Summer Vacation Week - 2011

Back Lake in Early Morning Fog

Here I go again with a delayed post...oh life, why are you so busy?  

A couple of weeks ago Chris and I took the week off for some family time and a vacation up north...way up north.  We I had grand plans of a beach vacation, something we could turn into an annual tradition (similar to my childhood...but not at Hampton Beach), but I didn't leave us enough time to find something affordable so Chris and I decided to introduce Evelina to the Tall Timber Lodge in Pittsburg, NH.  The same lodge that Chris (and sometime me) ventures to in the winter months for his weekend snowmobiling adventures.  It is such a beautiful and peaceful location nestled in the Grand Bois du Nord, surrounded by lakes and the Connecticut river.

Evelina and I started out the week with a trip to visit the New England Aquarium with "Auntie" Debi.  The highlights for Evelina being the different species of penguins and the top of the huge fish tank.  If she had her way, she would have taken a dive right in.  

 
We headed up to Pittsburg a few days later, on the way stopping at The Basin in Franconia Notch for a little break.  Toddlers and long car rides aren't meant for each other. 

Typically, when we visit the Tall Timber, we rent a cabin, but this time we rented a 2-bedroom apartment with views of Back Lake.  It was the perfect spot for us and allowed Evelina to have her own room...thank goodness since I haven't slept in the same room with her since she was about 3-weeks old.  We weren't sure how Evelina would do sleeping in a pack 'n play overnight because she had only slept overnight at the hospital after she was born and then our house, but she did surprisingly well...minus her typical 1 wake-up that has been plaguing us these days.  One of the best things about the room was that one of the walls of Evelina's bedroom was a shared wall with the Tavern (very sound proof though), so once she was asleep for the night, we would slip over to the Tavern for dinner or drinks with the baby monitor.  SCORE!!   

We spent a lot of time gazing out at the lake, feeding the ducks and ducklings, walking along the dock, loon watching, kayaking and fishing.  Our two big activities were taking Evelina out in the motor boat for the first time and bringing her on her first hike.  

All I can say about the boat ride....she HATED the life preserver.....and sitting still of course.  We putts around the lake until we thought she would lunge overboard.  We hiked the Falls in the River trail in Pittsburg that followed the Connecticut river ending at some beautiful falls.  We were looking for a semi-easy hike, on a flat trail, with beautiful scenery.  What we got was an easy-moderate hike on a very windy, bumpy trail with lots of roots, spider webs and bugs.  It was great exercise...especially for Chris who was wearing Evelina in a back pack.  All of the walking and movement lulled Evelina to sleep and she missed our reward, seeing the waterfall.  We heard that in the fall when some of the lakes are lowered in preparation for winter, that you can actually see Salmon jumping up stream.  

 Overall, we had a fun trip and enjoyed being away from it all, which is easy to do in the middle of nowhere.  Vacationing with a little one is quite exhausting though and it was nice to get back to Casa Ciano.  I'm looking forward to next summer already!!