From our house to the Omni Mt Washington is about a 4 hour drive, without stops.
We were hoping to leave around nap time, surprise surprise.
Of course, we were a little late getting on the road, but only a little. The start of the drive was quite uneventful, despite the snow that was coming down pretty quickly.
We stopped around 6 for dinner, at Friendly’s. While I have an opportunity to get the kids in restaurants quite often, TT Dad doesn’t have that luxury. He really enjoys meals out with the kids, and for the most part, so do the kids. As they get older, we have more ‘teachable moments’ regarding behavior in restaurants, but we figure it’ll be easier to teach them now than when they are older (and more set in their ways!)
The duo loved their crowns, and were in very good spirits that evening. They gobbled up their dinner, and before we knew it, we were back on the road.
As you can imagine, as it got later, and the snow continued to fall, the traffic started moving slower. It took us a little longer than we had planned to arrive at our destination.
Okay, a lot longer.
We had hoped to get there around bedtime. We’d let the kids run around, and blow off some steam as we set up their pack and plays, and then do our bedtime routine, so TT Dad and I could enjoy some Friday night Date night fun. With our late arrival, and the chilling temps outside, we rushed our sleepy kids into the hotel lobby and let them walk around while TT Dad unpacked the car and checked us in.
During our stay, the normal guest elevator was undergoing maintenance, so only the service elevator was in use- for everyone. On one hand, it meant long, long waits for an elevator. On the other hand, it encouraged us to use the stairs, giving us the opportunity to appreciate more of this gorgeous hotel.
The Omni Mt Washington was built in 1902. If you’re interested in the history of this beautiful hotel and grounds, you can check out their website here. We were incredibly impressed by the building… There were a number of restaurants, bars, shops, and other entertainment options. The hotel offers activities for kids, as well as adults, and of course, there is Bretton Woods, the ski resort, just down the road.
We were happy to have secured a ‘family room.’ We learned another lesson on this trip. Layout matters. Previously we had learned to specify that we’d like a door between the bedroom and the sitting room. This time, we learned we needed to ask about floor space. The layout of our Family Room, was as expected, I guess. There was a master bedroom with a king bed, a separate bathroom, and a sitting room with a couch and tv.
In this particular room, the bedroom was not much larger than the bed itself. In fact, I’m pretty sure the bathroom was larger than the master bedroom. The sitting room had ample floor space, but was an awkward shape, being long and skinny. We were able to fit the two pack and plays inside the bedroom, but even the bellman offered to see if he could get us into a bigger room, stating this room wasn’t exactly what someone would expect when booking that type of room.
At that point, it was so late, and my priority was to get the kids into bed. They had a big day in the morning, and I wasn’t interested in sending someone to get a new room, moving all of our stuff, and setting everything up again.
Bonus points for the offer, though.
The next hurdle was the sleeping situation.
I don’t think I mentioned- The kids had discovered that it was a so much fun to climb out of pack and plays while in NC. If they weren’t climbing out, they were pulling the mattress part up and hiding under it.
We’re happy to report the kids slept really well and did not even attempt once to escape the pack and play. Crisis Averted. We were still in the market for a new sleeping arrangement, but that’s a story for another day.