Above, Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, meets with Gov. Kelly Ayotte atop Mount Washington for a Super 603 Day Friday. Facebook photo
By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
THOMPSON AND MESERVES PURCHASE – Gov. Kelly Ayotte welcomed sunrise atop Mount Washington Friday to kick off her version of Super 603 Days.
Taking up where former Gov. Chris Sununu left off in an effort to visit and highlight the state’s recreational fun and beauty, she stopped by for a bagel at White Mountain Bagel in Lincoln, got over to see the bears at Clarks, then zipped it over the trees and blue Lake Winnipesaukee on Gunstock’s ZipLine and that was all before lunch.
“Headed out for my first Super 603 Day today! We were up bright and early to catch the sunrise at the summit of Mount Washington — the best view of our beautiful state!” Ayotte said on Facebook.
“Thank you to the Mount Washington Cog Railway for helping us start our day off right. Great to have Councilor Joe Kenney with us too!”
Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, said he got up at 3 a.m. to meet Ayotte at the Cog Railway at 5 a.m. and said the view of sunrise over the horizon was outstanding.
“It was so clear,” he said. “It was kinda cool” and he said Wayne Presby, owner of the rail company, told him he had never seen sunrise from the summit in his years on the mountain.
The governor was making her way “to a lobster boat somewhere,” said Kenney by phone at 3 p.m. and noted Ayotte was going to be joined by Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, on the Seacoast.
The 85-degree weather with low humidity was perfect, Kenney said and they were able to see Mount Washington from the summit of Gunstock in Gilford because the visibility was a marked improvement from the past few weeks with wildfire smoke from Canada obscuring the view.
Kenney said he had spoken with the governor earlier in the week and she invited him along for part of the journey in his district which runs from Rochester up to Pittsburg.
On Fridays lately, Ayotte’s website has been about signing bills into law, vetoing them or announcing her thoughts on various measures.
But this Friday it was all about zipping around the mountains, seeing bears, eating bagels, and hauling lobster by the seashore in one day.