Mount Washington

Well today was finally the big day to hike Washington in the winter. Normally I wouldn't have these up so quickly but I'm home early, because we left really early, and I have to wait for Brooke to go to sleep before I can shower, so I'm going to put up the pictures now.

After a month or so of planning Ryan, Stephen, his brother in law Jay and I set out to climb Mount Washington. The day started off pretty bad when about half way up I realized I left my ice axe and crampons in my car when I put my gear into Stephens at 5 am. When we went through North Conway it was still too early to get any more as nothing was opened so I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have only my snowshoes and when the going got too tough for them I would have to turn around and go wait for them to finish the rest of the hike.

As they were changing I thought I'd go up and ask if it might be possible to climb without the stuff and they pretty much assured me it was a free country if I wanted to try but it pretty much would be impossible. I was bummed. Then way in the back corner I saw some ice axes and crampons. This stuff isn't cheap but I didn't come all that way for nothing so I picked out an axe and took the last pair of crampons in the place off the display boots and was ready to go. It wasn't a total loss either, Stephen bought the ice axe from me after the hike so I got some of the money back. Anyone need a set of crampons now? If not I guess I have a spare if anyone else ever wants to go.

After that we started our hike. The bottom half of the hike was pretty easy and then we got to the Lions Head Trail. The trail almost immediately went up at about a 70 degree pitch. There was no way it could have been done safely without the right gear but we got up it just fine after passing a guided group of about 20 people. The clouds had the mountain socked in. It wasn't too cold but it was really humid and snowy. Then about 1000 feet below the summit the clouds started to clear. Actually we climbed out of them and for most of the last mile we were in the sunshine and everything below us was clouds. Mount Washington was the only thing sticking up in a big sea of clouds. It was really awesome and made a perfect finish to the climb. The top was a about 20 degrees and a bit windy so we had a snack in the closed but sheltered entry to the museum and then headed back down. Much of the trip down was in the clouds and the wind picked up, blowing snow around but it didn't matter. It had already been a great hike. Something we'd wanted to do for a long time and worth every penny in my book. If you want to see the pictures just click here and hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as we enjoyed this hike.

The New England Aquarium

Today we went into Boston for a visit to the New England Aquarium. We put in for the Exeter Library pass couple months ago and finally got it so the tickets were 8 dollars a piece for Jen and I and Brooke was free instead of 21.95 each, so it was a pretty good deal. After about an hour and a half Brooke was done with the penguins, never even cared about any of the the fish, sharks or turtles and was only still interested in the seals. They were her favorites by far, outside and free of course, so that's easy to visit any time we're down that way, followed by either the penguins or going up and down the big ramps in between floors, I'm not sure which. After she ate luch she got sleepy so we decided to leave, which meant we missed the afternoon demonstrations but next time maybe she'll care about more of the exhibits. I guess 22 months is still a bit young to watch fish all day.

Anyhow it was a fun quick trip for us and her. If you'd like to see more pictures they're right here. Weather permitting I'm off to climb Mt. Washington tomorrow. If we make it there should be some pictures so check back soon if you want to see what the place looks like in the winter. That's about it for now.

The last 24 hours have been pretty wild around here. Earlier this week they were calling for a few feet of snow but it turns out what we got was a bunch of rain and a lot of strong winds. Just like the ice storm most of the area is, or was, without power. We only lost ours from about 9 last night until 430 this morning but neither of our parents and a lot of other people have got it back yet last I knew.

Our basement got wet, but wasn't that bad compared to other times. The sign blew off at the cleaners and was picked up down the road by Jens dad. The trees all over the seacoast snapped and took out power lines and blocked roads and some minor flooding closed some roads too. The waves down the beach were huge, bigger than the hurricane this summer, and it wasn't even high tide at the time I was there. I had to drive the delivery route today so along my way and after work I took a few pictures and there's a few more from the beaches after our trip to the Aquarium. It would have been nice if they had told me which roads were blocked before I was miles down them but I got a few more pictures out of all the detours so it wasn't a total waste. They're not all that good because it's hard to drive and take pictures at the same time, although I've got it down as well as possible I think, so if you'd like to see a bit more of the mess click here.

This past Sunday Jen and I went up to Attitash with Ryan and Kristy for what turned out to be a perfect day of skiing. It was our first time in three years and my first time with Ryan in 10 years. Brooke got to stay at Grammy and Grumpets the night before with her cousin Ty and Uncle Chris who were in town for a monster truck show and we got to go skiing for the day. She had a great time and we had a great time so I guess everyone was happy. Not a whole lot more to say than that so if you're interested there's some pictures here of the trip or you can click on the picture above also. That's all for now but check back soon as we have a busy weekend planned and there should be a lot more to see very soon.

It's been a few weeks since the last post and Brooke has been a busy little girl. She's been to Cameron's first birthday party, hung out with her great grandmothers, made valentines, worked on her cooking skills and visited museums. Busy busy busy. You can see the pictures of this and more by clicking here or on the pictures themselves.

Sunday Jen and I are going skiing with Ryan and Kristy and then next weekend we're going to the Boston aquarium Saturday which should be lots of fun. Then Sunday, weather permitting, I'm going to climb Mt. Washington with Ryan and Stephen. I have a feeling there will be plenty of pictures of everything so you won't have to wait as long for the next post. For now enjoy what's here and check back next week for more.

Also I filled up another Picasa account and had to start a new one so if you were one of the people who checked that rather than the blog or it was on your favorites, and how could it not be (Ha ha ha), you'll need to link to it through the actual blog or update the information. OK, thats all for now.