NORTH CONWAY, N.H. - I’m sitting in a pub, the very same one I’ve frequented over my 2 1/2 decades of skiing the mountains of the Mount Washington Valley area.
But instead of bellied up at the bar, sharing tales of the day’s alpine adventure, I am in the family dining section on a humid New Hampshire summer day. My year-and-a-half-old son is seated across the table from me, alternating crayons between his mouth and the floor.
The beer is still cold, but that’s about all that remains the same in coming to this familiar haunt. Once the spot for late-night gatherings, the afternoon clock on this Saturday has yet to strike 5, when my wife and I find ourselves amidst tabletops of chicken fingers and sippy cups. We have come straight from the Conway Scenic Railroad station, where Thomas the Tank Engine, star of the PBS children’s show, made a very popular appearance, and the clientele is decidedly less rowdy than your typical après ski crowd.
