Wednesday, August 12, 2015

New England Highlights - The White Mountains

Beautiful Omni Mt Washington
 Several years back, I saw a billboard advertising “The Cog” as I was driving around the outskirts of Boston.  Since I did not grow up in this area, I had to look up what it was. Within a few minutes, I became intrigued by the idea of riding an old steam train to the top of Mount Washington, a part of the White Mountains in New Hampshire.  During my online search, I also learned about the beautiful and expensive Omni resort nestled in the White Mountains only minutes away from The Cog’s basecamp.  Unfortunately, not many of my friends were as enthused as I was, especially with the hefty price tag that comes with staying at that resort.  It took a couple of years and a good Groupon deal for me to find a willing companion to come along for a long weekend trip.  Originally, we were booked for a snowy weekend in early Spring, but due to the massive amount of snow in New England this year, we had to postpone to a later day in May.  Both Groupon and the Omni were really great with allowing the change in reservation, so I need to give kudos to their customer service departments.  In the end, I think the change actually worked out better since we were able to walk around outside more and enjoy our time on top of Mt. Washington, which proudly advertises the worst weather in America.

One of the trains
We drove up from Boston late in the morning on Saturday and arrived at the resort just as our room was finishing up.  The hotel is a beautiful, and kind of creepy, old mansion with ornate molding and very large and lavish furniture that promoted socializing in the common areas over the individual rooms.  There were people relaxing in the lobby during our entire stay playing chess or enjoying a drink.   Deciding to have a drink and snack on site, we walked over to the Rosebrook bar and sat next to a large picture window overlooking the stream and golf course.   Two glasses of wine and the antipasti cheese plate perfectly complimented the relaxed yet refined atmosphere.  After our snacks, we went to the concierge to plan the rest of our evening and make reservations for dinner.  Unfortunately, the main dining room was completely booked and the only available for the other dining options were either really early or really late.

Half-way point on Mt. Washington
We decided try our luck at Stickneys later that night without a reservation, but first we had to also book our carriage ride.  One of the prime reasons for my trip to the Omni resort was to partake in a romantic carriage ride around the property (in the winter they do sleigh rides!).  Because our 5 o’clock reservation slot was only an hour away and no one else booked during that time, we opted to do a “semi-private” carriage with hopes that no one would have a last minute booking.  It saved us $50 and actually worked out since we were on our own for a beautiful ride through the property.  After changing for dinner, we spent some time exploring the property before heading to Stickneys for dinner.  Due to the long wait, we decided to eat at the bar.  The drinks and food were all very good and the atmosphere was dark wood/English pub style.    We ended the night drinking martinis and playing chess in the lobby.

Sunday morning, we got up early to take a walk through the trails and get some breakfast in the main dining room.  After we checked out of the room, we were off on our last adventure.  The Cog basecamp was only about 10 minutes away from the resort and very easy to find.  Fortunately, the weather was beautiful and the clouds had all cleared up so we had a perfect view both riding up and back down Mt. Washington.  The entire trip lasted 3 hours, including an hour stop at the stop of the mountain.  The hour was just long enough to take some pictures, mail ourselves a postcard, and grab a quick snack.

Me at the Summit!
All in all, it was a quick and fun May weekend in New England.