For the last few years, we have spent our vacation visiting the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Every year, we enjoy the attractions, restaurants, scenic views, and outdoor activities that the Mount Washington Valley has to offer. Every year, I discover more ways to make our trip more affordable.
Accommodations
We stay at the Seasons Condominium Resort in Bartlett, NH. We like the extra room and kitchen that we would not get if we stayed in a hotel. It's nice that Alex gets his own room and that we have a kitchen. The Seasons also has amenities such as a pool and an arcade. Before Alex was school age, we took our vacation in September since our lives did not yet revolve around the school calendar. The rates were very low because September is between their busy seasons of summer vacation goers and skiers. Now that we go in the more expensive summer season, we rent a condo directly from one of the owners. We get a townhouse style condo for the same rate as renting a two bedroom condo directly from the Seasons. Tim, the owner, has even given us a slight discount for being return renters.
Dining
The nice thing about having a kitchen during our stay is that we don't have to eat every meal out. I usually bring easy things to eat for breakfast such as muffins, bagels, and cinnamon raisin bread. The White Mountain Cider Company makes delicious cider donuts. It's right down the street from where we stay making it convenient to stop there a couple of times during our stay to pick up donuts for breakfast. I'll bring lunch items such as bread, peanut butter and jelly, chips, pretzels, etc. from home. Soon after we arrive, I'll go to the local supermarket for milk, orange juice, fruit, and deli meat. The supermarket has a dollar store across the parking lot for the items I inevitably forget to bring. This year it was Alex's shampoo. I usually save up any free samples that I get of shampoo, toothpaste, etc. to bring on vacation. The free Target beauty bag that I got a few months ago was chock full of these items.
For dinner, I bring easy-to-make dinner items such as pasta, pizza, and, one of our favorite meals, Trader Joe's orange chicken. Then, we eat out the other nights we are there. One of our favorite restaurants in the area is the Red Parka Pub. For Valentine's Day, the Red Parka offered a gift card deal to buy $100 in gift cards for $75. I took advantage of the offer. I knew we were going to eat there during our trip so why not save $25? Also, it was nice to pay ahead for one of our meals. I learned about this deal by liking the Red Parka Pub on Facebook. I also like the pages of other restaurants and attractions that we visit. This is a good way to learn about deals and events. Another of our favorite restaurants is the Red Fox Bar & Grille. They have a breakfast buffet on Sundays for $7.95. The only downside is trying to restrain myself from overdoing it.
Attractions
Story Land is the main attraction that we visit on our trip. For this year's trip, I bought discounted tickets from Boston Deals. Breathe New Hampshire has a discount Fun Pass book that includes one ticket to Story Land with a purchased ticket. Alex is starting to get a little old for Story Land so this may be the last year that we visit. I'm not sure that I will buy discounted tickets ahead of time in case we decide that he has aged out of Story Land. Still, if you know for sure that you will visit an attraction, it makes sense to look for discounted tickets ahead of time. We also went for a ride on the Conway Scenic Railroad and made use of a free child's ticket from the Breathe NH Fun Pass book.
The Mount Washington Valley also offers many hiking and outdoor activities. Some of our favorites include Diana's Baths, Cathedral Ledge, and Glen Ellis Falls. Diana's Baths is a short hike to a series of waterfalls and swimming holes. Cathedral Ledge offers a spectacular view of N. Conway and the surrounding area. You can drive to the top, or, if you are a serious rock climber, climb to the top. Glen Ellis Falls is a short hike to a breathtaking waterfall. For Diana's Baths and Glen Ellis Falls, you can buy a $5 week pass at the entrance to visit any of the NH state parks in the area.
Another free attraction is the Mount Washington Auto Road Museum. The museum is in an old barn right next to the Mount Washington Auto Road building. It has vehicles used to climb Mount Washington including a horse carriage, Segway, and a race car. It also gives a good history of climbing Mount Washington. After checking out the museum, we went into the Glen View Cafe for some refreshments. We noticed some hummingbirds on the deck outside attracted to the hummingbird feeder attached to the window. We went outside and enjoyed our drinks and cookies in the Adirondack chairs on the deck with a spectacular view of Mount Washington. This may have been one of my favorite moments of our trip.
Another free attraction is the Mount Washington Observatory Weather Discovery Center. It's a science museum that focuses on weather and the weather on top of Mount Washington. It has a few exhibits on the extreme weather throughout the world and New England. Alex also was able to give us a very entertaining weather report. The museum will only take you about an hour at the most to go through. It's in N. Conway so you can combine it with other N. Conway activities.
Our Vacation was Sponsored by Verizon
While checking out our Verizon bill online a few months ago, Craig stumbled on a link to save money on our Verizon bill. He clicked on the link and found an offer for more HD channels, more phone features, a monthly savings, and a $300 gift card. He signed up for the offer and we used the $300 gift card at attractions and dinners during our trip. It paid for our Santa's Village tickets and a couple of lunches and dinners. One restaurant was reluctant to use it until we told them what the balance was. During our vacation, Craig joked that our vacation was being sponsored by Verizon. I was very grateful that we were able to have Verizon sponsor our vacation this year. Other years, we will not have a sponsorship so I will keep my eyes open for more ways to save money on our vacation.
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