so beautiful and the towns are so cute and the people so nice (we stopped for a gas/backroom break).  This was the closest I’ve come in five road trips to calling a realtor.  I am not kidding.  I could be happy here.  Although, I guess I better come back during the winter months before I make any major purchase decisions.

Next stop, the Pierce Manse – home of the 14^th President of the United States.  Guess what?  It was closed on Sundays.  And Mondays, which means we won’t be touring it.  Another planning fail.

We checked in at the hotel so Hunter could watch his NASCAR race.  As a result, dinner was late.  I took the front desk attendant’s recommendation and ate at the Common Man restaurant.  By far, it was my favorite meal of the road trip!!!!!  Fantastic.  Authentic New England through-and-through and the freshest vegetables I’ve eaten in twenty-six days.

After dinner, we cruised by the Capitol (although we toured it two years ago), for the heck of it.  I owed the kids some pool time, so we did that when we got back from dinner.  Our day did not officially end until 9:15 p.m.  Stick a fork in me!