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).

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.

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.

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)

 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.

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”.

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.

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.

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.  🙂

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.

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. 😉

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.

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.

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

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.”

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!