Our road twists and bends, but it never ends
Who knew the world’s longest candy counter would be waiting for us in LITTLEton. Go figure.
Stretching 112 feet, the candy counter at Chutters is something to see. We all found a sweet treat or two to our liking.
You think it’s a coincidence that the sugar free stuff is all the way at the end in the back?
Floodwaters enveloping Minot have nothing on the sea of memories stirred in me as we turned onto Littleton’s Main Street.
Once upon a time, this stretch of shops and restaurants was declared the prettiest Main Street in America. Stella was captivated by it’s quaint charm. Kate, on the other hand, was filled with a burning desire to flee. I felt the same way when I was her age—until I saw a certain lightbulb.
A red lightbulb seen through that second story window with the air conditioner captured my teenage imagination. It was the ON AIR light in WLTN’s studio. I’d look up to see it whenever we came out of the movie theater across the street. What would it take for me to get on the radio, I wondered. It was less a dream than a growing obsession. (Some things never change, eh?)
At age 15, I managed to get an audition with WLTN’s long-time station owner Jack Bowman. I choked, crashed, and burned. He was a crotchety old guy who succeeded in chasing me off. I had nearly given up when news of the station’s sale hit the paper. I came through those doors behind me here with unshakable determination. Whether I persuaded or just pestered him into submission, I will never know. But, Peter Aydelott, the station’s new owner, finally gave me a shot right behind that door at the end of the hallway.
Keying the mic that first time, I remember looking up at that same red light bulb and grinning ear-to-ear. My first job in radio. I was hooked. Still am, but now from a distance. Even so, I will forever be, first and foremost, a radio guy.
Two things New Hampshire is known for: its motto and The Old Man of The Mountain. New Hampshirites are still “Live Free or Die” folks, but The Old Man succumbed to gravity nearly ten years ago. It was once seen on the left face of that hillside ahead of us.
These days, you can only see it through an inventive recreation accomplished by using those metal spires behind the kids at The Old Man Memorial site.
Each of the spires features a collection of bumps arranged in a particular pattern. It seems pretty random until you figure out what to do.
By standing in just the right spot, you’re able to once again see The Old Man looking out over Profile Lake. Sadly, the entire Old Man Memorial isn’t finished. The economy is creating a drag on charitable giving roughly equal to the gravity that pulled the profile from its perch.
We didn’t exactly scamper up the two mile ascent of The Flume, but it was fun all the same.
The walk up was one thing, but getting down was more than Zu could handle. Good thing her big brother was there to rescue here
Even more fun, the intermittent cell signals as we enter Franconia Notch mean our next dispatches may have to wait until we get wifi at the Barron Brook Inn.
The kids were surprised to see road signs warning of moose. They had no idea such creatures would be found here, nor how big they are. When they spotted this one in the lobby at the Flume, Kate directed everyone to moose me.