March 13, 2009

  • Annual Laugh Ski Eat Drink Friend Fest

      We left for our annual pilgrimage to the mount - The Eagle Mountain House in Jackson, NH Friday and returned Sunday with a head full of chuckles (I guess that makes me a chuckle-head!) and stomachs disturbingly distended.  And that's how we felt: happy but distended or maybe we should say distorted.

    As we wandered up to Jackson we stopped in Merrideth and went to our favorite set of shops and saw a sign for an open jam at Guisseppie's to benefit a music scholarship.  We returned there on the Sunday rebound trip and heard a couple of hours (it went all night) of really great performers who donated their time to the event.  Do unusual things and events you find along the way; it adds to the flavor of life!  Sitting in the lounge we met a couple of interesting characters as only you can in upcountry New Hampshire - if I ever moved there I would seriously have to grow some additional facial hair; beards are in in the Lakes Region.

    Back in the car we wandered in to the 'Ol hotel.  The Grand Old Hotel has been around since before the turn of the last century in one form or another.  Fires, the bane of the great old wooden structures has caused this one to be rebuilt several times.  The fun of it is the massive porch overlooking the valley where we will ski the next day.  Looking left from the porch gives a view of Black Mountain and I think at the right angle you can see Mt. Washington as well.

    And the rest of the weekend was ...

    Triptych

    T.H.E.
    Thompson House Eatery
    A dozen friends and much laughter and wine (you know there had to be wine)

    Morning breakfast.
    Fortification for a day of skiing

    The Wave; twice!
    A hilly XC ski course beautiful as it is challenging ... my quads are still screaming.

    Saturday dinner - yummy
    The Eagle Mountain House puts on a hell of a feast.  Part of the 'meal' plan ...

    Sunday Champagne brunch
    If you haven't got it yet there was much eating and eating, and eating.  Some of us, who will be nameless, went straight to the desert table!

    Diana's Baths
    We made a short side trip to this normally flowing waterfall; ice and pools...

    Guiseppies
    As mentioned above

    Couch Crashing
    After this kind of weekend we unloaded, dropped our gear, and hit the soft horizontal!