Wed, Aug 15

Conway, NH: Awoke this morning feeling much better than I thought I would. Not too sore at all. Didn’t sleep much last night though. Although we are still in the Conway, NH, area, we moved today to another national forest campground—Jigger Johnson—which is just off “The Kanc” (which is short for Kancamagus byway—as the locals call it). It’s another beautiful campground, but this one has flush toilets and showers (coin operated, but nice). Had to go to one of the state parks to dump first and then we drove to Jigger Johnson and got set up. Sat outside and read for a while. Finished my book—Recessional by Michener. Great book. Starting “My First Five Husbands and The Ones That Got Away” by Rue McClanahan (Blanche of the Golden Girls). Should be pretty good. Went for a short walk to check out the campground but it started raining. Had an early dinner. Weather iffy for the next couple of days. No cell signal.

Had a fire this morning. A little chilly. Changed into our hiking boots and headed out on the White Ledge Trail. It was only a 4.2 mile loop, but I think it was the worst hike I’ve been on. 45% up and 45% down. Really steep in places. On our way to the summit you could almost have been on all fours it was so steep. Then we picked a spot to eat thinking the trail would start down so we had our lunch. We were both pretty beat. And we still have to go down! The trail markers up at the top are all cairns because it’s all granite up there. After lunch we followed the cairns thinking we’d be going down, but we’re still going up. STILL not at the summit. So we kept going. The view was incredible but not worth the climb up there (Mike would probably disagree with that). I hate going down the steep parts most of all because it’s so easy to slip on loose gravel and fall on your butt. And your feet push against the toes of your boots. And your legs are shaking with the strain. I was in pretty major pain by the time we got past most of the steep part. Mike did much better than I did. Took five hours. I was going pretty slow though and Mike had to keep stopping and wait for me to catch up—on the downhill part anyway. Got back and I put the pack away and jumped into the shower. Felt really good. Still in pain though. Think I’ll pop a bunch of Advil tonight. We leave for Jigger Johnson National Forest campground tomorrow. I’d much rather stay here but we’ve been here two weeks so we have to leave I guess. No phone signal over to where we’re going either—which is probably good because I’ve already gone over my minutes this month. I should use Mike’s phone more. He gets carry-over minutes. Gotta go find some pain pills.

Conway, NH: Started out cloudy and sprinkly. So we started playing Monopoly. Then it cleared off a little. So outside we go. Then it clouded up again. Back to Monopoly. Cleared off nicely. Sat outside and read for a while. Mike hauled water and we filled the tank. Nice and quiet here now. Everyone has left. Just us and the chipmunks. Mike took me to dinner at Fandangle’s in No. Conway. Traffic bad again. Damn those outlets!

Today we did the laundry and grocery shopping. Did the laundry in Conway and the grocery shopping in North Conway. North Conway is where all the outlets are and is very touristy. But Conway is pretty cute. Unfortunately, they get all the traffic heading to No. Conway. Anyway, when we were doing the laundry we noticed that “Rescue Dawn” was playing at the little theatre on Main Street. A really old neighborhood theater with the little marquee and everything. Decided after we got all our chores done we’d head back to see the 7:00 show. Got there at about 6:40, parked on Main Street right across the street from the theater and headed over. This was a really different theater experience. In order to get into the theater, you have to go next door to the Conway Cafe and buy your ticket at the little counter. I asked if there was any popcorn, and yup they had a little popcorn machine there. I asked if there was any candy, and yup there was a whole display of really good candy. You can also buy breakfast, lunch, or dinner and take it in with you. They have these little trays that fit into the cup holders and you can have your meal and watch your movie. So, off we go with our candy, popcorn, and soda down this hall and into the theater. It was a tiny little theater—50 seats. No previews or anything. Just before the movie started, a guy came in and welcomed us to the Majestic Theater and asked us to turn off cell phones, warned us about talking during the show, etc., told us to enjoy the show and then he left and they started the movie. Really different experience. But the theater was clean, they had cup holders, and the snacks were great. The movie was okay. After the movie, we’re driving back to the campground and I keep telling Mike to watch out for moose—especially since it was dark. There are signs all over warning…BREAK FOR MOOSE….IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE….HUNDREDS OF COLLISIONS. The only moose we’ve seen this trip is the one after we got turned back at the Canadian border. And she was laughing at us.

Mike is standing to the left--shows you how big it is...

Conway, NH: Nice, sunny morning. And the refrigerator is definitely fixed. Worked just fine all night. Mike fried up some bacon and we had bacon, eggs, and biscuits for breakfast. After that we headed over to Lake Winnepasegue to go on the cruise. However, the boat was chartered for a large party so we drove over there for nothing. On the way back though we stopped to see the Madison boulder. Everyone said we should go see the Madison boulder. So we did—down this horrible, rough dirt road. It was pretty neat though. The thing was dumped there by a glacier about 25,000 years ago. It’s one of the largest in the world. After that we came back and read for a while. The large group from Rhode Island is here for a long weekend because Rhode Island is the only state that recognizes VJ day as a holiday. VJ DAY??? Give me a break. They probably don’t even know what it is. So, we’re stuck with them until Monday when they leave. They turned on the radio in one of their vehicles a little while ago and had it blaring. I took that for only so long and then strode over there and asked them to turn it down—which they did. I hate it when people come to these national forest campgrounds and think they can do whatever they want and to hell with everyone else.

Conway, NH: We kicked back today. Had a fire all morning. Mike ran the generator for a couple of hours and I vacuumed while I had the chance. Mike took the panel off the back of the refrigerator and cleaned out an orifice which was clogged with corrosion. That seemed to fix the problem with the refrigerator. It hasn’t turned off since. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. He is so good. The host stopped over with her cute little puppies. Played with them for a while. Read our books and after dinner we played Monopoly for a while. A big group in here from Rhode Island. But it’s pretty quiet for a Friday night. Was cloudy all morning but cleared in the afternoon. Cool day and is really getting chilly tonight.

Squam Lake

Conway, NH: Stayed up late last night playing Spades on the Internet with David. Mike actually went to bed before I did. A beautiful night with lots of stars. I was not tired at all when I went to bed. Don’t know when I actually got to sleep. Fiddled around on the computer again in the morning and then we headed over to Squam Lake. A beautiful drive over there. It’s a little north of Lake Winnepasague. It was much bigger than I thought and surrounded by mountains. We went through the little town of Sandwich—founded in 1763. Wow! Before the Revolutionary War! Many historic buildings. We got to the dock in Holderness where we were going to catch the boat cruise and the boat was loaded on the dock and ready to go. The boat was already filled. And it was the last cruise. An elderly couple on the boat said they’d give up their seats so we could go. I said absolutely not. We left and were walking down the dock toward a couple in a boat with two labs and we heard them yelling from the boat. The couple insisted on letting us have their seats. They said they were staying in the area and had taken the cruise several times before and wanted us to see it. We thanked them profusely and got on the boat. And Mike thinks North Easterners are unfriendly people!!! Maybe it’s just one Northeasterner he has in mind? Anyway, what a wonderful gesture and I wish I had written down their names. They’re going to take the cruise tomorrow. The lake is beautiful. It’s where “On Golden Pond” was filmed. After the cruise we had dinner at Walter’s Basin Pub right at the dock overlooking the lake. When we got back to the campground we stopped to visit the hosts and see their puppies. What a handful! And the hosts are such nice people.