Just Can't Stay Away...I LOVE YOU VERMONT!

Since moving to North Carolina, I vowed to myself to always visit back "home" at least once a year. Well, considering I was only 16 when I moved, having just been torn away from the only place I had ever lived, my life long friends...etc, etc, I was probably not thinking as rationally as one with a little more life experience. Never the less, I kept up my promise for several years. It wasn't until my traveling funds started to come from my own bank account that my trips started to dwindle. I took Adam up with me about 3 years ago. He is a devoted fan of the N.C., however, I'm pretty sure he was able to see what I loved so much about the North East. It had been since then that I was up there, when I went up in May for my best friend Valerie's dad's funeral. It was definitely not the way I wanted to revisit or introduce Harper to my home town. Luckily, we were able to make a second trip up this year, with the entire family, and see Vermont in it's true glory... FALL FOLIAGE. I still have some family up there, my Aunt and Uncle live in South Hero, and my friends Valerie and Kealey and their families. It's so nice to know that as long as I have an affinity for the area, there will be people up there to welcome me back.

Our first full day we headed up to Shelburn to the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. It was really cute. I can't wait to take Harper when she's old enough to pick out her own bear with it's own little outfit.




The next day, we went up to Stowe and Smuggler's Notch. The town of Stowe is really quaint, with a lot of general stores and Vermont made apparel and treats. We drove up over the Notch and found a couple photo opps., we discovered one of Vermont's famous covered bridges, and we saw the new Stowe lodge with a gondola that starts right outside the lobby and takes you all the way to the top of the mountain. The foliage was much farther along in the mountains than in Burlington. It was a beautiful drive there and back.




We were lucky enough to be up there during one of Vermont's MANY harvest festivals. We had a good time seeing giant pumpkins, driving wooden tractors, and navigating corn mazes.