The White Mountains

Best Things Nearby:
Skiing on site (cross-country and downhill), White Mountain National Forest (hiking, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, white-water rafting, and camping), North Conway (outlet shopping, scenic railroad, and lots of restaurants), Whale of A Tale waterpark (Littleton), many other family attractions, and quaint villages and beautiful scenery everywhere

Best Things About the Resort:
Attitash Mountain Village has enough to keep a family busy for several days. It is off the beaten track, so one could appreciate the quiet evenings and see the stars in the skies. Within an hour's scenic drive or less, there are a great many choices of activities for everyone.

Resort Experience:
I was told Attitash Mountain Village has been around for 30 years: however, the unit we stayed in (the Franklin House in the Blueberry Village area) was about 2 years old. It was the largest one-bedroom unit we have ever stayed in. The main floor had a queen-size Murphy bed as well as a queen sleeper sofa. There was a full kitchen with a smooth cook-top stove, microwave, full-size fridge, dishwasher, table with six chairs, and a washer/dryer in a closet in the hall. There was a full-size bathroom with Jacuzzi. Having added to my list to always pack 100-watt light bulbs, I was very excited to count three wall lights, an over-the-sink kitchen light, a microwave light/nightlight, an over-the-kitchen table light, and five table lamps that all had working tri-lights! Off the kitchen area was a long balcony with two chairs and a table. There were lots of windows with Venetian blinds, a huge television, and a gas fireplace.

On the second floor was a king-size bed, a two-person Jacuzzi, a bathroom with shower, a pullout single bed, and a small sink and fridge at the top of the stair landing. Again, there was great lighting, a large palladium window, and another large window.

Blueberry Village is a bit of a distance from the hospitality center, which has the check-in and front desk, the hot tub, the indoor pool, and the restaurant/bar. It is quite walkable, but you are walking along highway 302 and cars are zipping along. It is also up a steep hill. (Wow, did my butt cheeks feel that after a few days!). There were a fair number of stairs (there were ramps as well), which might pose problems for those with difficulty with those.

Amenities included two or three outdoor pools, several water slides, alpine slides, horseback riding, hiking trails, an exercise room with dated aerobic machines, dated Nautilus weight machines and free weights, a games room, a BMX track, a trampoline, a scenic chair lift…

There is a restaurant/bar on site, but it was closed at 9:30 in the evening, when I decided I might like a drink.

One afternoon there was a complimentary wine-and-cheese reception where one could mingle with other guests. There were organized activities, such as movies being shown, crafts for the kids, organized walks, etc. The staff was friendly and helpful.

In the winter, one could go cross-country skiing and downhill skiing on site.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Bellini’s is one of the best restaurants in North Conway. I had seen excellent reviews in a variety of publications and the couple who were sitting next to us in the restaurant told us the same thing and they should know—they visit North Conway twice a year.

We arrived fairly late on a Sunday evening and were told there would be a thirty minute wait—long enough to go check out a few shops on the main drag.

The décor is not spectacular. The tables were distressed tin, which one of us found nifty and the other found tacky.

Sliced bread, oil and freshly grated parmesan arrived promptly, which was wonderful as we were all very hungry. Then came a green salad with a delicious dressing that even the salad-loathing teenager in our group wolfed down. We each ordered a different pasta dish, which arrived quite quickly in enormous bowls. The rigatoni and fettuccine were way too much and we opted to take them home to reheat the next day for dinner. The two who ordered ravioli and manicotti managed to eat everything on their plates. The pasta and sauces were well prepared and tasty. Each serving could easily be split among two diners (we checked and there was a $5 plate charge for that.)

Because we were on holiday we ordered the tiramisu (not available to those under 21 because there is alcohol in it) and a chocolate wave cake. The later was very rich and the tiramisu was vaguely flavored with zambucca or anisette-not unpleasant-just different. There was a fairly comprehensive wine list as well as a good selection of other cocktails (the lady at the next table was quite enjoying her Peach Bellinis)

One of my daughters somehow ended up with tomato sauce in her hair and there were apologies, but no mention of any kind of compensation (a free dessert would have been nice!). After we left, another member of our party found this tomato sauce on the back of her t-shirt. There were a number of children in the restaurant and near our table, but the sauce seemed to come from one of the waiters and not the kids.

The service was quick enough, but certainly nothing special. The food, however, was excellent and we would go back there in a heartbeat.

The Muddy Moose is on a quiet stretch of the 302 which runs through North Conway. It has its own parking lot, which is a good thing as parking can be an issue in North Conway. We arrived around 7:30 pm and did not have reservations. We were told the wait would be about 30 minutes, so we drove down the road to do a bit of shopping and came back when our table was ready.

The décor was uncovered wooden tables and chairs, high beamed ceilings with strategically placed woven blankets and a couple of moose heads. The fare included burgers, quesadillas, potato skins, salads: pretty much what one would find in one of those chains like Kelseys, TGIFridays, etc. We all just ordered appetizers or burgers as that was all that would fit in our stomachs since we had eaten too much for lunch earlier. The potato skins were filling as was the burger and fries. For us Canadians, the white cheese on the burger was a bit odd, but it tasted fine. I had a Portobello mushroom stuffed with spinach and covered with cheese, which was also filling and flavorful. (Spinach is so good for you, too.)

Service was fairly quick, but not terribly friendly—there were lots of little children about which could probably make any waiter/waitress pull their hair out. It was plenty noisy and the staff seemed run off their feet.

Would I eat there again? Sure, but probably after I checked out a few more of the local eateries.

We did not find the guy at Saco Bound to be particularly forthcoming with information; however, his prices seemed better than some of the competition, so we went with them. There is one fee to rent the equipment and another for transport back and forth to the drop-in and pick-up sites.

The guy was just on his way to the drop-off with another couple, so we felt rather rushed. As we found out later, we did not ask all the right questions. Although my 17-year-old daughter wanted a single kayak, in the interests of saving a few bucks (which I paid for dearly in other ways), we elected to take two double kayaks for the four of us. The guy told us that one kayak was a sit-on-top type, so there was really no room to take any belongings. The other kayak had some room to stow stuff, but we were advised to leave anything that could get wet behind.

We were told that we would be picked up at the second campground past the trestle bridge, and that there would be some orange tape around a tree that could easily be missed. We had no map, although the couple that went in the same shuttle had one.

It was a gorgeous day, and the river was beautiful. The water was absolutely clear and you could see right to the bottom. It was not at all deep; in fact, in many areas, it was so shallow that we kept getting grounded. One of us would get out and push or pull and off we would go again. In quite a few areas there were small "rapids" where you felt fairly out of control, especially when you were moving quickly, and there were low tree branches overhead that could potentially cause someone to knock themselves out. (We did, of course, sign the form that agrees the company has no liability should you die or damage their equipment.) At these areas, often the kayak would end up backwards, and once, the girls in the other kayak tipped right over, losing their shoes and paddles. We did manage to rescue the paddles and three of the four sandals.

After about 2 hours, we were very ready to get to the pick-up point, as we only had planned for a half-day and the three teenage girls had shopping to do. We were very relieved to spot the trestle bridge; however, the second campground was still quite a ways beyond that. We landed there 20 minutes before the pick-up time, and the guy was 20 minutes late. We had no towels, no water, and no food. Reading the website (after the fact), I see that there was a shorter trip possible, but it only goes in the afternoon. So be sure to ask how far you are going before you get in the boat! And be prepared to get wet, because you will!

We had one day to visit the water park, and although it seemed a little cool in the morning when we arrived at 10:30am or so, we decided to pay the fee and take a chance on its warming up. There were two windows open to pay, but one was only for people paying cash (who pays cash for anything these days?), so the line up in front of the other window seemed fairly long, but it only took about 10 minutes to get in.

It was a weekday, and though we did not arrive at opening time (10am), we did manage to find lounge chairs for all of us. Half an hour or so later, they were pretty well all spoken for, so it is probably a good idea to get there early if you want to stake out a spot. The park itself was compact—you could pretty well see the whole thing from anywhere in the park. There was a good-size wave pool that had the waves going at regular intervals, a lazy river, two flume slides, two speed slides, a tube slide, and a multi-passenger slide. My kids got a kick out of the one that spits you out like a flushing toilet. Little kids got their own area with splash pool, sand box, swings, and mini slides.

Lines were quite manageable, and we were able to go on several slides more than once. The flow could have been managed differently, but maybe they were short staffed—one girl looked pretty grumpy—perhaps she was asked to do more than she was used to. Food was served at two separate areas—one served hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, onions rings, and sandwiches—not cheap but greasy. The other place served pizza. There was a bar, slushy stand, and a stand that sold these funky ice-cream treats—it was like a bowl full of frozen ball bearings.

This is definitely a good place to spend a hot summer day.

Many people come to the White Mountains for the beautiful scenery and to commune with nature, but a good many bargain minded shoppers come to wander through the many outlet stores, hoping to find brand name articles at less than brand name prices.

Settlers Village Outlet Village Plaza is the largest of the outlet malls in North Conway with Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Wamsutta, Woolrich, Pac Sun, LL Bean, Bootleggers, Maidenform, Jockey, Adidas, Rockport, Reebok and many more.

We are Canadian and given the exchange rate, we did not find many great bargains except on the clearance racks. The three teenage girls I traveled with spent most of their time in Pacific Sun and did spend some of their hard-earned dollars there. Many of the stores seemed to offer their items at the same prices you could find at any shopping mall.

Just north of OVP along route 302 are other outlet stores and you can park in a central location, such as near Bootleggers and shop at most of them, although you will have to try to cross the street, which can be a bit of a challenge.