L.L. Bean Outlet

Website: L.L. Bean Outlet

This was not on the itinerary, but Ron spotted it on our way to the hotel. We thought we had time to kill before boarding the train so we all went shopping. Lots of good deals on extra warm clothing, but the southerners in the crowd didn't need much of that. Dana got a sweater, Jim got a coat, and Ron got 'duck' boots and a shirt.

North Conway has covered all bases for all seasons. Brilliant. It has a backdrop of 700,000 acres of White Mountain Nation Forest. Mt Washington is the tallest peak in the northwest so this area is covered with with snow bunnies skiing in the winter. But there's also the Saco river so plenty of summer camping and tubing. Then they have fall which captures the leaf peepers, like us. This town relies on tourism and there are so many options everywhere. Totally recommmend!

Conway Scenic Railroad

Website: Conway Scenic Railroad

It was chaos by the time we got to the railroad depot. Tons of people! And we got directed to the back end of the train. Then we figured out to go to the front end and once we got there, they were calling our tribe out to board over and over. Whew! Guess we didn't expect the chaos and starting off in the wrong direction didn't help. This is their most popular train trip of the season so the amount of people boarding was quite larger.

We had tickets for the Notch Train and the tracks were laid in the 1870's. There was onboard live commentary about the history and folklore of the railroad and area. Our tickets were on the first class car, the CP Reed which was built in the mid-fifites. We did opt for the 3-course luncheon in the Hattie Evans dining car and it was wonderful. If you decide to do this... get tickets 6 months in advance.

Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing

Website: Moat Mountain

We knew we would be eating the late lunch on the train ride, so we planned an informal dinner at Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing. It was a few miles north of our hotel and perfect!

This restaurant was on the same road as our hotel and everything else we did. Let's just say there's one main road that runs north/south. Moat Mountain was a little further north than our train depot and we were reaching the outskirts of North Conway and getting a bit edgy. It's worth the trip.