After exploring the sights in Maine, Hui-chen and I awoke to perfect weather for traveling back to New Hampshire. We headed out Route 302 from Maine into New Hampshire and went through those beautiful small towns along the way. The country side was absolutely beautiful!
Once we got into New Hampshire, we found the Coach outlet. We’ll show you what we bought in a later article.
This part of New England is know for it’s small towns and shops such as these.
It’s also known for wonderful scenery. Every turn brought a new vista before us.
We kept on Route 302 and eventually ran into Route 16. But our destination was on Route 302.
Our route took us through the famous Crawford Notch.
Hui-chen had never been here before so we stopped to take a look. This is the lake at the Notch.
The mountains on one side of the notch.
And the mountains at the opposite of the Notch, forming a natural passageway through the White Mountain range.
New Hampshire is called “the granite state” for good reason! Here you can see that the mountains are made of granite.
Crawford Notch is a quiet place to relax when you’re on the road into the White Mountains area.
Soon it was time for us to head back on our way. I hadn’t yet told Hui-chen exactly where we were going.
I just love this part of New Hampshire.
Suddenly as we were driving along Route 302 Hui-chen saw this large white building. The high peak on the right is Mount Washington.
She asked “What is that place?”
I told her that this was our hotel, and she was thrilled! The Mount Washington Hotel is now owned by Omni Resorts and is officially named “Omni Mount Washington Resort.”
Our room was a pleasant blend of the old and the modern.
We had this view of the famous Mount Washington from our room!
We also had quite a view of the entire Presidential Range before us.
There is a nice swimming pool at the Mount Washington Hotel (but we didn’t go swimming).
Inside, the hotel is like traveling into a time warp….
I had stayed at the great hotel some time ago. To be honest, the place was a dump back then. Since Omni bought it, they’ve done a fantastic job refurbishing the entire hotel. We saw work being done while we were there and it was gratifying to see the Grand Dame being restored to her former glory.
This is the view out of the staircase window.
And this is the view out of one of the main windows at the rear of the hotel, from the Rosebrook Bar.
Since the dining room requires jackets for men, we decided to dine in the less formal Rosebrook Bar, where they feature lighter fare. This is Hui-chen enjoying the view out of the window.
From there, you can see the tracks of the cog railway going up the mountain.
I had a delightful drink called The Captain. Ok, I had several of them! The drink consisted of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, warm apple cider, and a cinnamon stick. Fantastic!
Hui-chen enjoyed an alcoholic pink lemonade that was very good.
In the background in this shot is a type of tuna Sashimi, and in the foreground is a Monte Cristo sandwich.
Hui-chen enjoyed the roast beef sandwich. Everything we had was very high quality and we can recommend eating at the Rosewood Bar.
The view out of the window is always changing due to the weather. Here we see just the very top of the peak of Mount Washington showing through the clouds.
Later we took a walk around the hotel to check it out. This is the main lobby.
There are bits and pieces of history all around you as you walk about.
Outside in the evening, the hotel is no less impressive!
The pool looked so inviting that I wish we had taken an evening dip.
Later we retired to the outdoor deck for a few drinks before closing time. This is an alcoholic hot chocolate.
And I have forgotten what this drink is, but Hui-chen says it was really good!
Earlier in the evening there was a small band playing easy listening music here.
Maybe one of our readers can tell us what this device is?
I love these old clocks! Walking around the old hotel one never knows what you might find!
We went to sleep early because we had something special planned for the following day. I’ll give you a hint with the next photo below:
Thanks for reading! We hope you’ve enjoyed traveling with us to the Mount Washington Hotel and surrounding areas. Our next article will take you on a unique adventure so you do not want to miss it!
Former field engineer MJ Klein now lives in Taiwan, and writes articles that primarily feature photographs of travels of MJ and wife Hui-chen, plus daily goings on in the bustling island nation of Taiwan, and other places in Asia. Articles feature people, culture, food, situations and sometimes the trials and tribulations of traveling in places such as China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos and of course Taiwan.
