We have had a busy year with lots of changes and lots of craziness. Just normal life craziness...you know, like buying our first house, re-doing a house into our first "home", traveling, new jobs for the both of us, and plentyof other things in between it all. We've learned alot this year, about life, about ourselves, and about what really matters.
So there will be a super big post soon all about our house. Promise.
As for this post, I'm devoting it to some fabulous photos of my weekend in Vermont with Sarah. We drove up on a friday night and the four hour drive was relaxing, winding through the mountains of New Hampshire and then onto the absolute calming views of Vermont's green hills and fields.
We arrived in South Burlington, Vermont, her hometown. We stayed with her Mom in her beautiful home that kind of felt like a big hug the moment you walked inside. And her Mom, well she is a special lady. She is one of those people that you feel like you have swapped stories and confided in your entire life.
The next morning we were off to explore. We headed to Waterbury, VT, where we first stopped at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill where we tasted some of the crispest, most delicious apple cider I have ever had. It is so good that you are afraid to take another sip because you can't imagine the next one being any better. It is...just saying. We each got a cider donut for breakfast and sat outside under the overhang where we people watched and talked about what to do for the rest of the day.
We drove through Waterbury, stopping at gift shops and any place that caught our eye. Everywhere I turned there was another spectacular view, another beautiful place, quaint houses, unexpected decorations, and the weather was gorgeous.
Some houses were really old, you could tell that if they could talk they would have countless stories. This particular house was just something we passed and every window was filled with colored glass bottles, catching the sunlight against the pure white curtains.
We stopped at this store alongside the road. There were these amazing carvings of everything you could imagine...from giant bears to tiny bears, raccoons, rabbits, and there was even a statue of a woman halfway completed outside.
We drove past fields of corn, glistening in the sun. They seemed to go on forever.
When we drove through the farming area of Stowe there were plenty of old tractors to be seen. I think they are pretty neat looking.
And the views only seemed to get better as we meandered along Route 100, shopping, sightseeing, and chatting.
The mountains in the distance were incredible.
Old farming buildings were tucked in between retailers and homes, full of character and beautiful just the same.
We picked up one of the tourist maps even though Sarah definitely knows the area like the back of her hand.
While driving through Historic Stowe Village there quirky little shops, this one had giant, bright yellow spoons hanging from an old tree.
We turned onto Route 108 where we continued on our drive.
We could see the bare ski slopes, just as breathtaking without the white snow drifts.
We headed back eventually and headed to the shore of Lake Champlain. After a recent flooding everything seemed to be back to normal but we could see where the water had been so high it seemed unimaginable.
We went to dinner with her extremely adorable grandparents at a great little restaurant called The Shanty. They had delicious clam chowder and we had the perfect table overlooking the lake as the sun set.
Everyone was getting ready for the July 4th celebrations which were the following day. Boats, vendors, the restaurants, everyone was excited about it.
We went for a walk along the lake, windowshopping and walking off our dinner.
We spent some time in downtown Burlington, which is such a great little community. It's a college town but at the same time it is quaint and quirky and modern all at the same time.
We went to Overlook Park where we took in some breathtaking views of Lake Champlain and the mountains.
I love that there were all kinds of little spots to stop here and there. It is like someone just stopped and said, this view is too beautiful to develop anything in front of it, let's make it a park.
We spent the morning with Sarah's other set of grandparents who were a riot to listen to their stories and look at photos of their family. Not sure how a day can be bad when you start it out with waffles.:) In the afternoon we headed to the marina where her "dinner grandparents" took us out on their boat. We couldn't have asked for a better afternoon, the sun was shining, we got a little rainshower, we sipped white wine while chatting with her grandparents, her brother and his lovely fiance, and just enjoyed the boatride.
Lake Champlain is spectacular. Enough said.
Brother and Sister...
Downtown Burlington from the water. I love that downtown is a combination of city, park, lake, residential, and farming...it's the best of everything all wrapped into one beautiful town.
Beautiful sailboats, cruising along the shore. We had an awesome afternoon and then went to dinner that night with Sarah's brother and his fiance who were both a pleasure to get to know. The wine flowed, the food was so good, and we ended the night with a beautiful July 4th fireworks celebration over downtown.
Pinks and purples, and sparkly ones that remind you of your childhood.
And then the finale was breathtaking. Everyone was quiet and stared at the night sky as they tapered off and the crowds dispersed.
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