Travel

Honeymoon, Part 2

Mountains, airplanes, mid-century modern, oh my!  That’s what the second half of our honeymoon was all about.

When I closed out my Honeymoon Part 1 post, we were getting ready to drive further north into the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  We spent one night at the Mt. Washington Hotel.  It was a gorgeous drive all the way from Lake Winnipesaukee to Littleton, NH and then to Bretton Woods (home of Mt. Washington).

Stream Near Mt. Washington

When we rounded the loooong driveway and saw the Mt. Washington Hotel stretched out along the base of the mountain, it took my breath away.  And then I immediately thought of The Shining.

As it turns out – this hotel was in the running before the movie was filmed.  I absolutely love the old, rambling resort hotels; I see so much more beauty in them than in the modern monstrosities like the Gaylord National hotels.

Mt. Washington Resort Hotel

Oh, I owe you an apology.  I think I was misleading at the end of the first honeymoon post.  We didn’t exactly “tackle” Mt. Washington.  We’d have loved to climb it, but both of us have had knee problems lately, and that’s a good way to make things worse.

We did, however, gaze at it intently, from the luxurious verandahhh that wrapped around the hotel.  While sipping fun concoctions.  And not sweating.  So while I’d absolutely love to climb the mountain, we found a great alternative.

Mt. Washington Hotel Verandah

That evening we headed out to the Sugar Hill Inn in nearby Sugar Hill, NH for an absolutely delicious four course meal.  Seriously, I need to go back next year.  If not sooner.

(Dinner was documented solely with phone pics at this point – sorry)

Sugar Hill Inn NH

 If I had to describe the dinner, it would be “perfect.”  The small dining room setting was cozy and romantic, in the tastefully-but-not-stuffily decorated way.  Bonus points to the chef for sourcing food locally.

Dining Room Sugar Hill Inn NH

The meal began with a tasty amuse-bouche of roasted garlic, olives, asparagus, fresh grated Parmesan, and I don’t remember what else. I was too busy wondering if I could lick my plate. 😉

I didn’t get many good photos of the beautifully prepared courses, because the sun was setting over the mountain and the lighting in the dining room was just dim enough to be romantic and cozy. But I have to show you Ryan’s Caesar salad, which was presented in a Parmesan crisp “bowl”.

Ryan Caesar Salad Sugar Hill Inn

One thing I love about multi-course menus at frou-frou restaurants (other than the opportunity to try multiple items) is the sensible sizes of the portions.  Each course, if presented over an appropriate period of time, will be enough for you to savor it and enjoy it without feeling like a bloated, stuffed turkey by the end of the meal.

In other words, you’ll have room for dessert.

And maybe a second glass of wine.

I have no idea what my entree was.  Oh wait, I think it was lamb. Yes, I eat lamb (sparingly).  When raised humanely it’s no more evil than any other type of meat that we eat.   But I digress.

Entree Sugar Hill Inn NH

Seen enough food pics?  Me too.  How about a cheesy Jane-and-Ryan at the dinner table photo?

OH wait, there’s food in this photo. And I must tell you about it.  My salad was figs, goat cheese, balsamic reduction, and . . . arugula?  Whatever, it was amazing. I’m now addicted to figs.

Jane Ryan Sugar Hill Inn Dinner

I have a habit of leaning into photos in awkward ways.

So, stomachs full, and oh-so-happy, we returned to our lovely room at Mt. Washington.

What was waiting for us?  An anniversary cupcake. It wasn’t very good, nor was it our anniversary, but we appreciated the honeymoon-ish gesture.  🙂

Mt. Washington Cupcake

Let’s talk about this navy blue bathroom for a moment. Our bathroom at the Mt. Washington was seriously fabulous, but this photo doesn’t do it justice.  I loved the navy blue and white combo, and took a photo simply for inspiration down the line.   Also, I made a mental note to look for a chrome towel stand, like the one pictured, for our guest bathroom.

Bathroom Mt. Washington Hotel

After checking out of the Mt. Washington, we headed back down the road to Littleton, NH.  It was finally time to pick up all the wonderful goodies from our vintage wedding registry with the mid-century modern shop Just L!  And despite the bounty, I may have accidentally done a little extra shopping while we were in there. 😉

Just L June 2012 Vintage Furniture New Hampshire

Lance and Greg always have such a vast selection of vintage glassware, and I totally have a glassware problem.  I had to exercise extreme restraint.

1 Just L June 2012

After some careful planning and padding, we managed to load the following into our car:

One teak sofa & chair, a dining table, a floor lamp, a painting, many boxes of dishes/glassware/trinkets, three purses – oh, and all of our luggage!  I think that’s it.

Car Packed Vintage Furniture

Then we hit the road back to Lake Winnipesaukee.  Friday afternoon we had an appointment for a biplane ride over the lake.

Jane Ryan Biplane Ride

The ride was awesome, and I have awesome photos to share. But I need to do that in a separate post.

Friday night we ventured to a neighboring town for dinner.

Arriving at the crossroads that was the height of the action on a Friday night, Ryan saw this sign and remarked “Must be a slow town.”

Sandwich Historical Society

We also wondered . . . can anyone become a member of “club sandwich?”  🙂

After that, we pretty much hung out at the lake house and relaxed before heading home that Sunday.  It wasn’t the most adventurous trip, but it was a good, easy one.  Which was exactly what we needed after that wedding!

We’re planning a more exciting second honeymoon / anniversary trip for the spring.  The initial plan was to go somewhere tropical like Indonesia over the winter, but now we’re really thinking we’d rather do a trip to Italy and the south of France.  So if you’ve been there and have any must-see spots, do tell!

You Might Also Like

6 Comments

  • Reply Jenn at 3:32 pm

    That Inn is AMAZING! What a perfect spot to spend a little time in during your honeymoon. And, sidenote — the Shining was filmed in Oregon! 🙂 And, that 4 course meal? Wowzas! So beautiful and delicious looking.

    Also, we’re going to Italy next month (!!!), so I’ll fill you in then, but as for the south of France — Nice is completely worth spending time in. I LOVE that town. And, there’s this tiny hillside town named Eze that is amazing. I’m not sure if there are places to stay there, but it would completely be worth looking into. So cute.

  • Reply Tara at 5:33 pm

    Love the honeymoon/(er-anniversary) post!!! I must say that we went to Bali/Malaysia/Singapore for our honeymoon (last August) and loved it! But Italy would be wonderful– we did a week in March and spent 3 days in/around Florence, 4 in Rome, which was perfect for us. Travelling in the off-season is definitely a plus.

  • Reply Funnelcloud Rachel at 11:30 am

    Randomness:
    1. I would s*** my pants if I had to ride in that bi-plane. Can’t wait to see more pics though!
    2. They only gave you one cupcake?!
    3. I spent a semester abroad in college studying in Italy. First suggestion: Eat a lot of gelato. 🙂

  • Reply Gen at 12:13 pm

    Italy: We’ve been to Pisa & Florence (Firenze in Italian), but our favorites have been: Lucca and San Giamiano. Ok….truth is we’d move to Tuscany if hubby’s job transferred (we currently live in the northeastern part (by Pordenone if you’re looking on a map) until next mid-October. When hubby returns from his looooooong business trip, we’ll see more of the southern bits like Rome & Pompeii.

  • Leave a Reply

    hd porno izle travesti sikis turbanli porno