3,391: Can You Hear Me Now?

We made it to New Hampshire in the early evening and were excited to be able to unpack the car, reorganize our lives and get settled in.

After we got the car unpacked, Jenn asked if I could go to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Sure, not a problem at all…but there were a few problems.

We were staying by the White Mountains, so during the winter I believe it is a bustling area. During the summer, not so much. In fact it is more of a ghost town. In addition we have been loyal Sprint customers for years…we love them, but Sprint, apparently does not love New Hampshire. No cell service anywhere.

No cell service is nice when you are on vacation except when you are looking for directions somewhere.

I set out to be an adventure man and find a grocery store…how hard could it be? (refer to the previous paragraph)

After about 35 minutes, I found a grocery store just a few minutes away from where we were staying. I even found the one parking spot where we could get 1 bar of service. We would end up spending a lot of time in this parking spot downloading directions.

As I headed home after a successful grocery store run, it was just getting dark. I found Jenn and the kids outside exploring the woods and surrounding areas. They were loving it.

All of the sudden something clicked…there was no one else around…anywhere.

We had basically cast ourselves as the main characters in an 80’s slasher flick.

(In a movie trailer voice) It was supposed to be a relaxing family vacation. A family alone in the woods with no cell service…and no one to hear their screams.

Having seen a ton of horror movies, I figured that Jason doesn’t typically stalk children, so by default Jenn & I should be safe.

We did eventually see one car parked in our parking lot for two days, but never saw anyone around in the car or lights on in the other houses.

That night getting ready for bed, the kids were excited to have bunk beds. Jenn & I were excited to not to be sharing a bed with kids. As we were putting the kids to sleep we realized that an unfamiliar surrounding and a 6 foot drop probably wasn’t a recipe for success, so Jenn shared a bunk bed with Grace, and Nolin and I shared the room next door.

We spent a day just relaxing, and then the following day we headed to Cannon Mountain and got a pass to take the Aerial Tramway to the top for a hike and then visit the Flume Gorge.

The Tramway was awesome and we all enjoyed the views as you headed up. There was a family that rode up at the same time and made Jenn & I want to pull our hair out. The wife basically spent the whole time yelling (in a super annoying whiney voice) at her kids and her husband, and I think the husband was looking for a way to jump off the tramway.

It took a little bit, but luckily the husband forgot something in the car, so while she was yelling at him for ruining the trip, we were able to create some distance.

The hiking was awesome. You were on the side of mountains and could see everything. The kids were great…they just love being outdoors.

As we made our way back down the tram, we were once again joined by the great big happy family. At one point she let out a blood curdling scream of her child’s name making everyone turn around quickly thinking her small child had somehow slipped out the window.

Thankfully, it was not quite as serious…he had picked a piece of paper off of the floor and started to put it in his mouth.

As we got in the car, to head over to the flume, we made a quick detour and found and awesome little lake. It didn’t matter how cold the water was, Nolin & Grace got right in to play. I was finding it very relaxing to just be outside & explore at our own pace.

When we got to the flumes we ate lunch and then began down the trail. We figured we would take the walking trail down and the bus ride back. It was too beautiful to take the bus back. Unfortunately I don’t think pictures do it justice.

We thoroughly enjoyed the day, and then realized that our kids ran and hiked over 10 miles that day…we were sure it would wipe them out. It didn’t, but they were incredibly happy.