(Amy writing...)
So I drove up to New Hampshire yesterday and spent some time looking and driving around. I found a cute little motel with reasonable prices, a decent little city with some night life and pubs, a bunch of restaurants, a Walmart, and that kind of thing.
So here is some motel information…
The best prices around are at a little mom & pop motel called the Anchorage Inn. It’s a 31-room motel set on some pretty grounds…cute patio with tables, chairs, and picnic tables, grills, a good spot for some Frisbee or a whiffle ball game. They are willing to go to $99 (usually $120/night) a night for a 2 queen room and that includes a continental breakfast (waffle station, cereal, fruit, juice, coffee, hot chocolate…) IF we book at least 6 rooms. Each room has a fridge and a microwave. Parking is right outside your door…literally. Our rooms would all be blocked together (aside from smoking rooms and pet-friendly rooms (+$15), if anyone wants them), but really, it’s only 31 rooms, so everyone is together anyway.
I saw about 6 of their rooms when I was there yesterday. All very clean, but it is a 50 year old motel, so things are a little outdated…older décor, small bathroom with older bathroom fixtures. The rooms are really spacious lengthwise, but a bit narrow…in the two-queen rooms, there are two doors on opposite ends of the room; there is a dining table for 2 at one end and a desk at the other (free wi-fi). They have a couple joining rooms if anyone is interested in them. Jon will tell you, I get skeeved out the second something doesn’t smell fresh or there is a dust bunny on the floor…this place passed that inspection.
Their website is
http://www.anchorageinns.com/rochester/ if you want to see some pictures and read reviews.
Opinions Needed…
Right now, on Friday, we will be doing a drive up to North Conway (shops, snacks, touristy area) and Mt. Washington Auto Road ($24 per car and driver, $8 per passenger; includes auto CD and bumpersticker), then some sort of food (which is where the opinions are needed),then the rally on the way home.
We have the option of having a BBQ cookout at the base of Mount Washington for between $12-16.50 pp (minimum of 20 people, possible tax and tip to be added). This is about the same cost at the BBQ at the national event, except in this case, none of us are cooking, but a staffed-catering-restaurant is. I am still in the process of gathering the details…tax, tip, dining arrangements, that kind of thing…but I want to get the information that I do have out to everyone and get everyone’s feeling on it.
The $12.00 BBQ includes: Hamburgers - Hot Dogs - Veggie Burgers
Garden Salad - Potato Chips - Brownie or Assorted Cookies
Beverage: soda, water, coffee and tea
The $16.50 BBQ includes: Hamburgers - Veggie Burgers - Bone-In Chicken
Potato Salad - Garden Salad - Potato Chips
Brownie with Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce or Strawberry Shortcake (in season)
Beverage: soda, water, coffee and tea
But again, we need at least 20 people to commit to the BBQ before I can/will book it, so right now, I am ONLY just looking to see the interest in it.
If we didn’t do the BBQ, we could pack lunches and picnic at the peak, go to the snack bar at the peak, go to a restaurant in the town, or just not eat (ïŠ), so there are other options. I think the BBQ would be a great way to get us all together to regroup, eat together, and go over the rally before setting off to do that.