weekend in the whites

We love our kids dearly, but ohhhhh, was it nice to get up to the Whites for the weekend. We drove up to North Woodstock, New Hampshire (after dropping the kids off at Grammy and Grampy's in Waltham) in a steady torrent of rain and arrived on Friday evening at a cozy, unassuming little B&B called the Wilderness Inn, just south of Franconia Notch. On the itinerary: food, drinks, sleep, food, mountains, rest, food, friends, food, drinks, sleep, food, home.
Saturday found the Notch socked in, but as we snow-shoed up the Appalachian Trail toward Liberty Peak, the sun made an appearance for a few glorious moments to open up the wide expanse of the White Mountains, which were still covered in about 3 and a half feet of snow. And despite the low grey clouds, we managed to do the entire hike without getting rained on.
On Saturday evening, we drove over the Notch to Bethlehem to see an old friend, Teresa, and her family. Teresa opened up a hip new restaurant last year--Bailiwick's--in Littleton, and after some appetizers and drinks at her house, we went to see the place for ourselves, and my, were we impressed--not only by the eclectic and sumptuous menu, but also by the charming and classy interior, which Teresa had designed and decorated herself. Check it out if you are in the area.
By Sunday morning we missed the kids, so I guess the trip did the trick--though I'm sure that, before long, we'll find ourselves saying, "I could really use a weekend away!"