13 November 2009

OUR VERMONT ROAD TRIP















What a treat it is each year to have Veterans Day off. It's a shame to waste this bonus midweek holiday so this year we set our alarm for 4:30 am, then packed up the pups and headed North--destination Manchester VT!

We stopped for a delish sausage & cheese omelet with homemade bread breakfast at Mr. G's Diner in Ascutney VT and we arrived  at the base of Bromley Mountain at about 10. Bromley (aka Bedford Mountain) is where i learned to ski. We spent many a mid-winter weekend and Spring vacation on these sunny slopes. It's been years since I was last there (but we're inspired to go back soon and ski...knee allowing) and it was the exact same (yet very different) (miniature golf, snowboarding and spots for all sorts of other fun & games). We stretched our legs and took the pups for a short walk  up towards "the Lord's Prayer" bunny slope! I'm almost six weeks post-knee injury so little hikes like this are good for me!

We then headed off to a meeting and some retail therapy at the truly fabulous Northshire Bookstore on Manchester's Main Street. Northshire is the gold standard of independent bookstores! (Key purchases included a fabulous Michele Obama bag and The Veselka Cookbook! More on that in a future post...) Manchester has changed a lot (yet not at all) since my childhood. I've seen the beauty of Manchester in the sunny blue sky of summer time, in crystal white of winter and at the fiery golden peak of "leaf season". Altho' all the leaves have fallen and have already been raked up there's still a stark beauty to this classic New England town...if only the outlets weren't there. Armani, Escada, Kate Spade and Lily Pulitzer in Vermont? Eegads. 

However, the gorgeous Equinox Inn and the big white houses and yellow court house on Main Street remain intact. There probably isn't a prettier Main Street in America. The pups loved our pond-side walk thru the Orvis meadow;  cat-tails, trout filled ponds and a grey heron. Classic! 

We hit Bob's Diner for a  turkey/stuffing & cranberry sandwich (ymmmm) then headed home. As we hit North on 91 we were treated to a glorious pink sunset that pretty much summed up the beauty of our day. Robert fed the dogs their dinner in the parking lot at Simon Pearce while I made a quick stroll through their seconds department (celadon green plates...ooh la la!) It was a long but glorious day and a true luxury to be back in our own bed by 7:30 pm!

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