Hi! Quick note: I started writing ab Vermont last summer but then my laptop crashed and I never got around to finishing the post until now so yes, it’s old, but it was a fun trip and I wanted to post about it nonetheless. Enjoy 🙂
This past weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time with my family on my dad’s side in Wilmington, Vermont. I’d never been there before but I had heard nothing but great things about the area and how beautiful it was, so naturally, I was beyond excited for the adventure. The only downside was the six-hour drive for me to get there. I love driving, but she can get pretty dull sometimes when you’re not stopping at all. Given that, on Friday, I decided to break up my drive a little bit, stopping in Rockland County, NY, to visit a good friend of mine from college, Sal. We just had time for a relaxing lunch at a diner in his hometown before I had to continue to Vermont.
When the Wanderlust Hits
I think the most jaw-dropping view during the entire trip was crossing the border from New York into Vermont on VT-279. Within seconds, the Green Mountains come into view. For someone like me, who’s never seen anything bigger than some of the Adirondack mountains, it was a truly inspirational view. The feeling of freedom welled up in my chest and I wanted nothing more than to go up to the top of it and sit there for hours, watching as the whole world spun around me.
Unfortunately, I still had an Airbnb to get to with family that was waiting for me, so I kept driving. Within 15 minutes though, I almost stopped. Alongside the road was a pristine lake, shining in the sun and surrounded by greenery. Across the lake, maybe 50 yards away, was a picture-perfect log cabin. Small and cozy looking, with two white, classic lawn chairs on the porch. I almost slammed on the brakes then and there to take a picture. I regret not doing it, honestly. One of the things I’ve decided to work on since that moment is taking a little extra time on the road, stopping when I find something that speaks to me to soak it in for a minute. I digress.
Arrival
At long last, I reached the Airbnb, a log cabin situated off a beaten road in Wilmington, Vermont. The first thing I noticed when stepping out of my car was the rich smell of pine that penetrated the air. Since living in Philadelphia so long, I hadn’t realized how much I missed that smell. It’s such a calming scent to me. The Airbnb itself was adorable. Very rustic, very cozy-up-next-to-the-fireplace-when-it’s-cold-outside sort of vibe. I instantly felt at home there. My family welcomed me in, and the adventure had officially begun!
The trip itself was a wild ride. We discovered an interesting joint called North Star Pizza which was not only a pizzeria, but also a New England bowling alley, arcade, bar, mini-golf place, and Mexican restaurant. The seafood was also significantly cheaper than most of the other food options which concerned me greatly. We had a wonderful time there. The pizza was good, the arcade was tiny but a mighty hit, and our server was quite sweet. The arcade had a few skeeball machines, so of course, we had to have a little goofy fun with that. My sister cheated by going on the side of the machine and just kept on throwing the balls into the 5,000 point holes.
The rest of the evening was quite uneventful, save for when Netflix put “Gilmore girls” under the horror category.
Nothing Like a Gas Leak to Get the Blood pumping
The next morning, however, was quite a different story. I was rudely woken up by my mother telling me that we had to get out of the house and call the fire department because there was a gas leak. Now, I had had COVID back in April, and while I can smell most things, there are a few that I simply cannot smell. Gas is apparently one of those because everything smelled fine to me. Regardless, I hopped out of bed and made my way outside. Within minutes, police officers and the fire department had arrived. They went in to check everything out, and it turns out there was something wrong with one of the stovetops. Given instruction to just not use that one, we were clear to go back inside.
The rest of the day was spent exploring the area. We checked out the town for a bit, got some coffee that tasted suspiciously like root beer, went kayaking on Harriman Reservoir, and got some ice cream from the Creemee ice cream stand (which was BANGING by the way, would highly recommend).
The rest of the day was spent exploring the area. We checked out the town for a bit, got some coffee that tasted suspiciously like root beer, went kayaking on Harriman Reservoir, and got some ice cream from the Creemee ice cream stand (which was BANGING by the way, would highly recommend).
Kayaking On Harriman Reservoir, Vermont
Hands down, the highlight of the trip was kayaking on the reservoir. High Country Marine really hooked us up. The air was warm and crisp, with a slight breeze. Situated in a bit of a valley, the mountains surrounding you rose up in the sky, tempting you to climb them and touch the sky. In the distance were some wind turbines, spinning lazily in the breeze. The water itself was surprisingly not as cold as I had expected for Vermont. Still chilly, for sure, but not too bad. Many families were milling about, both on the lake and on the surrounding beaches. Swimming, canoeing, kayaking, cooking, kicking a ball around. Since COVID hit, it was the most normal life had felt in over a year. I easily could’ve spent days on that lake, just enjoying the sunlight but unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. I did, however, feel quite satisfied with the experience.
My dad may have felt slightly less satisfied with the experience, as we very quickly found out he had not applied sunscreen and now had a bizarre sunburn. The front halves of his legs were beet red, while the backs were white as ghosts (his usual color).
We spent the evening in the Airbnb, playing games together and overall enjoying each other’s company.
Hiking in Vermont? Unheard of…
The following morning, it was (at long last) time for a hike. We used AllTrails (God bless that app) to find a nice little hike up Mount Olga to a fire tower. It was a short hike but a tiring one. Steep and sweaty is the best way to describe it. Well worth it for the view from the top of the fire tower. You could see for MILES. So much life.
Post-hike was spent exploring the town more, taking more time to check out each of the shops. My favorite place was a bookstore called Bartleby’s Books. Two stories of hundreds of stories. I picked up a book titled Road Trips by Jen CK Jacobs since that’s how I’m trying to be. The pictures were appealing, and the blurb had me hooked. I love reading all things travel, and it stuck out to me so I picked it up.
Saying Goodbye
The next day it was time to leave Vermont. I wish I could’ve spent the rest of the summer there, enjoying the fresh air and positive vibes. My brother and I drove together, and this time I took the time to stop across the water from that little log cabin to take some pictures. Once I have an actual camera I plan to go back and take a few more pictures because as much as I appreciate my iPhone camera, it’s simply not good enough. The picture came out ~ok~ but not enough to fully showcase how perfect the scene was. At this point, it was also raining, which didn’t help either. I wish I’d stopped the first day because it was gorgeous outside.
I’m very grateful for the time I had to explore and definitely learned a good deal about my preferences when traveling and what I want to achieve a little more. I want to allow myself more time while traveling to really check out everything there is. There were still so many things that we didn’t get to do while in Vermont, and some of that was because we only had a few days. Some of that also had to do with traveling with a bunch of people and not much of an itinerary too, so I want to spend more time in the preparing phases for my adventures in terms of what to do/timing. I’ve definitely mentioned that before but I’ll say it again.
I think that’s all for this trip! Hope you enjoyed 🙂
Until next time,
-MAC
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