Embrace Your Destiny: Road Tripping - Part 2

 

Donnie and Loleh playing

At the intersection of varied interests and perfect location is where the Conner and Groff families vacationed together for three days. This perfect setting was Loon Mountain Resort in New Hampshire, sister Penni’s family condo. We enjoyed beautiful scenery, hiking, shopping, exercise and relaxing. The best part was having family to help us celebrate our fiftieth anniversary.

We had four days of exploration. Here’s the daily breakdown:

• Wednesday - Burlington, Vermont and UV
• Thursday - Flume Gorge
• Friday - The Cog Railroad 
• Saturday - Day trip to Littleton

 

 

Pacing myself to be fresh for each new outing was my challenge. I did that well. My left foot toe was the problem. What started in Annapolis as a minor irritation morphed into a painful, serious issue affecting my walking. 

Selfie of family in Flume Gorge

Our first adventure was University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. The scenery, shopping and lunch were beyond expectations. We parked then we walked and walked, up and down the same hill looking for the business district. We searched for the restaurants Penni mentioned being on the lake. We found Lake Champlain, but not the restaurants. Things were getting tense. It was already hot. Donnie was getting hungry. I was feeling toe pain and leg fatigue. Toe was screaming at me, “Can’t you feel me hurting? I want to stop!” Legs chimed in, “We feel like lead. This heat is oppressive and right leg is dragging me down! We just want to sit!” 

We finally found the street with shops and restaurants. I was looking for The Vermont Flannel Shop. We found it fairly close to a good place to eat. I limped along, all the time thinking, “I hear you toe and legs. I’ll  get some antibiotic cream to treat you toe. Hopefully we can find some at the condo! I'm sorry to be so spastic! You'll feel better after sitting down at lunch.”

Finding antibiotic cream at the condo proved to be a “high bar” as Penni would say. Her search came up empty. Still she said, “No worries, I’ll get McLean (nephew) to bring it with him. He’ll be here tomorrow.” By Thursday night after hiking the Flume Gorge all day, toe was really screaming. During the hike, I tuned out toe and legs whining. I tamped down on the pain and fatigue. This was my perfect hike. It had the right distance, good difficulty level, amazing scenery, nice pace and cool temperatures. Yes, this hike through the gorge was worth the effort and pain.

Summit of Mt. Washington

McLean came to the rescue with antibiotic cream from home. From that point on, two or three times a day, I religiously treated toe with the cream and wore only toe socks or sandals.

The Friday excursion to Mount Washington on the Cog Railroad didn’t demand much walking. Good thing because that was the peak day of toe inflammation and pain. Toe complained but reluctantly complied. The railroad ride was educational and beautiful. The  weather cooperated too. It was as clear as it ever gets at the peak (there was smoke from the fires burning in Colorado).

Toe rewarded me by looking and feeling better on Saturday. We drove up to Littleton, a quaint and typical New Hampshire village. Toe didn’t complain at all but legs complained about the cumulative fatigue.  We walked, shopped and generally played the “tourist” role.

 

Photo shoot with L-R Liz, me, Penni

Liz and Penni tried to surprise us with a photo shoot to commemorate the 50th Anniversary. They got Philippe, our family professional photographer to find a suitable location. We girls dressed up in our overalls and Polo shirts. Donnie just got cleaned up. We went down to the rocky river for the shoot. The huge boulders made a memorable setting.  We did our best to obey Philippe’s directives, “Look at the flag, no, look up! Can you hold your head a little to the right.” By the time mosquitos came out, we were ready to call it a wrap. 

Donnie grilled steaks on brother-in-law, Nick’s grill and I did the fixings for our celebration dinner. Penni supplied a fine champagne. It was a perfect ending for a wonderful family vacation and celebration. Toe tried to cause trouble but responded to cajoling and TLC. This was a Fiftieth Anniversary we will forever remember as celebrating with family. We had lots of pictures, memories and many tall tales to laugh about on our drive home.