Two weeks ago my sister called and said she had an all expense paid vacation to Vermont for Doug and I. All we needed to do was find someone to watch the kids for us. The only time we have been away from our kids in the 11 1/2 years we've been married was when the twins were 2 or 3 and my friend watched them overnight. We so desperately needed a break. We were able to get childcare (thank you mom and Rachael) and by that Sunday we were on a plane to Philadelphia where my sister and her husband picked us up and we headed on up to Smugglers Notch, Vermont. *We had to fly standby and the best flights getting out there were in to Penn.
Sunday we were up bright and early to catch a 6am flight. We had what was suppose to be a 20-30 min rest in Denver that turned into 1 1/2 hour delay. We learned later that there was an inoperable plane stuck on the runway in Philly. As we were arriving at our destination, the pilot announces that we needed to make a 50 mile loop due to high traffic. After a big wide turn and many 'S' shaped patterns in the sky, we FINALLY land. So instead of arriving around 4pm, it is now 6pm, puting our arrival time in Vermont at roughly 1:30am. After a while of driving, we get on the New Jersey turnpike and if anyone has been on there, the exits are few and far between. Somehow (and by somehow I mean the driver was distracted) we missed the exit we needed. After a few illegal maneuvers from one freeway to the next we end up stuck in bumper to bumper traffic heading across the George Washington Bridge into New York. For the record, GPS doesn't work that great when all the roads are crammed together and on top of each other. After that little side trip we are now looking at a 2am arrival.
We get to our destination just after 2am, quickly survey our home for the next couple of days, and crash.
(The kitchen, dining room, living room and view from the back porch.)
The morning comes all too quickly with a 10am "welcome and information presentation". The rest of the day we spend planning and shopping for our meals, deciding on our activities for the next few days, swimming in the indoor pool and watching movies. We go to bed with it snowing outside.
(The view from the front in the morning)
Tuesday we are awake more refreshed and headed on out for sightseeing in the town of Stowe. Our first stop, the Van Trapp Family Lodge. Unbeknownst to us, the lodge is a resort/hotel, so no tour for us, just a quick picture.
Next stop, the Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Again, expecting a tour we find it's a self guided tour with not much to look at, just the apple press but that's the most important part I suppose. The free samples of cider were yummy! The workers there were very nice and let us into the room to take pictures since the big glass separating the viewers from the work room was very dirty. They even let my sister and I take a turn with the apple dispenser.
(Sorry I cut some of the words off. It was hard to get all of it but there's enough to get the idea)
(The actual press)
After the Cider Mill we went to the Cabot Cheese Outlet and tasted all the yummy cheeses. The actual factory was in another town with no other tourist attractions to see so we settled for the outlet and were pleasantly satisfied.
We then headed down the street to Ben & Jerry's. The tour was simple, just the way I like it, and we got yet another sample. I love their ice cream.
We were told we needed to see/drive over one of Vermont's many covered bridges. Emily's Bridge is the one we went to which happens to be one of the oldest ones and suposedly it's haunted. You can go to this link to read more about it. http://www.hauntedhamilton.com/gotw_emilysbridge.html
We headed back into town to get something substantial to eat and you think we could find a restaraunt open? No. Every place we tried were closed and there were no fast food joints around so we ended up heading back to our "apartment" 45 minutes away, to make dinner. When you're in a little town and during the off season, not much is available.
The next morning we were off to Burlington, Vermont. First stop, indoor rock climbing. Before we got there we made a quick pit stop at a childrens learning store and picked up a few things for the kids for Christmas. It had been a long time since I had last been rock climbing, like before I had children, so I'll admit I was a little nervous. After a quick refresher, we were left to climb....climb on. By the time we left, we had sore fingertips and shakey arms. Ahhh, what fun.
Next stop, The Vermont Bear Factory (a lot like Build-a-Bear). We planned on going on a tour but when we got there, it wasn't quite what we expected and since the prices of everything were so expensive, we decided not to stay but we got a few fun pictures.
It was getting late when we left the factory so we decided to forgo the Echo Center (a hands-on science type museum). Instead, we made a quick stop to the Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory. It was too late to take a tour so we just looked and drooled and bought some yummy hot chocolate.
Thursday came all too quickly. We loaded our goods and ourselves into the car and headed to Manchester, New Hampshire to fly home. When we got there we had some time to kill before we needed to be at the airport so we went to the mall and had a yummy lunch. It was sad to say goodbye but I was also excited to see the kids. We got home late but it was wonderful to see all the kids tucked into bed asleep.
Thank you so much Nichole and Bryce for the wonderful time! Doug and I definitely needed that.
