31 Aug
30 Aug
Earning Your Eats the Old-Fashioned Way: The White Cottage Snack Bar
After our adventurous descent down Mount Tom’s Precipice Trail we were hungry. Very hungry. Not handmade local croissant or organic frittata hungry. But cheeseburger hungry. Milkshake hungry. Lobster roll hungry. Fried clam strips hungry. You know what I mean. And after hiking up and down a beautiful Vermont mountain with two four-year olds and a five-month old we had earned our eats the old-fashioned way. The White Cottage Snack Bar in Woodstock may be America’s most beautiful roadside burger and shake joint. The signage,... Read More
29 Aug
Mt. Tom, Vermont (or the day that the “Precipice Trail” seemed like a great option for kids and baby)
When I went to talk to the Ranger about climbing Mount Tom, he took one look at our merry band of pirates and decided that wide paths and gentle upgrades were the way to go. As he highlighted a route to the summit, he specifically told me to stay away from the Precipice Trail. That’s a real trail, he said. Real narrow and steep. You’re best off sticking to the carriage roads. Like a good mom, I listened to the advice of experts and we climbed the two-plus miles up to the summit, sticking to the wide carriage roads. The trail did... Read More
25 Aug
Camper Wesley: Rookie Stats Have Been Calculated!
At a mere four months old, our little camper has racked up some serious traveling stats. Outdoor enthusiasts, let’s play a game…Can you beat Wesley’s numbers? Total states visited: 6 Total National Parks Visited: 3 Total Hikes Completed (or slept through…six of one, etc.): 5 Total Summits Crested: 2 Total Nights Spent Camping: 27 Total Campgrounds: 7 Percentage of life spent in an RV: 20% (okay, 19.5..we rounded up) Hairs pulled out of his brothers’ head: countless * Of course, the year is not over yet. His... Read More
24 Aug
The Perfect Al Fresco Lunch: Trap Door Bakehouse, Quechee, Vermont
When the boys were younger, say one and two years old, we considered finding restaurants with picnic tables equivalent to winning the lottery. Meals were so much more enjoyable with a little more room to breathe and a little more space for the noise to carry. Now that they are older and a very wee bit calmer, we do okay at inside tables. But a place like the Trap Door Bakery and Cafe makes you question why you would ever eat indoors again. This place served up the perfect midday meal, allowing us to assemble our own tasting menu of frittata... Read More
23 Aug
Those Magical Places (Quechee / Pine Valley KOA)
The Quechee / Pine Valley KOA in Vermont had me at hello. I had emailed the campground a couple of weeks before our visit asking for a list of family-friendly hikes, and the co-owner, Cindy, sent me a friendly email that became the blue print for our adventures. So I was predisposed to liking the place before we even pulled in. But then we actually pulled in…. It took me about 20 seconds to realize that our whole crew was not going to like it here–we were going to love it. The campground, which has an upper and a lower level,... Read More
22 Aug
