Vermont

Beautiful Vermont... and my first Hibachi! 

        One of my favorite trips that we took last year was to Killington, Vermont. I don’t know why it was one of my favorite trips— it could have been one of many reasons: hot pancakes with Vermont maple syrup, the Cheddar Cheese Trail, skiing, small mom-and-pop shops and restaurants to stop at along the way. There are so many interesting places to visit and the roads, rivers, and hills are picturesque. We chose to head up there during the weekend of Christmas, which only added to the coziness and festive feel that Vermont is known for in the winter time. I can’t pin point one specific thing that made this trip so special, but everything came together that weekend to make it a memorable one.

VT Country Store

We like to take road trips because it allows for flexibility in your travel plans. With modern technology, you can basically plan your rout from the road depending on your mood. This is how we plan our road trip: we start by deciding where our final destination is (in this case, our hotel), then see what is in between our starting point (NYC) and our destination. Seeing as Vermont is known as the Cheddar State, we discovered that the state is dotted with artisan (or hippy commune) Cheese makers and shops that you can visit. We used this map as a reference while driving.

Sugar Bush Farms 

We chose a few cheese places to stop at that either had great reviews for their cheese or seemed unique. One of the last cheese stops we made was to Sugar Bush Farms, as they call it “a cheese lovers paradise”. We drove along this rural, winding road to the very end, and pulled up to this small house—it looked like something out of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. The inside of this house immediately changed that horrible, deathly feeling in the pit of my stomach. We were warmly greeted by holiday-sweater wearing ladies. They ushered us into the basement where we came across a huge cheese shop and cheese making operation. They were make 14 varieties of waxed cheese, which you can sample for free! We purchased the Super Extra Sharp Cheddar and the Mountain Jack cheese… They were both fantastic.

Lesbian artisan dipping cheese in wax

We also stopped at the Vermont Country Store in Westin, VT which a must stop! They have everything from vintage candies to homemade fudge, cheese (of course), soaps, maple syrup… it’s a one-stop shop for all your Vermont gifts! It’s a fun place to visit and you can sample almost everything!

View from our room at Mountain Top Inn

The hotel we stayed at was called the Mountain Top Inn. My husband bought a Groupon for this place and I must admit, from the photos on the website it looks very dated and old. The ride up to the hotel in the dark of night did not help my anxiety about this place. The hotel sits at the very top of a winding hill (hence the name of the hotel), basically in the middle of a small, wooded neighborhood. Turns out the hotel was PERFECT. It wasn't the fanciest establishment but it was warm and cozy with an outdoor fire pit, hot chocolate in the lobby, two delicious restaurants with a full bar and our room had all wood furniture and the views of the snow covered mountains. The only negative of the hotel is that it is not in “ski-village” and is about a 20-25 minute drive to town and the slopes. Other than that, it was a perfect escape. Also, President Dwight Eisenhower stayed in this hotel in 1955, which is more than likely the last time they remodeled the hotel.

Top of the world at Killington 

Flight of beers at Long Trail Brewery

I can’t describe all our stops in detail but some of the other great things we did was ski at Killington, Hibachi on Christmas Eve, massages and outdoor swimming at Killington Grand Spa, beer flights at HarpoonBrewery and Long Trail Brewery (Long Trail was better), and the Gut-Buster breakfast at Johnny Boy's. Long Trail was closer to the slopes, so we cut our day short and went there for lunch and a beer sampling. We also made time to find a bar and watch the Detroit Lions game, of course!

Flight of beers at Harpoon Brewery

To top off the trip, on our way back to city we stopped at Mohegan Sun Casino and with my beginner’s luck, we won enough money on the slot machine to cover the cost of the trip!

This was an easy trip to throw together, and there was so much to do and see. This trip comes highly recommended from The Traveling Duo! Please leave remarks or questions you may have about our stops along the way or your own experiences. We love hearing about new ideas for a weekend escape.