We flew to Burlington on Thurs evening and stayed 2 nites in a really nite Starwood hotel close by. Our condo and car rental started on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was raining so we didn't even go to the downtown area which is on the lake. We stayed at the hotel the entire time. It was very nice, with wonderful amenities for Starwood members. Saturday morning was still rainy, but did stop and we drove to Stowe in overcast, not really rain, thankfully.
It is a short drive only about 45 min, but very pretty through the mountains. We stopped at a rest stop and got a few maps and ideas of things to do. The exit for Stowe has lots of things to do...made a quick stop at a drug store and headed out to explore. Our first stop Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream...they started here in Vermont....the tour was great and the ice cream is awesome. After a treat we headed on down the road.
Next was Cold Hollow Cider Mill....they make cider donuts fresh and fresh apple cider. We bought one fresh, hot donut it was ok, and tasted the cider...glad we tried them, but passed on anymore.
Next door was a wine tasting from Boyden Valley Winery. We did a tasting and decided to only buy the Glogg....a wine that is served warm....very yummy. We had some cool nights this week, so might be nice.
Next we stopped at the Cabot Cheese store....I'd been here before a few yrs ago with a girlfriend and they have really decreased the size of thee store....we got some dip and headed towards the condo.
We were staying at Mountainside Resort. It was fine, nothing special, needed some updating, but would be just fine for a week.
We got checked in and just kinda chilled for a bit...we decided to just go across the street to the Sunset Grille and Tap Room. Great food and great prices. We both got BBQ and it was delish.
Since the weather was still bad, we headed back to the condo to find a movie on TV.
Sunday morning we attended a small church, Grace Bible Church, we'd found on the internet that seemed to suit us...it was soooooo tiny, about 20 in attendance but very friendly. After the service we chatted with 2 sisters that are snowbirds...they had just spent winter in Bardenton, FL...down the street from us and one of them had a daughter that had owned a home in our old neighborhood in Sarasota...wow, it truly is a small world. After church we went to McCarthy's for breakfast..it had been recommended, it was good, but we didn't need to go back. Then we did a little driving and exploring and stopped at a small grocery store. We picked up a few things and headed home. The rains were coming back so we stayed home dray and warm.
Monday was Denny's birthday....we'd made reservations at Michael's on the Hill. A chef owned farm to table 5 star restaurant...so i fixed us a light breakfast and we headed out for more exploring. The countryside is just beautiful. Less rain would have been nice.....but we made the best of it.
We decided to go to dinner early and that was no problem...it's a very slow time of year.
We both got a pork chop that was fantastic....
We got so full with dinner we neither one ordered a dessert, so they brought this to be festive...how very nice. Was tasty and lite.
We got home at dusk and planted ourselves on the couch for a movie....Hope it was a fun Birthday Denny!!!
The next day it was time to drive over to Jeffersonville...through The Notch....the notch is a road that was literally cut through the mountain to connect these 2 areas...it closes in the winter, and had only been re-opened 2 days...woohoo...makes the drive much shorter. The mountains were just gorgeous.
A little snow left. We even saw a die-hard skier skiing the patches of snow and walking thru the mud in between....wow....
Jeffersonville is very small, but has a GREAT restaurant....we stopped for breakfast and then came back later and got some soup to take home for dinner...love this little place.
Next we went to the Boyden Winery to see if they had anything different than the tasting store in Stowe....they did not, so we headed out to find covered bridges and whatever else found us.
This water tower leaving town was so cool
On to some covered bridges, this area of the country is full of them, they were sometimes off the road, but we found a few.
Funny name, not sure how it got that name....
We drove a ways hoping to see some moose, but never did. Down by the lakes edge looked like a great place...but nada.
Stopped for our soup to take home for dinner and headed back across the notch....we stopped at this amazing and huge ski resort...Stowe Mountain Lodge....it was gorgeous and reminded us of Whistler, Canada...we found out the same builder did both locations. We stopped for some hot chocolate and it started to snow. It was only flurries, but was cool to watch.
Huge ski lift/gondola but was not running now.
We enjoyed our hot chocolate and chatted with the bartenders...they told us it was so slow this HUGE resort only had 26 rooms booked....HOLY COW!! No wonder it's so slow everywhere we go. Slow is ok, but is tough cause there's less activities...but we still enjoyed our time. They told us they'd had the best snow in 3yrs and were very busy, kinda glad for a slow break...I'm sure. But they also loved the guests and enjoyed the snow...I'm sure the tips were good then too.
Back at the condo we settled in and had our soup for dinner and called it a night.
The next morning we moved very slow but finally headed out....found this bridge in Stowe...
Was not very old....and was a rare 2 lane bridge.
We explored a bit more and decided we'd head to ATL on Fri instead of Sat...we were stopping in ATL to spend Mother's Day with my Mom...so I did a little last minute shopping and we headed back to pack up...the flight was VERY early.
Loved the stores on Main St. in Stowe...
We kept wanting to bicycle but the weather kept being to iffy.....on our last day it was nice in the afternoon so we sat outside on our little patio and in the grass and truly enjoyed the sun and the view.
We made the early flt and were able to make a small family dinner Fri nite...shopped the next day for Mother's Day lunch, I was cooking, and hung out at the house.
It was a nice Mother's Day...not too many of us there, seemed there were lots of conflicts this year, but we enjoyed our time with Mom.
He headed back on Mon eve to our palm trees....what a fun week...but next time...wait until June to go to Vermont....and fall is amazing up there.
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