1st Trip to the White Mountains: Talking Moose

I might have put some of you to sleep with the Bretton Woods Monetary Conference post, so here is a cute picture of a talking moose we encountered in Conway, an adorable ski town on the outskirts of the White Mountains. He was quite talkative for a moose, but he mostly focused our conversation on selling us Zeb's General Store items.

1st Trip to the White Mountains: Bretton Woods United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference Site (Whee!)

I'm posting this for all the IMF and World Bank fans that read the blog. The Mount Washington Hotel is where delegates from all over the world met during WWII to decide world financial policy. Right inside those walls are where they created the World Bank, adjustable peg rates, required that currencies be convertible for trade and related account transactions, and made member countries accountable to subscribe to IMF's capital. (Thanks Wikipedia!) Seriously, though, it was a very important conference that brought economic stability to the post-WWII world and it took place in a very beautiful hotel in the White Mountains. (Go New Hampshire!)

"The economic health of every country is a proper matter of concern to all
its neighbors, near and far."

Franklin Roosevelt speaking at the Bretton Woods Conference

1st Trip to the White Mountains: Our Meeting with The Old Man

On May 3, 2003, New Hampshire's "Old Man" collapsed and the state mourned the loss of this celebrated sight in the White Mountains. For 198 years, visitors to the state came to Profile Lake (pictured above) to get the best angle for the "Old Man" viewing. We came to the state about 4 years too late to take in this sight; however, tourists still gather at this spot to see what is left of the granite outcropping. I don't think Erin or I really understood the magnitude of the respect state residents held for this natural formation, but a film at The Notch made it quite clear that the state is still in shock over its loss. Erin and I both love seeing his profile on our liscense plate, road signs, and other places in the state and now we appreciate the symbolism even more.

(By the way, the White Mountains have other "profiles" and one of the really good one is the Indian Head that actually looks look a human profile if you are looking for it.)

Note: PLEASE click on each picture to see them enlarged.

1st Trip to the White Mountains:The Notch

The above pictures are from the Notch, an amazingly beautiful gorge created by a receding glacier, in the White Mountains about three hours north of us. The pictures are self-explanatory and were all taken on the same two-hour hike where we walked up the "flume". What you don't see in the pictures are when I freaked out because I thought the granite walls were closing in on me and ran up the stairs. That was a really unpleasant couple of minutes, but I quickly recovered in time to do a brilliant bear impersonation. (Note: PLEASE click on each picture to see them enlarged.) We hope you enjoy them.

5-Year Anniversary and Herbal Fun at Pickity Place

Erin and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary (when we first met) on Friday the 15th by heading out to Mason, NH to have lunch at a very special restaurant, Pickity Place. Operating out of a 200-year old cottage in the middle of nowhere, Pickity Place is an incredible dining experience that revolves around their incredible herbal gardens that inspire the monthly menus. From the mint in your tea to the flower in your sundried tomato spread to the fresh oregano on your sliced beef, it's all edible and is all fresh from Pickity's gardens that surround the property and make it so special. (I must be getting older because now I'm finding herbs and herbal gift shops to be inspirational but this place is awesome!) Trust me, if you come to visit us any time during the year this place is open, we will be bringing you there to eat. The following are some pics from our wonderful lunch.

Everying on this plate is edible---even the flower! And it's all from their gardens.

Graduation '07

Erin and I celebrated the completion of our first school year on June 2nd at Dublin School's graduation ceremony. We found it funny that the diplomas were awarded inside a giant tent on the school's quad that looked just like our wedding tent. :) It was a beautiful ceremony, and we were surprised at how many of the seniors we'll miss after such a short time together. We had a good graduation speaker who has worked with Oprah Winfrey and other notables; however, the three speeches given by seniors were some of the best I've ever heard in ten years. The ceremony was small and intimate and a great close to the year.

It's hard to believe how quickly the time has flown and how much we've accomplished since we arrived in a dusty Jeep just 10 months ago. This community has been so great to us and it's like we've been welcomed into an incredible and loving, sometimes wonderfully

eccentric, extended family. :)

So what does summer hold for the Boutons now that school is out until September? Here are some of the highlights:

• Erin has been hired by Dublin as a full-time history teacher for next year. She'll be teaching 10th grade World History and American Government.
• I've been promoted to History Department Chair for Dublin School. That means I'm Erin's boss next year. :)
• We are going to be moving in the next few weeks to Corner House into a 2-bedroom dorm apartment. The new place will have enough room for a huge study with built-in bookshelves for all of our history texts. One of the coolest things about our new place is the huge staircase that heads up to the dorm with a beautiful wooden banister. The apartment has incredible views of the campus on all sides, and we'll be right at the school's entrance. I really can't wait for Christmas now with all the decorating possibilities. We're already talking about where to put the tree. Pics will follow.
• Both Erin and I will be heading out to sea for a week-long cruise on a dual-masted schooner out of Boston. The cruise is part of a maritime history course that will give us real-world sailing experience to bring back into the classroom. I'm really excited about this trip because it will cap off my summer sailing job experience.
• I will be working 8 weeks at the Dublin Lake Club teaching sailing once they teach me how to do it. :) My fellow coaches tell me I'll be up and running in a matter of days, and I can't wait to be out on the lake getting paid to sail!
• Erin will be heading off to Oregon with her grandmother to visit some extended family for two weeks. She is so excited about seeing the Pacific coastline and spending time with her grandmother that she doesn't get to see very often.

We have plenty of other day trips and overnight plans for the summer, too, which we'll be posting on the blog as they happen.

Thank you so much for keeping up with our little adventures. We appreciate you* taking the time to read our ramblings!

*My brotherjoked that we're up to maybe two or three readers now! :)

The Tumbling Tractor

I left the house last week to this sight off of our front porch. A member of our school's maintenance crew left this tractor at the top of my sledding hill and because the parking brake was faulty it came rolling down the hill and nearly hit several cars, a building, and our front porch. Luckily, it hit a bump and rolled to a stop next to this tree and the two rocks next to our porch. The maintenance guys spent a good portion of the morning and early afternoon getting it upright and back into service. I love this pic because you are probably used to this hill from many earlier blog postings but with a dog standing on it. :)