Well, after over 1.5 years of Charlotte residing within 1.5 hours of the White Mountains, we finally had a brainwave: why don't we GO to the White Mountains?!? This brainwave was inspired in part by the beautiful winter weather of last weekend, our desire to cross-country ski, and our equally strong desire not to do work on such a beautiful day.
So we gassed up the trusty Subaru (thanks Mr. Graziano/Daddy!) and headed north. Within perhaps one hour of leaving Dover, our drive was graced with gorgeous views of the Whites, and soon we had Mount Washington-you can guess which one it is-in our view more often than not. It was spectacular!
Before long, we arrived at our destination for the day: the gorgeous Mt. Washington Hotel and Bretton Woods Nordic Ski Center. The place is famous for great skiing, the cool-looking hotel, being the site where the Bretton Woods institutions (e.g. the IMF) were established, and, um, halfway decent views of Mount Washington.
In addition to the excellent views (which you can see here), another great advantage of XC skiing at Bretton Woods is the grooming. With those grooves, it's like skiing on autopilot! It's also very handy for those lacking in the coordination department, although I will say that even with the grooves, hills are still hills. (Quick note: Mike wrote this paragraph; Charlotte could probably ski down the side of a building with her eyes closed).
Anyway, the sights were incredible, and the occasional spills were far outweighed by the opportunity to practice skiing on a gorgeous day and soak in some truly breathtaking scenery.
I should also mention that with over 100km of groomed trails, Bretton Woods was also fun because you can select routes that take you to different fun destinations. Charlotte and I picked a route (approximately 12km total) that took us, at our furthest, out to this fun warming yurt! It had great views of Mt. Washington, chairs and benches, and, as you can see, quite a lot of snow surrounding it.
Were you worried this blog post would end without the obligatory smiling self-photo? Well, fear no more! And, finally, Charlotte was very kind to note that this photograph highlights what is perhaps my own most prominent geographic feature (my nose). Hint: look at her forehead. Wow! No wonder you can't see Mt. Washington too well in this one!
Well, after over 1.5 years of Charlotte residing within 1.5 hours of the White Mountains, we finally had a brainwave: why don't we GO to the White Mountains?!? This brainwave was inspired in part by the beautiful winter weather of last weekend, our desire to cross-country ski, and our equally strong desire not to do work on such a beautiful day. 
So we gassed up the trusty Subaru (thanks Mr. Graziano/Daddy!) and headed north. Within perhaps one hour of leaving Dover, our drive was graced with gorgeous views of the Whites, and soon we had Mount Washington-you can guess which one it is-in our view more often than not. It was spectacular!
Before long, we arrived at our destination for the day: the gorgeous Mt. Washington Hotel and Bretton Woods Nordic Ski Center. The place is famous for great skiing, the cool-looking hotel, being the site where the Bretton Woods institutions (e.g. the IMF) were established, and, um, halfway decent views of Mount Washington. 
In addition to the excellent views (which you can see here), another great advantage of XC skiing at Bretton Woods is the grooming. With those grooves, it's like skiing on autopilot! It's also very handy for those lacking in the coordination department, although I will say that even with the grooves, hills are still hills. (Quick note: Mike wrote this paragraph; Charlotte could probably ski down the side of a building with her eyes closed).
Anyway, the sights were incredible, and the occasional spills were far outweighed by the opportunity to practice skiing on a gorgeous day and soak in some truly breathtaking scenery.
I should also mention that with over 100km of groomed trails, Bretton Woods was also fun because you can select routes that take you to different fun destinations. Charlotte and I picked a route (approximately 12km total) that took us, at our furthest, out to this fun warming yurt! It had great views of Mt. Washington, chairs and benches, and, as you can see, quite a lot of snow surrounding it. 
Were you worried this blog post would end without the obligatory smiling self-photo? Well, fear no more! And, finally, Charlotte was very kind to note that this photograph highlights what is perhaps my own most prominent geographic feature (my nose). Hint: look at her forehead. Wow! No wonder you can't see Mt. Washington too well in this one!
