This trip started the same way that all of our trips start... at WAWA! We went through a nasty thunderstorm shortly after, but it didn't last very long.
We stopped at a rest station in New Jersey which looked strangely familiar... It was the same one we went to on our last trip to Vermont 10 years ago! I was excited to see the Dippin Dots Mini Melts vending machine again.
We stopped for the night in upstate New York and ate dinner at an "Irish Pub" which served hardly any Irish food. Regardless, I ate a great potato soup. My brother ordered a delicious blackberry cider of which I drank wayyyy too much. Ehehehehe.
Dad dropped us off at the hotel and went to the drive-in theatre conveniently located next door after dinner. He always talks about how much he misses drive-ins, so he and Marg stayed up and watched "Top Gun: Maverick". They described the movie as "predictable", but it's all about the experience.
At the hotel with Mariposa! The room itself was very nice, but the continental breakfast didn't start until an hour after it was supposed to, so we had to go down the street to get Dunkin' Donuts. I'll be writing a strongly-worded letter. (Nothing against Dunkin'. I just would've preferred to have the breakfast we technically already paid for.)
Now here's the real kicker: we rented an RV! This was our solution to the problem of our friends not having enough rooms to house us for several nights. I was terrified and never want to set foot in one of these things again. Marg was bummed when I told him that he's too small to drive it. But if he keeps eating his fruits and veggies, he might just be big enough one day.
WE MADE IT! Welcome to Vermont! Our hosts promptly drove us to Branbury park so we could splash around in Lake Dunmoore and admire the mountains. The scene was breathtaking. I also caught a fish* for the first time!
*It was a tiny little dead thing that had washed up on the shore. But it counts! IT COUNTS!!!
The Inn on Park Street is a stunning Second Empire bed and breakfast in town. The owner was a lovely woman who made the best damn scones I've ever had.
The Sugar and Spice restaurant had PUMPKIN PANCAKES. I lost my mind. I woke up hours later after a blissful pumpkin-induced high, disoriented and covered in drool.
The poet Robert Frost had a summer home up in Vermont. There's a one-mile path nearby, the "Robert Frost Trail", which offers a scenic journey through the mountains with some of his poems placed along the way.
The Pasture
I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;
I'll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the water clear, I may);
I sha'n't be gone long- You come too.
I'm going out to fetch the little calf
That's standing by the mother. It's so young,
It totters when she licks it with her tongue.
I sha'n't be gone long- You come too.
After the trail, we went to the base of Goshen Mountain and took a short walk to a plateau with a lovely view. It isn't pictured here, but did you know that there's a mountain in Vermont called Bread Loaf Mountain? Incredible.
After lots of fun and delicious food, it was time to go. We said our goodbyes to everyone, including Della Doodle (the fabulous poodle), and took one last trip to a picturesque covered bridge. Back into the RV to get the old car we went and south we drove... but not home, yet!
Zoltar! I didn't know that you worked at the American Dream mall! Holy crap, you guys. This mall is GIGANTIC. We only had one hour to walk around, but I wish we had at least four. I wanted to go see the costume characters in Nickelodeon Universe, but the price of admission was too much to justify such a short visit. Maybe next time!
They also had these hilarious animal-car-kinda-things you could rent for a few minutes. I was surprised by how fast they move!
Hotel time again. Aside from the cigar smell seeping from the walls, it was a gorgeous Art Deco building in...
ATLANTIC CITY BABY!!! It was simultaneously gorgeous and horrendously trashy. The hotel and ocean view were nice, but... Yeah, we'll leave it at that. (I wanted so badly to find a Big Bang Theory slot machine, but to no avail.)
Now, for the moment you didn't know you've been waiting for:
That's right! I brought Margaritaville to a Margaritaville. My life is complete. I can die happily now. Aside from the fact that I own a Furby named "Margaritaville" and have a Parrothead license plate, I'm not actually THAT much of a Jimmy Buffett fan, I swear. I just love the careless beach vacation vibes! And margaritas, of course.
Speaking of, where did he go?
MARG, NO!!!
Unfortunately little Margaritaville was too hungover to take nice pictures on the way home. We stopped to get lunch and check out the stores in Havre de Grace, Maryland (I highly recommend the Abbey Burger Bistro), and spent many many many hours in traffic and storms.
Home, sweet home!