NH Vacation: The Good, the Bad, and the Weird

Some impressions and conclusions - good, bad, and just plain weird - from our mini-vacation to the White Mountains of New Hampshire:

Good: The area is beautiful, and there are plenty of good day or half-day activities that were fun for the kids as well as for us. If you go there, my two favorites were The Lost River and Mount Washington.

Bad/Good: "The Man" wouldn't let me drive up Mount Washington in our van, what with its age (140K+ miles) and the passenger weight. It was probably sort of stupidly macho for me to even attempt it - as confirmed by the loud sigh of relief from Debbie when they nixed it! So we ended up going up in a touring van which was, admittedly, much more informative and relaxing, albeit expensive.

Good: We stayed in the Loon Village, a block of condos near a mountain which is a major ski resort in the winter. Instead of all cramming into a motel room or two,
we had a three bedroom house with at least most of the comforts of home.

Good/Weird: For whatever reason, there are loads of Jews who take their vacation in this set of blocks every summer. So they have an ongoing minyan, including on Shabbos. What's bizarre, though, is that the minyan meets in the "Slope Deli" (which is closed for business outside the ski season) at the foot of Loon Mountain. Each morning I was treated to the incongruous sight of young men in hats, tefillin, and long peyos, shukeling with a "Boars Head Ham" sign right over their heads.

Good: Relatively isolated area, which means there's much less light pollution. The sight of the nighttime sky alone is worth the trip there.

Bad: General spookiness at night, if you're not the wilderness type. Bears getting into your garbage if it's left outside overnight.

Weird: The entire time there, including at very touristy places where almost every car license was from out of state, we saw literally no Asians, Hispanics, Indians, or - except for exactly one family - African-Americans. The only non-WASPy types in evidence were us frum Jews! Coming from a very racially diverse part of the country, we found this sort of jarring. Don't other minorities like New Hampshire vacations? Could this be the secret reason behind the name of the mountain range?

Good: Our dog was great, she put up incredibly well with long (see below) car rides and being left in an unfamiliar house all day while we toured. She did no damage (that we could find, anyway) to the house, which is good because she was sort of half snuck-in to begin with.

Bad: The car rides there and back. If only the kids could follow the dog's example. By the end of each trip, Debbie and I were ready for tranquilizers. If we do come back, we'll have to stay longer next time - it's too long a drive for less than a week's stay.

Bad/Good: Everything reminded us of Aaron, from our last visit there three years ago. He would have liked it there again. Boy, we miss that guy.