The video is a summary of our trip. You can see a Google Map highlighting all the locations by clicking here.
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To begin our Vermont trip, we flew into Boston, Massachusetts. We decided to fly into Boston because it offered a nonstop flight from Tampa and we had more rental car options.
I decided to Turo for our rental car. Turo is like Airbnb
for cars. Private owners list their cars for rent via the website and App. You
rent that car. You have the option to add insurance to protect the car during
the trip. I selected the insurance which was more than half the price of the
car. Even with the insurance and the price for the car, we saved over $500 and
got a much larger car. I chose to pick the car up at the person's home base.
You can pay extra to have the car delivered to places like train stations or
the airport. I thought picking up the car at the home base would give us more
flexibility. I wasn't totally sure what time our flight would land and how long
getting there would take.
We got there early and had no problems accessing the car.
The owner's representative met us. We both took pictures of the car and
uploaded them into the App. Then, we drove away. It felt a little too easy.
We made our way out of Boston. I started looking for a place
for lunch. I found The Kitchen on River Road. It wasn't too far from the
highway and had great reviews. We had a couple very good sandwiches and then
back on the road.
On our way to Stowe, we stopped in Waterbury at the Cabot Cheese Shop and Smuggler's Notch Distillery. The rye was my favorite whiskey.
The herbed cheese was my favorite cheese.
For our stay in Stowe, I picked the Green Mountain Inn for
two reasons: king bed and walking distance to restaurants. Plus it has a pool,
a fire pit, a restaurant and bar onsite, and lovely lemonade happy hour with
cookies. We were very happy with room.
After getting settled in he room, we headed down the street.
We found Stowe Public House. The front yard has tables, chairs, and Adirondack
chairs. Inside, they have a good selection of beers and ciders. We enjoyed some
local favorites and watched the town go by.
We got hungry so started to look for dinner. We totally
lucked out and got an outdoor table at Harrison's. Do not count on this. Get
reservations. The mushroom toast was delicious. Highly Recommend.
Day Two in Stowe - Hardick, Hill Farmstead Brewery, Moss
Glenn Falls, Sunset Rock Parking
One the way, we stopped in Hardwick for lunch. We found
Village restaurant - the perfect Hallmark film village restaurant. It did
appear a lot of people knew each other and the food was good.
I'd heard a lot of hype about Hill Farmstead from my beer
friends. The beers were very good. The experience was..... weird. You need
reservations to try all the beers on the tap room menu. You have to pay for
this reservations. The money goes to charity. When we got there, it was not
clear what beers the reservations bought and the person pouring beers couldn't
tell us. They don't have smaller sizes so we could really only try two beers
since we were driving. It does appear to
be a good place to make a day of it. It's family friendly. A large lawn has
several tables and a food truck was available. We bought a couple bottles from
the bottle shop to enjoy later.
On the way back to Stowe, we stopped at Moss Glenn Falls.
The hike to see the waterfall is relatively hill. It does have a bit of steep
uphill, but I took my time and made it. We saw several people having a picnic
down by the river bed.
I also wanted to see the trail that hikes down to Sunset
Rock. Sunset Rock is a well known hike / walk that starts in downtown Stowe.
You can hike up to the Rock for great views of the sunset. You can also hike
down from the Sunset Rock Parking Area. We went to the Sunset Rock Parking and
walked along a flat, slightly inclined path to a nice scenic overlook with a
fire pit. It'd be a great spot for a picnic.
We stopped in at Cork Wine Bar and Restaurant for a pre-dinner glass of wine. They have a "unicorn wine" on their menu. It's a unique wine. We tried it and it was almost sour. Super interesting.
For dinner, we headed back to Green Mountain Inn to
eat at The Whip Bar and Grill. Reservations are recommended. We had great, friendly service. I
had the cod and it was delicious. My husband had the turkey dinner. It was also
very good. Whip has indoor, outdoor, and bar seating.
Day Three in Stowe: Gondola, Nebraska Sugar Farm, Trapp
Family Lodge and Brewing, Alchemist, Aflie's Wild Ride, Ranch Camp
Stowe is a big ski destination. I really wanted to see one
of the ski resorts so we headed to the Gondola Skyride at Stowe Mountain
Resort. At the top, you can choose from several hiking trails. A restaurant is
also available. You need reservations is you'd like to eat inside at the quick
service restaurant. You can order drinks at the bar and take them out to the
chairs overlooking the ski trails.
Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm was our next stop. Visiting a maple
syrup house was on my list. We pulled up as the owner was watering his plants.
We looked around the shop and the sugar house. He joined us. We asked a lot of
questions about the process and tried the maple syrup. It was a wonderful
experience and we definitely bought some of his great maple syrup.
For lunch, we headed to Trapp Family Lodge. I had read
reservations were recommended, but we didn't need them. We ate outside on the
patio and enjoyed the Austrian specialties. I didn't realize how much the Trapp
Family Lodge had to offer. The activity center has a full schedule of
activities and guides to the hiking trails that run through the property. You
do need a permit to hike.
von Trapp Brewery was our next stop down the road. The menu at the brew pub was very similar to the Lodge. Reservations are also recommended here. It was very busy so I'm guessing you did actually need them. We sat at the bar and tried the lagers. The brewery accomplished its goal of producing crisp European style lagers.
Alchemist Brewing was also a must stop from my beer loving friends. We loved this brewery. It felt like going to someone's backyard party. The beers were terrific.
Alfie's Wild Ride was recommended for great bands and a great beer list. We stopped by in the afternoon to check it out. It's a very cool space with a small kitchen and great beer list. It felt like the coolest basement hang out spot.
The bartender at von Trapp Brewing recommended Ranch Camp for dinner. Ranch Camp is quick service with a diverse menu. It's a bike shop and hub for mountain bikers.
Stowe Sweets was the last stop of the day for a soft serve ice cream cone. We sat on a bench near the town square and enjoyed people watching.
That concluded our time in Stowe. We would definitely come back. I think next time we'd stay on 108 to experience more the restaurants up that way.
We booked a cabin on Lake Eden for a week. Lake Eden is a great swimming lake with gorgeous scenery. A family member has a cabin they rent on AirBnB so we booked it. We loved it. The location is terrific. The cabin was well appointed. On the way to Lake Eden, we made a couple stops since we couldn't check in to the AirBnb until 3 pm.
Stowe Laundry was clean. We like to plan laundry stops about once a week so we don't have to pack so much.
A bartender told us about North Country Donuts. He recommended getting up at 7 am to order online because the popular donuts tend to sell out. We listened, ordered early, and got a great variety of donuts. My favorite donuts were the lemon poppyseed and the apple fritter.
Lost Nation Brewing is a barbeque restaurant. We stopped for lunch. The service was terrific. We didn't love the beer or the food.
Ten Bends Beer was a great find. We loved the
beer. During our visit, it was only a tasting room. You couldn't order pints of
beer.
Most of the time in Lake Eden, we spent our time by the lake or playing cards up on the cabin. Eden General Store had everything we needed.
We did have three "excursion" days":
Excursion Day One:
Museum of Everyday Life and Bread and Puppets Theatre
Museum of Everyday Life is well
curated, interesting museum focused on the items of everyday life. I loved the
toothbrush exhibit.
Bread and Puppets is a theater company. We attended their Sunday show. It started with a circus and then onto the main performance. It was a mix of circus, renaissance faire type performances, political skits, and a modern art performance. I loved it.
Excursion Day Two: Lake Willoughby
We got the tip to check out Lake Willoughby from Smugglers' Notch distillery. She recommended heading to the
south beach. The northern beach on Lake Willoughby has a larger beach area. The
southern beach on Lake Willoughby is more scenic. You definitely need water shoes
because of large rocks in the water. It reminded of Norwegian fjords.
Willoughby Lake Store is worth a stop for the terrific sandwiches.
Excursion Day Three: Burlington
I like to search for beer
fests when we are traveling to a new area. It just so happened the Vermont Brewers' Fest Burlington was happening in Burlington during our stay in Eden. We decided
to get a hotel so we didn't have to drive back after the beer fest. It was a
great beer fest.
I used the google search along
the way feature to find a place to stop for breakfast on the way from Lake Eden
to Burlington. 158 Main looked like a great option and it delivered. The French
toast is a must try.
After the beer fest, we were happy to
come across the Waterfront Creamee stand. Vermonters had been telling us about
maple creamees. A creamee is like a soft serve cone, but creamier.
Across from our hotel was the Mad River Distillery. This is definitely worth a stop. The bartenders were friendly
and made great cocktails.
Dinner was pizza at Burling Hearth from American Flatbread.
The pizza and the daily special salad were very good.
On the way out of town, we had to swing by the World's Tallest Filing Cabinet.
It was time to leave Lake Eden.
I am a big fan of Hallmark movies. I researched filming
locations and found one in Chester, Vermont so we headed there. I also used
google to find a fun restaurant choice - Southern Pie Cafe. The sandwiches and
pie were terrific. A song writer was even playing guitar and debuting some
songs during our lunch.