A Memorable Trip  – by Laura

In the spring of 1972 my sister, brother-in-law, 2 year old nephew, mother and I took a trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire.  We were all feeling excited when we packed our cooler and picnic basket into the van and took our seats.  It was a beautiful sunny morning when we set out and we had a list of what we wanted to see.  The top of Mt. Washington, the old man of the mountain, and the flume for floating logs down the mountain’s side topped the list.  After 2 or more hours, we arrived at our destination.  First we stopped at a lake that the old man of the mountain looks out over but a huge fog bank totally obscured the view.  We stood there a good hour but the fog didn’t move an inch.  Scratch that off the list.  Next we tried to find the flume.  We drove over mountains and through valleys and apparently took a wrong turn on the Kanga Mangus highway and ended up on the wrong side of the mountain.  We scratched item no 2 off the list.  Frustrated but undaunted, we headed for Mt Washington.  When we reached the bottom, the road was closed.  We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  We tore up our list and threw it in the trash.  Well. We still had a picnic lunch to enjoy. We parked on a scenic outlook and were going to take the cooler and basket out of the van when it started to snow.  So we ate in the van in the midst of a blizzard!  Murphy’s law was alive and well that day.  We laughed about it all the way home and in spite of the disappointments it was one of the best trips we ever took.