Stephen and I both had to work our anniversary/birthday weekends so we planned this amazing trip to the Omni Hotel at Mt Washington NH....well, we really didn't plan it-it was planned by our friend Joann but we chose to participate!!! Our weekend consisted of fancy dinners-
Stickney's Restaurant,The Cave, Rosebrook Bar, Fabyans and Bretton Arms Restaurant , cooking smores, scenic hikes, 25000 square foot spa, Brentton Woods Canopy tour(zip lining) and the Mt Washington cog railway. A fun filled weekend with great friends!!!
The Mount Washington Hotel :Bretton Woods is part of a land grant made in 1772 by Royal Governor John Wentworth. The area was named after Bretton Hall, Wentworth's ancestral home in Yorkshire, England.
The superstructure of The Mount Washington Hotel boasted a steel network, uncommon in its day. The Mount Washington Hotel was built by New Hampshire native Joseph Stickney, who made his fortune in coal mining and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Stickney spared no expense in building the imposing hotel. The latest design and construction methods were used. Innovative and complicated heating and plumbing systems were installed. To this day, the Bretton Woods Hotel has its own private telephone system and Post Office.
Ground was broken in 1900 and construction was completed in 1902. Two hundred and fifty Italian craftsmen, skilled in masonry and woodworking, were brought to Bretton Woods and housed on the grounds. A new type of power plant served reliably for over 50 years.
Imported china, hand-colored postcards and playing cards and a 1917 travel guide -- genteel mementos of an elegant legacy. On July 28, 1902, the front doors of this Grand Hotel opened to the public with a staff of no less than 350.
The most luxurious hotel of its day, The Mount Washington catered to wealthy guests from Boston, New York and Philadelphia. As many as fifty trains a day stopped at Bretton Woods' three railroad stations. One of these stations, Fabyan's, is now one of the Resort's dining establishments.
The Hotel has been host to countless celebrities, including Thomas Edison and three U.S. Presidents.
In 1944, The Mount Washington hosted the Bretton Woods International Monetary Conference. Delegates from 44 nations convened, establishing the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, setting the gold standard at $35.00 an ounce and designating the United States dollar as the backbone of international exchange. The signing of the formal documents took place in the Gold Room, located off the Hotel Lobby and now preserved as an historic site.
In 1955, the Hotel was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Morris J. Fleisher of Philadelphia, who operated the Hotel for 15 seasons until its sale in 1969 to Mount Washington Development Company. This company developed the popular Bretton Woods Ski Area and reacquired many out-parcels, thus consolidating the original Stickney Estate.
Bretton Woods Corporation acquired the property in 1975. Under its ownership, The Mount Washington Hotel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and 6,400 acres of beautiful woodlands were sold to the United States government for inclusion in the White Mountain National Forest.
In 1986, the United States Department of the Interior recognized the historical and architectural significance of The Mount Washington Hotel with a National Historic Landmark designation. The 1896 Bretton Arms Inn, a Victorian inn located on the Hotel grounds, was also awarded National Historic Landmark status as part of the designation given The Mount Washington Hotel.
In 1991, a new chapter in the Hotel's history began as a group of New Hampshire businessmen joined forces to purchase it and the surrounding property to ensure its place in the 21st Century. Subsequent purchases of the Resort's two golf courses, surrounding development land and New Hampshire's largest ski area, Bretton Woods, successfully reunited all original Resort properties.
Making history once again, The Mount Washington Hotel opened for its "First Winter" season ever, beginning Thanksgiving Day, 1999!
Zip line canopy tour:
Located right here in Bretton Woods, NH, and descending over 1000 feet of elevation, the tour takes nature-lovers and thrill-seekers across a series of tree-top zip lines through a network of platforms high in the ancient hemlocks.
This unique canopy tour features a dual-cable construction (you slide below two separate cables, instead of just one), coated cables (to make for a quiet, more natural flight through the trees) and platforms and bridges milled from locally-harvested wood sources, in keeping with our commitment to environmentally sustainable programs.
Once on the tour, our Adventure Guides describe the native flora and fauna, in addition to discussing the surrounding area, its natural history and White Mountain lore. Each pair of guides may accommodate up to eight participants.
All in all, a unique New Hampshire experience not to be missed
The Mt Washington Cog Railway:
The beauty of the mountains and the thrill of ascending the Northeast's highest peak are just as enchanting today as they were in 1869, when Sylvester Marsh opened the world's first mountain-climbing railroad on New Hampshire's Mount Washington.
Nearly 150 years later, the Mount Washington Cog Railway continues to provide a sense of adventure and history as it carries passengers up a 3-mile-long trestle and the steepest railroad tracks in North America to the 6,288-foot summit of Mount Washington. There, visitors can take in the spectacular panoramic view, spanning the mountains and valleys of New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, north into Canada, and east to the Atlantic Ocean.
Passengers may choose to ride The Cog in a car powered by a historic steam locomotive or the more modern and eco-friendly biodiesel engines.
Whether examining the history and memorabilia of The Cog at the Marshfield Station, where the original Old Peppersass engine is on display, or exploring the fascinating weather and ecosystem of the mountain at the summit's Mount Washington Observatory, visitors will find plenty to thrill and entertain at the Mount Washington Cog Railway.
Stephen and I had a very busy weekend planning and preparing for Aces High 176 Robotic Annual Fundraiser Pasta Dinner. Students from our FTC and FRC set up, served, sold tickets, raffled off baskets and cleaned up. The Knight Of Columbus donated all the food and prepare it for us and Sacred Heart Church in Suffield donated the space for us to have the dinner. Some of our sponsors: Praxair, St. Anne Country Club, Snap on Tools donated items for baskets that were raffled. One of my parents Julie, brought 12 baskets of her own! We had almost all of our team participate in this years event making it the most successful yet! We served approx. 164 people raising approx. $476.00 in raffle tickets. We double our sales from last year making $1785.00. As mentors, Stephen and I want to thank everyone-students for all their hard work, mentors to help supervise, our sponsors for all the donations and guests whom just attended for making this event so successful!
