Spring break trip to Vermont
It hadn't dawned on me that in just a few short weeks I would be enjoying my last spring break EVER, until someone at work asked where I was going to travel for my senior year spring break. In that moment I thought well, I was going to come home, work and play with my dogs but I figured I'd actually try to plan something fun. There is no place I'd rather be than Vermont and even though I knew spring break meant trips to sunny islands and beaches, I had absolutely no problem spending my break up in the snowy Green Mountain State. I convinced my boyfriend this was a great idea, which wasn't hard since he's equally in love with Vermont, and we booked a few days at a local lodge and off we went.
We arrived at the lodge at almost 1 am and pretty much crashed in the comfiest blankets I've ever had at a hotel. The next morning the adventure began. That day was planned for Mike to figure out something fun and outdoorsy to do which meant a hike challenging enough that he could feel good about it, but easy enough for me to survive. We decided to hike Stowe Pinnacle. I think I fell up and down and mountain more than I hiked with all the snow, ice and steep slopes but I made it! It was a long trip up because I am so out of shape I really didn't think my legs were gonna be able to keep trekking me up the mountain, so I was a little slow...nevertheless we made it up somewhere around 2 hours later and boy was that view worth it!!
After appreciating the view and shooting for a bit (it's so nice dating someone who's also a photographer so we didn't need to rush for anyone waiting on us shooting!) we basically slid down the entire mountain which thankfully took a lot less time. With only about a quarter of the hike left 3 dogs greet us on the trail ready to play and lead us down the mountain. We were like ...what is happening?! There was no other humans in sight, just a few small houses at the base of the mountain which we assumed they came from. It was probably the greatest end to the hike I could've imagined. In the dirt lot our car was parked in we played with our new pals for a while, took some cute pictures and decided we couldn't adopt them as we later found out they live close by and love to hang out with hikers on the trail all year round! After that hike that took longer than expected with only cereal in our bellies, we stuffed our faces with burgers and beer. We headed back to our lodge for an early night and watched Free Solo for all of our climbing inspiration.
The next day it was my turn to decide what we'd do which meant take Mike around the Vermont that I grew up with. Yummy food spots, great local beer and cider and of course a stop at the Ben & Jerry's factory. Our first stop was at the Von Trapp family lodge as I knew the views from up there were pretty sweet. Mike being an absolute camera nerd, of course brought his drone and it was at that point I found myself flying a drone for the first time and taking some fun pictures around the lodge's property. We made our way through Waitsfield, Waterbury and Stowe stopping for snacks, drinks and pretty scenery for photos. It was a touristy type of day and we decided drinking all the local craft beer was the best way to spend it (which was really my plan all along but I'm happy he chimed in with wanting to do that exact thing too!). After we were filled with delicious Vermont-y food and drinks we of course stopped for a scoop at Ben & Jerry's and wandered around Waitsfield for a few photo-ops. We ended the day at my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE pizza place, American Flatbread. I will argue until the day that I die that this pizza is better than any New York, Chicago or wherever you're from pizza. Don't fight me on this.
Our last day was a little shorter as we were headed to a show in Connecticut that night to see Chadwick Stokes. We got some breakfast sandwiches, coffee and were headed to walk the rec path in Stowe. Thinking it'd be no problem walking a cemented path in Vermont in March, it was actually getting onto the path which caused us problems since snow was piled up on the sides of every street. We finally found an entrance we could manage and off we went. This day ended up being one of the first days that felt like spring all year, so we had sunshine and almost 60 degree warmth which made the walk soooo nice! After our little walk through Stowe we got hungry and decided we needed to leave for Connecticut soon anyway, so we grabbed some sandwiches and just like that our time in Vermont was up.
The drive home from Vermont is just as picturesque as spending time anywhere in the state so we enjoyed the view and ignored our sadness as the mountains shrunk as we got closer to home. The next day when I woke up in my own bed in Jersey I was immediately disappointed that the trip was over and felt the urge to get back up there. And so Mike and I definitely have more trips planned for Vermont this summer and I cannot wait to be back.
