The stay-cation this summer is certainly something our family is enjoying. With an infant, we decided we'd take day trips to area attraction in our own backyard – this past weekend's adventure was the Mt. Washington Auto Road. As a life long resident of Northern New Hampshire, I had never been to the top of Mt. Washington – embarrassing to say the least! Each summer I would say we'll go and never do – so finally we went this past weekend. We took Route 302 through Crawford Notch to Glen, NH and traveled through Pinkham Notch to the Mt. Washington Auto Road entrance. My husband said I would hate it because of my fear of heights…I wondered if I'd be able to make it also. We started up the 8 mile road to the top – great views the whole way. I took a plethora of photos, shot some video and turn arounded to the back seat many times to pick up toys our baby had dropped. The weather was clear all the way up. We got to above tree line, and shortly after around mile marker 7, we experienced fog and couldn't even see the Mt. Washington Cog Railway car a mere 100 feet away – we could only hear it. We ate our lunch and drove the rest of the way to the top, figuring that perhaps we wouldn't see a thing. As soon as we pulled into the parking log the fog cleared and the views were 360 degrees around, we definately saw Canada, and five states. It was simply amazing, and more than I ever expected. We went all around the Mt. Washington Observatory, visited the Tip Top House, watched the Mt. Washington Cog Railway train head back down the mountain. We saw a whole bunch of hikers who had made their way to the top, we saw visitors from many countries, and we even saw a few people we knew! We left after spending 2 hours at the top, my 7 year old called it "awesome" and gave it 2 thumbs up. We traveled the eight miles back down, in first gear as they recommend and we didn't experience any problems. Again, great views all the way down. We traveled home by way of Gorham on Route 16 then went towards Jefferson, NH and ended up back on Route 302 in Twin Mtn/Bretton Woods NH. All in all it was an amazing experience, and by the way, even with my fear of heights, I wasn't scared at all! The stay-cation is great, and it makes me realize how much there is to do in the Western White Mountains of New Hampshire, and frankly, how glad I am to live here. Next week? Perhaps Whale's Tale Water Park, or StoryLand or Santa's Village….or perhaps we'll take a trip up the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway! Whatever it is, we'll have fun here in the White Mountains, attractions abound in our own backyard! To find out more about some of the area's attractions, visit White Mountain Attractions; they have a great site and full of useful information.