Pat & Mandy: July 2013

On July 3rd, we headed out one our first vacation on the new BMW! We originally were going to go South to Tail of the Dragon in Tenn. until that is, we saw the bright ORANGE spot on the weather map right where we were going. So, 'Morrissey Style', we changed our minds around 7am the day we were leaving. We decided to head North to The White Mountains in N.H.

We headed up to Killington Vermont first. It was my first time there, but Pat had been there before. It is a nice area, but good luck finding Hotels and restaurants that weren't either boarded up or closed for the season. We found a 'lodge' to stay at that included a full cooked breakfast the next morning. After breakfast, we were getting ready to leave and I saw a Black Bear outside! (one of two on this trip. Saw one later on rolling around on a picnic table)

Pat tried to catch a ride down to the bottom of the ski run...

On our way to N.H, we stopped at a Farmer's Market and met the CUTEST dog! We pulled in, and a young, happy Retriever met us. He leaned against Pat first, then he leaned against me... He wouldn't even let me walk! He leaned ALL his body weight against me so I would pet him.

Once in N.H, we drove around the area a bit, and found a place to stay. We ended up going out for dinner late...on July 4th...just prior to fireworks...what a mistake! After driving around and in circles to find a place open (while the whole town is walking around and setting up lawn chairs) we found a Pizza place that was open. We thought it was the ONLY place open. After waiting in line for 20+ minutes, w/out being acknowledged AT ALL, the girl behind the counter told us she was too busy, so we had to leave. ...umm, HELLO!?!? So, long story short, we left. Fireworks are going on, and luckily we actually found another open Pizza place. We walked in...angry (from the last place) hungry, and tired...ordered and sat down. Pat and I both had the feeling the place looked familiar. We thought maybe it was a chain from back home. After sitting there for a little while, I realized why it looked so familiar. WE WERE THERE BEFORE! We stopped at the SAME PLACE on our Honeymoon.

While in N.H, went on a few hikes, and saw some awesome waterfalls. We also took the bike up to the top of Mt. Washington. We tried to do that on our Honeymoon, but the road up the Mt. was closed due to snow. This time the Mt. was closed in the morning due to wind, but it opened later in the day.