Ringing in 2016 in North Conway, New Hampshire

After a whirlwind Christmas, we decided on the spur of the moment to head to North Conway, New Hampshire for New Years. We spent the morning of December 31st packing up our snowshoeing gear and some overnight essentials, then piled into the car for what turned out to be a 3-hour drive. (There’s nothing like potty breaks to extend your road trip.) I had Googled hotels before we left and booked us a room at the North Conway Grand Hotel based on the fact that it had rooms available, and satisfied Addie’s request for an indoor pool.

From the minute the doors opened into the lobby, the kids loved the hotel. I have a feeling the giant stuffed animal moose and bears had something to do with their enchantment.

The entrance to the North Conway Grand Hotel

“Mama! Take my picture with the moose!”

After checking in, we headed to our room to change into swimsuits. To my dismay, none of the local restaurants deliver to the hotel, so I placed an order with Flatbread Company. While Kendra and the kids went swimming, I picked up our dinner. I think they definitely had more fun than me.

When I returned, we headed back to our room for pizza and snuggles, then settled in to watch the New York Philharmonic perform their La Vie Parisienne concert on PBS. Eventually everyone drifted off to sleep and I rang in the New Year to the gentle snoring of my wife and kids.

Kendra and Addie painted their nails after dinner.

The next morning the kids woke us up just after 6am. We headed downstairs and had breakfast, then returned to our room and geared up to snowshoe! We’ve only gotten three inches of snow in Massachusetts this winter – not enough to snowshoe – so we were all excited to strap on our Tubbs and explore Echo Lake State Park.

This was the first time the twins were on snowshoes for a hike, and I was amazed by how quickly they picked it up!

We didn’t go very far – not even enough to write up a proper trip report; but it was a fun time nonetheless. The kids played in the snow, explored the trail, and we even made it to the shore of Echo Lake.

It was a short trip, but a great way to ring in the New Year as a family, and kick off our 2016 adventures!