Absolutely nothing except for devotion for their home turf.
If you haven’t seen this parody “Granite State of Mind,” the spoof is hysterical. This song only goes to show that sometimes, well, stereotypes can be stereotypes for a reason. For those Jay-Z officianados who might be upset by this joke, you can find “Empire State of Mind” the original, here.
Happy 2012 and let’s make it a fun one!
Finally, the holiday season is upon us! Whether you are tightening your belt a little bit more this year or splurging on gifts, we need to keep the environment in mind while shopping. That huge flat screen television that you waited in line for 16 hours for on Black Friday might be awesome, but did you stop and think about the damage that it might have done to the environment? Not just to produce it, but to package it and ship it to the store? This year I challenge you to think outside the box (store) and get a little green with your gift-giving. Here are some tips:
Give a gift certificate to a local restaurant. Everyone loves a meal out with their loved ones, and the luxury of restaurant dining is usually one of the first to go when the budget starts to get a little tight. And even if you can’t afford to gift the cost of a whole meal, $25 can get you at least a couple glasses wine and an appetizer. If the recipient isn’t a fan of chain restaurants, boost our local economy and buy a gift certificate at one of The Valley Originals! Other ideas would be a magazine subscription or membership to an aquarium or museum.
Bake something, or give a consumable gift. Spend an afternoon baking cookies to give away to your co-workers, family and friends. Not so good in the kitchen? Consider giving a pound of local coffee, or a bottle of local organic wine.
Wrap with alternative wrapping paper. You will save yourself money by wrapping your gifts in newspaper, a pretty scarf you found at a vintage or second hand store, or even recycled or hemp gift wrap. Or better yet, don’t wrap it at all! Pull the gift from behind your back or blindfold the recipient.
Shop local. Small Business Saturday was a great campaign, and the idea of it doesn’t have to end. There are hundreds of local businesses in the area that would love the boost in sales. The best part, no shipping costs!
Check out one of the several arts and craft fairs in the area around the holidays. One of a kind, handmade gifts are the best kind to give and receive. Delaney’s Hole in the Wall holds their annual Love Our Locals event this year on December 7th, with 12 local artistsans, food and wine tastings and other great deals. Also look for arts and artisans fairs at the area schools.
Give the gift of charity. Looking for a gift for the person who has it all? Listen a little closer and choose a charity that you think they would love to support, and make a donation in their name.
Give green! Giving a gift that will help someone become more energy efficient in their everyday life will prove to be the gift that keeps on giving. Consider giving someone a low-flow showerhead, rechargeable batteries, or energy-saving light-bulbs.
Happy shopping everyone! For more living green tips, email me at emily@jtrealty.com, and have a happy holiday season.
Late nights at the office send me scurrying home with a sense of guilt, “Jeeze, haven’t seen my kids all day etc, etc” but after rationally and methodically hitting up McDonald’s as a means to “save time” and satisfy the gnawing hunger in the bottom of my stomach the guilt doesn’t stop.
“Ryan, McDonalds continues the operation and expansion of feed lots — an environmental and health disaster both.”
“Ryan, McDonalds adds ammonia based meat filler to their burgers to kill salmonilla.”
“Ryan, your waist line NEVER SHOULD INDUGLE IN MCDONALDS FOOD AND WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE A ROCK IS IN THE BOTTOM OF YOUR STOMACH?”
So tonight I fought back and decided to leave the office for a dinner pick of Thai food and then return. My health would not suffer, my conscience can remain clear, and what’s further I would support a local restaurant in the slow season before the foliage peepers arrive. Doesn’t this meal below represent real food versus a double-quarter-pounder from McDanks?
You know the feeling. You arrive somewhere new and your eyes look for graded park paths, wide sidewalks, bike lanes, country roads, trail heads… You find yourself watching the odometer, noting miles and turnarounds. You are a runner.
If you are coming to the Mount Washington Valley seasonally or looking to move here full time you will find no shortage of fantastic runs. From short and easy to some of the toughest trials a runner can face. Here is a short sample of what you might be looking for.
Simply speaking, just walk out your door. Really from anywhere in the valley you can get in some great mileage along just about any road. But if you are looking for something special, try these on for size.
Okay, there are two notches, Crawford and Pinkham. By there very nature these are out and back runs. Just pick a good starting point that fits your mileage and get running. The scenery is fantastic and the roads winding, so watch out for traffic and be safe.
Great Views!
If you run Crawford Notch, shorten your road run and add a run up Mt Willard at the top of the notch. The extra effort will be rewarded with some of the best mountain views anywhere.
Whitaker WoodsThis little park in North Conway features a well maintained trail system right in town. Running or walking along these trials is pleasant and scenic. By combining different trails you can vary your mileage from half a mile to as much as you want. You can stay low on the flats or head up the hill, winding around the various trails through the pine forested park. In winter these trails are part of the Mount Washington Vally Ski Touring and Snowshoe Foundation (see our Nordic page for more info).
Don’t Miss This!
Starting in June, every Tuesday at 5:30 the White Mountain Milers sponsor a 5k fun run. This race series (for most of us it is a “fun run”) goes for 9 weeks into August. When the series is over, runners still often meet at the park on Tuesdays to run again. For more information check the Milers website.
Operated by the Nature Conservancy and home to many mountain biking trails, the Green Hills Preserve offers the trail runner an extensive collection of challenges ranging from a 2 flat miles around pudding pond to the steep climbs on Blackcap or Middle Mountain. You can get good information from the Trails page on the Milers website and from the Nature Conservancy’s Green Hills Preserve Page.
Looking for a challenge?
Try combining your trail running with mountain biking for a dual workout to get ready for that upcoming triathlon.
If you are like me and can rarely get in a run before, say 7:30 at night you might be looking for a safe outlet for your miles. One of the easiest options is just to run an out and back on “The Strip”. You can start in North Conway Village o Route 16 and head south for 2.5 miles (farther if you start further north) or start at the Walgreens, South of Settlers Green, and head north up Route 16 to your turn around. The running is, well, as urban as it gets here in the North Country but with streetlights and sidewalks it provides a safer alternative than many unlit side or country roads.
A little treat
With the Met Coffee house at the Northern end and Starbucks at the southern end, an evening stop at a coffee shop can top off the urban feel of this run.
RacesI have already mentioned the Race series at Whitaker Woods but there are plenty of other official races of varying lengths and difficulties in the the area. The best advice is to check out the Mount Washington Valley Milers web site for upcoming races. And if you do relocate here, seasonally or full time, consider joining.
Let us help you find the perfect vacation or year round home in the North Conway area. Call 603-356-7200 or email Joy@JtRealty.com today.
-Rick
Will Your Son or Daughter Rip the Mountain Like John Brown?
The boy doesn’t even have a driver’s license but certainly a license to sky high on any terrain park in the continental United States and walk off nonchalantly like it’s his job brothers and sisters. LIKE IT’S HIS JOB!
While John certainly trains and competes in national free-style competitions, skiing seems more of a lifestyle as you see him heading to the mountains with headphones on, curls spilling from underneath his hat, and a super-fly-I’m-having-a-helluva time grin on his face. Dude is chill.
And Conway kids do more than free-style. Maybe you’ve heard of “The Olympic Kid” next door Leanne Smith? My broker’s son Ace Tarberry who’s about to land himself on the U.S. Ski Team? And Bode Miller is only from the other side of the notch — he’s local enough.
Winning and skiing in the Valley is more than attributed to a few standouts. Our Kennett High School Eagles have only won the state ski title for the past 25 consecutive years!
If your son or daughter has aspirations of skiing the next level, come to Mt. Washington Valley and buy a home from Ryan the Realtor — you owe it to your kids. I can help. Call Ryan direct for a list of after-season ski homes: 207-462-3874.
‘Let my bat to swat this flying pill for all can watch it climb’
‘Let fly this baseball for my legs yearn to pump the bases’
‘My hands and eyes control this moment Dad like we practiced’
And watching him I see myself, father, and grandfather in eternal spring
I feel the bat, oiled mitt, the seams snug in three fingers coiled to throw
Baseball is freedom in execution, dashes of victory to lodge within forever
Only perfect
Ten Years of Paddling Strong – Ryan the Realtor
The Swift River flows east before joining the Saco on its journey to the Atlantic Ocean and has provided countless thrills and wonder during my last ten years in Mt. Washington Valley.
Station wagon boulders, series of ledges pour a cascading maze, and stout waves allow a kayaker to surf in rhythm as the world flows by.
Ice blocks and snow stand ashore as if pushed aside by the hand of a giant. The water runs a mild one foot in depth and today’s danger primarily lies in catching a submerged rock belly up, halting progress and freedom.
We run tight keeping an eye on each other and looking over my shoulder I see my pals outlined in the halo of dazzling evening sun – perhaps this the truest version of ourselves.
Rivers are for running and mountains for hiking; a home in Mt. Washington Valley is a place to sleep and stash your toys. I can help.
Call Ryan today 207-462-3874 // Email Ryan@JtRealty.com
Swfit River Smiles
Left to right: Darron, Matt, Jake, Ryan
Photo courtesy of Darron Laughland
On a Dove….
Christmas plans for Kennett High School and Conway area singers changed today when they learned they will open for the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall on December 28th in New York City.
This honor is the result of winning a contest “Brush with Greatness Sing 4 All” sponsored by Dove (the shampoo that promises soft and lustrous hair). The Conway group “Alpenglow” claimed victory after viewers selected their favorite of four finalistis. Each group sang the iconic holiday song “My Favorite Things” by Rogers & Hammerstein.
Rules required groups of 3-13 to submit video performances for the competition. Anyone over 13 years of age was invited to participate.
To view the video simply login to your Facebook account and search “Dove Brush with Greatness.”
Congrats Alpenglow singers & Merry Christmas to all,
Ryan the Realtor
Ryan@JTRealty.com
Escape with Ryan the Realtor: Ryan@JTRealty.com
I stand at the edge of my stream and rest my eyes on massive blocks of granite cut a hundred years ago with rudimentary tools and placed with brute strength, a glimpse of history and the evidence of man’s unflagging industry. This diminutive stream once powered a saw mill and I nearly feel the ghosts of strong-bodied and stoic millers looking over my shoulder.
Now left to run free and clean I turn East today following the stream’s current and entertain a boy’s notion, “Where does the river go?” I impose a topographical map in my mind with the bends and curves of the river and feel a natural sense of progress.
There is music that plays here in the woods: gentle currents roll over and around river stones, frozen stalks of grass lay prone and crunch underneath my boots, the milky film of early ice lets go in sudden exasperation to absorb and melt into the running river water. 
I thank God for lungs and legs and earth.
A break in growth shows a carpet of moss that blankets fallen Cedars and downed limbs. May my bones be so lucky to expire and earn such eternal slumber.
The work of a Pileated Woodpecker stands notched into a soft Cedar and the purpose two-fold: a mating call and a search for bugs. Why did the homonids abandon such mating rituals?
I am with my heartland this Thanksgiving and all around me is my respite. A long a river and in the woods I see no one, hear no one, special comfort today.
America provides us with three choices: absorption into the productivity machine, or helpless as a ward of the state, or free to roam public lands. My God there is respite and rest for you in our public lands, our most blessed heritage that many of you will miss.
If I was smarter I’d tell you to stay home, but there’s still room here and I do not own the woods, only the moments.
Click for Homes with Woods Out Your Back Door
Ryan the Realtor Shares the Story: Ryan@JTRealty.com
Any family considering relocating to Mt. Washington Valley needs information about the school system. And while you can find plenty controversy in our local newspaper that mostly includes adult problems, I would like to highlight the ongoing success of our student body as evidence of Kennett High’s merit:
Student Council donates $534 towards Breast Cancer Awareness. The student council donated $1 for any student or staff wearing pink. This initiative resulted after the school board voted against donating ½ of the gate fees from the homecoming football game – go students!
Student Glee Club to compete on Fox Affiliated News in ME for the chance to win $5,000 for the school’s music department. The contest is to air on Veteran’s Day between 7:30 and 9 am. The news station will also include instructions of how to vote with your cell phone! CLICK HERE FOR MORE
KHS Marching Band & Dance Team perform with 65 other schools at UMass Band Day. The performance included three months of preparation and 3 hours in the football stadium. “More Cow Bell” you drummers! See performance on YOU TUBE HERE.
Girls Field Hockey Team 2010 State Champs. Need I say more?
Be a part of our community in this great neighborhood home: 6 Muster Road
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