We had an amazing time in North Conway this weekend. Although it was raw and cold on Saturday-- Sunday turned out to be gorgeous!Aaron raced in the Porky Gulch Stage Race. It was a series of three races. The first, a 2-mile time trial (as fast as you can) up Mt. Washington on Saturday morning, then we were off to Storyland for a Crit (racing in a circle, but there are lots of twists and turns in Storyland), and then a cyclocross race at the base of Mt. Washington on Sunday. He placed 7th overall, which is great! Good Job Pumpkin!
I was sad, the officials at Storyland wouldn't let spectators in. Aaron said that it was sooooo hilarious flying through Storyland. I don't know if any of you have ever witnessed a bike race, but it is an entirely different culture and society. These cyclist take the sport so seriously, spend hours training, and have a physical fitness that, in my opinion, rivals most sports. So to hear about pedaling full bore past Humpty Dumpty sitting on that wall, and Goldilocks breaking into the bears house is quite a treat, and I laugh at the absurdity.
I must also add how beautiful it was to see these athletes racing against Mt. Washington and some of the Presidential's as a backdrop. Gorgeous! Usually, I have time to explore before the race when Aaron is warming up. On Sunday I did a lot of this; collected some pine cones and took some lovely pictures.
After he hopped some barriers; he was about to mount.
We had a lot of time to explore North Conway, and even did some Christmas Shopping. We stayed in a delicious little resort called the Merrill Farm Resort. You can see our room #105, the Edna Saint Vincent Millay room, at http://www.merrillfarmresort.com/. Aaron and I travel as much as possible and always make a conscious effort to give business locally. We avoid "chains" at all costs. (And I must say it is a different experience. Our time in North Conway would have been completely different had we stayed at the Hampton Inn and eaten at Applebee's, plus we supported the locals.) Our room was so sweet and the breakfast area of the Inn was so reminiscent of the movie Funny Farm that I had to laugh. Aaron went alone to the first race on Saturday, so I had a chance to explore the Inn and ate breakfast in front of a big picture window looking out at pumpkins and an old maple shed. The Inn was at full capacity too, so the breakfast area was filled with laughter and friendly people making their plans for the day.
Being goofy in our room.
We also ate at all local restaurants. The Muddy Moose was wonderful. We ate, and ate, and ate. Stuffed mushrooms and steak sandwiches was our meal of choice on Saturday. And, of course, we got coffee to start because it was so brisk and we were chilled to the bone. Lately, it seems, we have been getting the same meal.
Many of you know I have a small problem with milk. I could drink it 24/7 but not just any milk, whole milk. I am well aware how bad it is for me, but it tastes so very, very good. The Inn used this milk for breakfast and it was in this same old fashioned container. I made the lady give us directions so we could stop and get some on the way home. It was a beautiful little farm. We bought some milk (chocolate), half and half, a pumpkin whoopie pie, and maple candies. Yum! The milk was gone almost immediately, but we are going to reuse the bottles. We haven't tried the half and half yet but perhaps after dinner tonight in some tea...
What a wonderful weekend! We already are scheming about where to go next weekend, and we shall keep you posted.
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