The Gratts on Vacation: New England Road Trip: Jackson, NH

Our next stop was Jackson, New Hampshire, which would take Ben and I through the White Mountain National Forest, known for its beautiful fall foliage.

Sneak peek of New Hampshire

We would be stopping at Franconia Notch State Park, a park in New Hampshire famous for the Flume Gorge, a two-mile walk through an 800ft natural stone gorge. But our first order of business was breakfast at Polly's Pancake Parlor an hour and a half from Stowe which is famous for what else--pancakes!

You can find the history of Polly's Pancake Parlor here: https://pollyspancakeparlor.com/our-story/

The wait for pancakes here is always a long one. But Ben told me it's worth the wait!

Patiently waiting for pancakes.

After about an hour, we were "gorging" on pancakes, no pun intended! They were truly the best pancakes I've ever had. They are made with homemade batter and only the freshest ingredients.

Then it was about a 20-minute drive to Franconia Notch State Park for our walk through the Flume Gorge.

The Flume is a natural granite gorge extending 800ft at the base of Mount Liberty. The granite walls rise to a height of 90 feet. There are also cascading waterfalls, covered bridges, glacial pools and boulders dating back millions of years. It is a really cool hike through a natural wonder.

Flume Covered Bridge built in 1886

A good picture showing the height of the granite walls.

After the actual flume, there are still lots of waterfalls, forest and overlooks as you make your way through the park.

This sign says Mt. Liberty looks like George Washington lying in state.

Do you see George?

These glacial boulders were dated over two million years. Where else can you touch a two-million-year-old boulder?!

It was a great hike through the park!

Our "We finished the Flume" picture

After Flume Gorge, we were ready to make the one-hour drive to our hotel in Jackson. The drive down Route 302 through the Franconia Notch is a beautiful one.

I told Ben where to stop so I could get a picture of the Omni Mount Washington Hotel.

The tall peak on the right is Mt. Washington.

More of our drive.

When we saw the line of cars waiting to go through the one-lane Jackson Covered Bridge, we knew we had arrived.

We stayed at the Wentworth Inn. Ben and I originally had a reservation at the Inn at Thorn Hill where Ben stayed with his parents last year. Unfortunately, the hotel had a fire just a few weeks before our trip which closed the restaurant and bar. Luckily, we were able to make other arrangements in time.

Our room at the Wentworth wasn't quite as charming as it looked in pictures. But the hotel itself was okay for three nights.

This bathroom reminded me of a hospital bathroom. Or a prison!

The rest of the property looked much better!

After settling in, we had dinner at the hotel restaurant, the 1869 Room. Our room came with a dining package so we would have breakfast and dinner here every night.

I started with the house specialty meatballs and a salad. Both were good.

For my entree I had the salmon which was ok. We found the food to be hit or miss here at dinner.

Ben's creme brulee was the best thing we ate at this restaurant.

The next day, our plan was to drive up Mt. Washington, the highest point in the northeastern U.S. at 6,288ft. It had rained the night before so I wasn't sure it would be a good idea to drive up there as it would probably be cloudy.

We started with breakfast at the hotel and I got a yogurt parfait. By this point, it was clear that I was going to have to slow down on my eating if I wanted to fit into my clothes!

We decided to grab a latte at a coffee place a short walk from the hotel. It was good and I was bummed that this was the only day they were open when we were in Jackson.

While we were drinking our coffee, Ben checked the weather on Mt. Washington and said it looked clear. So we hopped in the car to make our way up the mountain! Driving to Mt. Washington took us through Pinkham Notch which was a very beautiful drive.

Another Notch in our belt!

It was a beautiful drive up Mt. Washington. Ben downloaded a driving tour that we listened to during the drive.

Then we were at the top and of course, all the clouds had rolled in! Mt. Washington is one of the windiest points on earth and actually has the record for the highest winds ever recorded!

It was so windy I could barely smile in this picture.

Don't let our smiles fool you--it was also freezing!

After a short visit at the top, we made our way back down. We had to stop several times to let the brakes cool, even though we were in low gear. But that meant we could take lots of pictures along the way.

This was a really fun drive and we were glad we went even though it was socked in at the top.

I had planned for us to have brunch after the drive, but we weren't really hungry so we decided to do a small waterfall hike nearby called Thompson Falls. The hike started from the parking lot of a ski resort called Wildcat Mountain.

Waterfall selfie!

Ben and I decided to ride the ski lift up to the top of Wildcat Mountain. I had never been on a ski lift before so this would be an adventure.

At the top of our second mountain in one day!

View of the Presidential Range.

The Presidential Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains and the peaks are named for American presidents. That is Mt. Washington in the clouds right behind us.

We eventually made our way back down. The ski lift was really fun and the views were incredible.

Back in Jackson, we decided to take a walk around the town and do some shopping.

This was the only souvenir shop in all of Jackson, Flossie's. I bought a Christmas ornament so I could come home with an ornament from all three states.

We came across a little curio shop that had some neat items and made for fun window shopping. No photos were allowed inside though.

Back at the hotel, we cleaned up and then went to the Alpine lounge for a pre-dinner drink.

I had maple butternut squash soup for my appetizer and short rib for dinner which were both pretty good. I only have a picture of Ben's dessert so his dinner must not have been very memorable!

We placed our order for a grab and go breakfast for the next morning because we were up early to drive the Kancamagus Highway!

This breakfast was soooo yummy!

The Kancamagus Highway ("Kank-ah-mah-gus" or the Kanc to locals) is a 34.5 mile scenic drive along Rt. 112 in New Hampshire that is well known as one of the best fall foliage viewing areas in the country. I had already researched this drive for the trip last year. Since we were visiting over a weekend, we knew to get up early and hit the road so we would be ahead of all the leaf peepers!

The first stop is the beautiful Albany Covered Bridge built over the Swift River in 1859.

This sign explains that bridges were covered to protect them from the elements and extend their life span.

Next up: Lower Falls, a beautiful spot where the Swift River drops many feet over smooth granite rocks into a large pool.

We let the falls come between us.

Isn't this color incredible?!

Next was Rocky Gorge and Falls Pond, a really beautiful stop along the Kanc.

It was a short walk down a path.

This sign described how in the 1800's, people had to cross the gorge over a narrow log! Lucky for us, there is a bridge now.

Our selfie game needs some work.

It was a short walk over to beautiful Falls Pond surrounded by the White Mountain National Forest.

Back on the road, we passed the Russell-Colbath House which is a historic site from the 1830's. Ben and his parents stopped here last year but the house itself is not open to the public, so Ben and I didn't plan on stopping. But I was able to take a quick picture from the road.

Next was Sabbaday Falls, one of the most popular stops on the Kanc. Luckily, Ben and I were able to beat most of the crowd--we even got a parking spot right up front!

The falls are a short walk from the parking lot.

You can walk down the wooden walkway for a different view of the falls.

Back on the road, the next stop was Sugar Hill Vista. I thought that this was the most spectacular overlook along the Kanc.

Sugar Hill Overlook offers a panoramic view of the Swift River Valley and surrounding mountains.

There were a few more overlooks that we stopped at along the drive with lots of great scenery in between.

We never saw any moose in New Hampshire, although we always kept a lookout for them.

We had an awesome time driving the Kanc!

Before going to the hotel, we stopped at Cathedral Ledge State Park with views across the Saco River Valley to the White Mountains.

On the way back to the hotel, we passed the Trails End Ice Cream stand and stopped for what was my second favorite ice cream of the trip!

I know everyone in Texas loves Blue Bell, but homemade local ice cream is so much better!

Ice cream with a view!

Back at the hotel, we stopped for a pre-dinner cocktail in the Alpine lounge.

Make that two cocktails!

We had our last dinner at the hotel and had a table by the fireplace.

The restaurant had a good shrimp cocktail but it only came with two shrimp. Since we got two appetizers, we ordered two shrimp cocktails so we would get double the shrimp.