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Published: June 19th 2012
Mt Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods
On the way to Crawford Notch. We came here in 1978 to do a little theater production. This was also the site of the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 which established the world monetary banking system.We left Burlington and opted for a scenic drive through Vermont and New Hampshire. We travelled the Interstate only to Barre then took US highways to St. Johnsbury. The roads were good and led us past "typical" Vermont farms and fields, with clean rivers and streams and little towns still in reasonable economic condition. We entered New Hampshire and opted for the "middle" route through Crawford Notch. Other options were straight south towards Franklin (boring), the Kancamagus Highway to Conway (very steep), or the northern route to Dixville Notch (pretty, mountains, but very long). One of the first things we came to was the Mount Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods. This is a glorious grand hotel (we've seen several this trip) and in addition to wonderful dining, skiing and lodging, the place is tied to history.
In 1944, leaders from the Allied nations gathered here to begin rebuilding the international economic system. Setting up a system of rules, institutions, and procedures to regulate the international monetary system, the planners established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the IBRD, which today is part of the World Bank. One of the key issues from the conference was the agreement that each country
Mt. Washington in fog
Too rainy and foggy to see the top. But a bit later it cleard enough so we could see the cog railway heading up the mountain. has an obligation to adopt a monetary policy that maintained the exchange rate by tying its currency to the US dollar. This policy held until the mid 70s when Nixon changed it.
(Truth in writing, I looked some of this up. I'm not that smart. But you can see the implications from this conference in the turmoil in the economic times today.) Back to the trip: We could not see the top of Mt. Washington, but did see the cog railway heading up. That is a really fun ride. If you go, take a heavy jacket or sweatshirt because it is COLD on top. The highest point on the road was only a bit over 950 feet; our house in Alabama is at 1100. But we don't have tall mountains on each side of us. There were numerous pull-offs for photo opportunities, and for parking to hike the various trails that wind through the White Mountain National Forest. We saw the train station at Crawford Notch and the high trestles and bridges the train still passes over on its trek from North Conway to the Notch. It's about 5 hours round trip and would be a fun ride. The
In the notch
Road was actually pretty good and Trish snapped this in the middle of the notch. We didn't stop to get out, but you could spend days/weeks here exploring the trails and streams. trains have become much more prevalent in the past 30 years as various groups work to restore lines and preserve the heritage.
Through the Notch and down into North Conway, Conway, and Tamworth on our way to Meredith we drove. Coming out of the mountains we heard a squeaking from a wheel. I got out and checked all tires, crawled under the RV and could not find the source. We drove more slowly the rest of the way down. As we came through Center Harbor, traffic crawled to a stop in both directions. I was sitting higher in the RV but still couldn't see what the problem was. Soon a police cruiser with lights flashing came from the opposite direction, then suddenly pulled across the road and flipped on the siren. Quickly we learned the problem: a young bear cub was trying to cross the road. The noise and lights scared him and he scampered back into the woods (to momma, of course) and traffic proceeded. No horns or angry drivers, no one trying to pass on the right; it was all so civilized and proper (except for the bear cub.) Welcome back to New Hampshire, we thought. (When
Conway excursion train
Training has become a big tourist business. This train makes several trips a day into the notch, along streams, over very high trestles, and gives the rider some breathtaking views of Mr. Washington area. we moved here in 1973, they shot more bear in our county that year than deer.) We got to the campsite, got checked in, and then went to the hot tub near the pool. The hot tub was in a gazebo with screens all around; considering the size and number of mosquitoes, that was a very good thing.
Wednesday we called Auntie Kim and went to visit her and husband Ernie. Auntie Kim is a dear friend from when we were doing little theater together in the mid-70s. Our daughter is a namesake of her and both Kim's have a love of horses (Auntie Kim actually owned one at one time) and both have huge smiles and open hearts. It has been a long time since we had seen each other and it was great to catch up.
Kim stared a hair salon, Voila for Hair and More, in Meredith, NH a number of years ago and today she and Ernie are successful business partners in a thriving center. We toured the salon and saw the extensive array of supplies and the chairs and areas for all sorts of beauty treatments. But some of the most beautiful treatments
Trish, Kim, and Ernie at lunch
Little spot near Kim's shop where Kim and Ernie often have lunch, since it may be the only time they see each other until dark. Saw the breakfast menu here and we knew we were in New England; no grits offered but you could have baked beans with your eggs...or pancakes. were the hand made quilts Kim had made which were hanging in the shop. At the house, we went to the basement and saw some of the quilts she is working on and the multitude of machines and materials she has. How she can find time to do that, and her business and keep a lovely house and yard is beyond me. I suspect it has a lot to do with Ernie; in a good marriage or partnership, both parties need to work in sync and clearly Kim and Ernie do. Our biggest disappointment was learning that (and I had forgotten) Kim does not like long car trips and prefers to fly. She and Ernie fly to Mexico or the Caribbean for vacations a couple of times a year and stay at nice hotels/time shares. So guess that means a road trip to Alabama won't be in their future....sigh
After lunch together at a little diner near her shop, Ernie went in to work the afternoon shift on desk and we all went to bookstore to look at things New Hampshire. Found several nice keepsakes and gifts (e.g., new book for Drew) and then Kim came back to the
Sunflower Quilt
Auntie Kim is quite the quilter. This is one she has hanging in her shop, Voila. campground to see our RV and sit and chat. Finally, she had to go and we said goodbye, would see her the next day.
With the computer down, I headed in to a library the next morning then off to spend a bit more time with Kim and Ernie. We're retired; they're not, so it was off to work about 11 for them. We needed lunch so headed to Kellerhaus for an ice cream sundae. Kellerhaus is one of the spots we remembered from the 70's and it was still there! So many other places were gone: Heritage New Hampshire, FrankenSundae, Brickyard, Pike's, and a host of different restaurants. We drove into Weirs Beach and it was as tacky as ever. Didn't help it was Motorcycle Week and all the vendors were setting up on the street, in yards and along the road. This is great income for the area, but it can be unpleasant and noisy for the residents. Into Laconia and to our dismay, the Burger King on the lake was gone! They had put this in back in the mid-70s (over much discussion and debate) and had docks into the lake for folks to float in,
Auntie Kim with quilt
How she finds time,between her business, home, daughter, and granddaughter is beyond us. She is so full of energy and life; a lovely lady. get the fast food and then leave (often leaving litter on the beach and in the lake). But the ducks would flock to the beach and you could feed them by hand. (Not sure french fries were a good idea, but it was fun.) Now it's gone; environmentally sound, but nostalgically sad.
We drove around the downtown and there are still many shops and stores, some new, others familiar. On our way out of town, we spotted Sanborn's Auto Repair. Ralph had been our mechanic when we moved there in 1973 and initially operated out of his back yard. He later got a small service station and now has a 3 bay garage with his son working the business with him. We stopped and went to say HI. Ralph looked at us, smiled, and said we looked familiar. Told him who we were. More smiles, shook his head. Told him we lived there in the 70's on Lake Winnisquam. Bigger smile but still no clear recognition. Then I said, "You always fixed our VW camper and you told me the Ford Pinto wagon was a good car to buy." BIG smile, now he remembered. We had a great chat
Ernie and Kim at home
We have known Kim since 1977 and Ernie since 1982. Together they manage and run the beauty salon in Meredith. They have a beautiful home in the woods and we have really missed them. and I told him about the wheel noise. "Bring it in tomorrow morning and we'll take care of it." Thirty five years later he's still going strong (at 75) and still offering the same great service. So glad some things don't change.
We decided to drive back to the campground by driving past our old home on Blackbrook Rd. When we bought it in 1973, it was an unfinished fishing camp. There were only subflooring, no insulation, no storm windows, 6-8 working electric plugs all wired into one of 4 15-amp screw in fuses, no shower only a tub, a stove with only 3 working burners, and water was from a hand dug 20 foot well in the back yard. Weed in front of the house were 4-6' tall, large rocks were in various locations and the basement was half dirt flooring. We saw the potential, not the problems (we also were 26 years old) and attacked the issues with gusto. Blackbrook road was about 3 miles long and had maybe 5 or 6 full time residents (including us); all the rest were "summer folk" who left on Labor Day to maybe return for a weekend in the fall,
Topping the sundae
Kellerhaus, gift shop, candy shop, and ice cream store in Meredith is well known in the area. We first went there in 1973. So we had to stop and have ice cream again. After getting the ice cream, it's help yourself to the toppings. otherwise not until school was letting out in the summer. We loved it!! As the photos show, times have changed. The beach is still sort of the same but now more people share it. We used to be able to go down in the afternoon and skinny dip and no one else was around. We even camped in our tent there one night when Josh was only a year old. (BTW--he didn't like it; cried a lot, so we picked him up and walked up to the house. By the next year he was ready to go and really liked it.)
It was nice to visit with the folks living next to where we had lived; they are related to a couple we knew the last few years we were there. We thought the house didn't look as bad as we had feared, though the yard is WAY too neat and too much grass for our taste. But there are many more mini-mansions on the road now and prices are out of sight. Trish was right; when your neighbors start walking Fifi the poodle in a little warm up suit while they have on new Izod jogging suits, it's
Perfect Lunch
Three scoop sundae--mint chip, strawberry and rasberry chocolate truffle with yummy toppings. time to find someplace else.
We drove on down Blackbrook and at the end, it turned and connected to another road and eventually to a road that took us back to the campground. That would have been nice 35 years ago as it would have been easier to get back and forth to Meredith. But it means more people and more big homes with folks wanting to show off rather than appreciate the surroundings and nature. So we put the memories aside, cherishing the time we had and begin to look really forward to the upcoming high school reunion. I suspect we'll go back to see friends in NH again, but doubt we'll head out to Blackbrook Road. Ave ateque vale.
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Angela Herring
non-member comment
Hello
Good to hear from you John. As always enjoyed readying your latest travel log post. Take care,