Vermont

We had our annual Columbus Day Weekend trip to Vermont this past weekend - always one of our favorite trips of the year. This time we mixed things up a bit by changing our location to Stowe (we usually stay in the Manchester/Dorset area) and by staying at a resort instead of renting a house. Even with the lack of foliage (it has been a very warm fall) and the damage from Hurricane Irene, Vermont was gorgeous as always.

We stayed at the Stowe Mountain Lodge which was absolutely wonderful:

We had a nice view of the mountain and ski slopes from our suite:

We got in on Friday afternoon and hung out at the resort for the rest of the day. On Saturday morning we headed over to the nearby Von Trapp Family Lodge (yes, THAT Von Trapp family) to take a hike on their beautiful grounds:

Then we had a great lunch of Austrian food at their restaurant overlooking the mountains.

Back at the resort Henry and Mike perfected their shuffleboard skills:

Then we drove around a bit to admire the local scenery:

On Sunday we rented bikes and spent the morning on Stowe's great bike path- they had various art installations scattered about on it which Henry really enjoyed:

Back at the resort that afternoon we checked out their outdoor amenities.Henry went on the bungee jump, which may have been one of his favorite activities of all time:

Then we took the chair lift up to the alpine slide (alas, no pictures of the slide since I was holding onto my brake with a death grip. MIke and Henry started at the same time as me, and I finished a good minute after them. A daredevil I am not)

On Monday we took the scenic way home and stopped at a local orchard to do yet more apple picking. I apparently was camera-ed out though, since I didn't take a single picture for some reason. It was a wonderful trip, and I definitely think we will be returning to Stowe!