A Trip to Vermont - Good for the Soul

Last weekend, we went to Stratton, Vermont to celebrate my birthday.  We packed our bags on Friday evening after we came home from work and made the three hour trek to our hotel.  (We arrived just a little after midnight.)

After a long week of work and stress from our busy lifestyle, it turned out that a trip to Vermont was exactly what we needed.  On Saturday, we decided to take a train trip through Okemo Valley on the "Green Mountain Flyer" and on Sunday, we visited both Taylor Farm (a cheese and dairy farm) in Londonderry, VT and The Hildene (The Lincoln Family Home) in Manchester, VT before coming back home.

The Green Mountain Flyer (Sorry these are cell phone pics...)

 

Train rides are awesome!

My turn for a picture...

Daddy and Lewie had a chance to ring the bell.

One more picture of the "Flyer"

Lunch in an old farmhouse...

Dessert at a Cappuccino and Juice Bar...How can you resist a name like "Moon Dog Café?"

Inside the Moon Dog Café...

Another picture of this awesome place...

Downtown Chester Depot, VT

Stratton Mountain

The sunrise on a very brisk 30 degrees fall morning...

Outside our hotel, the Black Bear Lodge

 

The trip was short, only two full days, but it was exactly what we needed to feel relaxed and rejuvenated for all of us.  Did I mention that my husband and I treated ourselves to massages too?

The reality of going back to work full-time is that I often feel disconnected during the week--torn between life with my family and obligations at work.  The truth is that although I would like to make a distinct separation between the two, family and work often intertwine, meaning I never feel fully present at either.  At work, I'm desperately thinking about ways to spend more time with my family, and at home, I have racing thoughts about what I need to have prepared for work the next day.  My recent promotion, although a financial blessing, has created more stress as now I have obligations that run into the night and sometimes even on weekends...

I'm torn between family and work, but at least for two full days, I had the pleasure of being fully present with my family.  The crisp Vermont air, the turning leaves, the mountain views, the animals, the family-owned restaurants, and the country stores were exactly what I needed to bring me back to the important things in life--good food, family, laughter, and a slower pace.

Lewie on the Stratton Mountain Gondola Ride...

Going up the mountain...

The Gondola, according to Lewie, is almost as cool as a steam train.

Lewie takes some pretty good pictures...

The view...

Another view of the Stratton Ski Resort and Shops...

Taylor (Dairy) Farm



We fed the chickens...

Lewie was not interested in getting too close...

Three little piggies...

What's a dairy farm without cows?

Standing in front of  Hildene

I was so proud of Lewie... He enjoyed touring the Lincoln Family Home just as much as we did, and he even said,
 "Mommy, this place looks like where you work."  He's right.  The mansions at my College
were built during the same time period--the early 1900's.

Robert Todd Lincoln (President Lincoln's son) was Chairman of the Pullman Palace Car Company.  This is the only remaining replica--the 1903 Sunbeam.  Up to Seventeen people could sleep inside these "luxury cars."

Inside the "Sunbeam."

At now 39 years young, I don't know where my future will lead me.  I don't know if taking this promotion was the right choice, but as long as we keep on scheduling trips like these as a family, I'm hoping I will have a chance to savor life instead of watching it race right past me...