Today I”m sharing all about our 48 hour getaway to the White Mountains in New Hampshire and our stay at the Notchland Inn.
Next year we won’t take a 48 hour getaway the week before Christmas but this year we did and it was such a wonderful way to reconnect during the crazy that can be the holidays.
When Ben graduated from business school back in May, my parent’s graduation gift was a night up in North Conway and the accompanying babysitting. Between a move, a trip to Israel, and a family reunion in Utah this summer, we didn’t fit it in before Westley arrived in August.
After asking us every month or so when we were going to take our trip, my mom just went ahead and booked the getaway for us in December (Ben was on paternity leave), with a small switch to two nights instead of one (THANK YOU, MOM!).
We drove straight from the kid’s Christmas preschool program to my parents to drop them off before making the two hour trek up to the White Mountains. We held hands and listened to Malcom Gladwell’s new “Talking to Strangers” on the drive through gorgeous mountains and light snow.
It was dark, freezing, and snowing when we arrived so we ditched our plans for eating out and were happy to accept the last minute invitation to join dinner in the dining room that evening (the Notchland Inn has a yummy 4 course dinner served Wednesday – Sunday).
The inn is quaint and cozy, decorated to the brim with New England charm. If you’re desperate for updated bathrooms and big screen tvs in the room, skip this one. If, though, you love charming details, comfortable beds, and fire places in-room, you’ll love this place.
We lit a fire in our cozy room and watched shows in bed before dinner and it felt like the ultimate luxury.
The highlight of dinner was by far the homemade bread at the beginning of the meal that had come out of the oven a minute before it was on our table (all of it was really good … but you are paying for the convenience and charm of eating at the inn … for the price you can get a better meal in town but I’d still recommend eating here one night). There were two other couples dining that evening and Ben and I sat at a table in the middle of the room next to a roaring fire. After a delicious dessert of banana something for him and brownie sundae for me, we were in bed asleep before 11pm with no plans of waking up for 9 consecutive hours (insert the happiest of dances).
The Notchland Inn is worth a visit just for the breakfast. We came down the next morning to a spread of fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, tea, coffee, Land O’ Lakes hot chocolate (the best), and fresh muffins. And then we sat down with a full hot menu to order off of. Both mornings I had vanilla almond french toast (the best french toast of my life), an omelette, and a few slices of bacon. I’ll go back just for more of that french toast! During breakfast they also bring you a weather report for the region and have recommendations on how to spend your day.
Ben opted for snowboarding a few minutes away while I caught up on sleep, reading, and a little bit of work at the inn. I ventured outside in the 5 degree weather for a walk and lasted about five minutes (I needed better gloves, a face mask, and warmer pants, for sure).
For dinner we ventured out, on the innkeepers recommendation, to the White Mountain Cider Company and it was DELICIOUS. We started with the fall calamari with an apple cider reduction and two weeks later, we’re still talking about it. Everything was fantastic but the calamari and homemade apple cider take the cake.
After a slow morning on Friday around the inn, another breakfast, chatting with the dogs, we were ready to make the drive home to our babies (apparently Westley did not do such a great job sleeping for my parents).
details:
hat: Hanna Andersson, stolen from Lincoln (similar here that comes in a ton of colors with great reviews)
coat: Canada Goose
boots: L.L. Bean (these lined winter boots are a necessity for New England winters …more on my winter favorites for Boston in this post)
2019 Christmas Cards and Family Resume