VermontVacation.com

It all started the other night while mourning the last Magic Hat Wacko. It went something like this:

Pete: We should go to the Magic Hat brewery.
Leslie: That sounds fun. I’ve never been to Vermont.
Pete: How about next weekend?

I spent the week reading the Vermont tourism Web site and annoying him with possible routes and timetables. If there’s something that Pete and I don’t see eye-to-eye on, it’s the appeal of itineraries.

The alarm went off at 5:30 Saturday morning. With crusty eyes and Dunkin Donuts coffee breath (cute right?), we packed the bikes and a change of clothes and headed north.

Looking back through my photos, it seemed the trip is best described in three chapters (not chronological, but logical nonetheless).

Chapter 1: Beer and Food

A. Breweries
We went to one mega- and two micro-breweries, one brew pub, and one place that turned out to be a it’s-too-early-to-drink-beer-but-we-must-come-back-someday bar.

The resounding favorite? Long Trail. They are famous for their Blackberry Wheat beer and eco-friendly methods. This brewery’s picnic tables, super-friendly staff, and really good beer made it top of our list.

Honorable mention? Otter’s Creek. This Middlebury brewery poured us a sample of everything they had in-stock, on-tap, and maybe even stored in the basement. They weren’t the most knowledgeable, but definitely the most generous.

The surprise disappointment? Magic Hat. Too much marketing, too much merchandise, too many people. Magic Hat's the reason we went on the trip in the first place, but it turned out to be a real dud.

Missed opportunity? The Alchemist. It's a small brew pub in Waterbury. We were too early to drop in, but it is definitely worth a future visit.

B. Cider, Ice Cream, Maple Syrup and Cheese
I think apples, ice cream, syrup and cheese count as entire food groups in Vermont. And, well, when in Rome... We visited Ben & Jerry’s, a cider mill (where they let us operate the press), a roadside syrup stand, and a Gouda farm.

Chapter 2: The Outdoors

Everything in Vermont looks like a postcard -- especially this time of year. In the higher elevations, the foliage is well into its yellow/orange/red transformation. Pete amused me by pulling over occasionally so that I could get the perfect picture. This photo album includes a few covered bridges (a Vermont staple), a waterfall that we found along Route 100, and some pics from a bicycle ride around Lake Champlain.

Chapter 3: Other Stuff

Pete has a 1973 BMW motorcycle that he has been restoring for a few months now. It turns out that Vermont is a mecca for BMW aficionados. So, while he put up with my covered bridge fascination, I reciprocated by listening to alot of talk about spark plugs and carburetors. In between the motorcycles, bridges, and beer samples, we also saw a few other notable things –- a little truck convention, lots of carved moose, the Robert Frost museum, and a HUGE Revolutionary War monument. We even drove past Uncle Sam’s grave.

Pete’s impending house closing (which by now is OVER – congrats!) and a lot of hours at work had left us both rundown and stressed. It was the perfect time and location to get away for some good ol' fashion road trip fun.

10 Questions

Warning – what’s to follow is totally unoriginal.

It’s just that I couldn’t seem to come up with enough words to fill an entry about any of the other possible topics of the week:

• The bed bug infestation in the office
• My Etsy/plummer/roommate smack down
• My irrational fear of losing a limb, or
• My reignited love of Ted.com

Because I’m totally rad, I spent Tuesday night folding underwear and tackling my ever-growing DVR queue. I ran across an old episode of Inside the Actors Studio.

If you haven’t seen it, at the end of each episode the host asks the celebrity guest these same 10 questions. So, since passing Kirstin Dunst on Hudson St. this afternoon is the closest I’ll ever be to qualifying for the show, I thought I would share my hypothetical answers as an ode to one of the best shows on TV.

What is your favorite word? Macaroni

What is your least favorite word? Moist

What turns you on? Wit

What turns you off? Bureaucracy

What sound do you hate? OU fans

What is your favorite curse word? Crap

It rolls right off the tongue. It’s also fun to finagle into family birthday card messages too.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Namer of nail polish

“Belize It or Not?,” “Not So Bora Bora-ing,” and “Yucatan If U Want.” It doesn’t get better than that.

What profession would you not like to do? Professional mover

Everyone hates moving.

If heaven exists, what you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? I forgive you

Eat, Play, Love

Labor Day weekend -- four blissful days away from the office. While my brother was making his competitive eating debut...



Check out his pre-competition press circuit here!


...Pete and I decided to spend a couple days at his family's beach house. The weather was overcast and cold, so there wasn't much time spent on the actual beach. But, it didn't keep us indoors. Pete got his putt-putt revenge, we crashed the neighbor's end-of-the-summer party and climbed the Barnegat lighthouse. Most of my calories for the weekend came from peanut M&Ms and man-mosas (Hoegaarden and a little OJ -- yummy). I snuck away for one of those primo runs that can only be blamed on the ocean air and perfectly flat island. I slept in and read my book and took annoying scenery pictures. It was a glorious way to waste away two days.

Here are a few of the aforementioned pics from the weekend:

US Open

The last few work weeks have been doozies. A couple of days ago, my boss handed my colleague Jeanne and I tickets to the US Open and told us to enjoy Friday off. Woo hoo! The Open was prep-tastical -- there is a Polo store on-site and they even sell champagne at the concession stands. We wandered around the stadium grounds to see a few smaller matches and have lunch. Afterward, we had tickets to see Serena Williams play. The weather was perfect for hanging out outside. It was a great start to a long weekend. Here are a few pictures from throughout the day: