Vermont

Vermont August 18^th – 22^nd, 2022

Elizabeth:

We began our Vermont Roaming Rangeley adventure by getting a room at The Mountain Inn at the base of Killington Ski Resort in Killington, Vermont. Rangeley was welcome and had plenty of room to run! We both grew up in Vermont. Gary’s father was one of the founders of Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA) beginning in 1969, a private non-profit trade association, now referred to as Ski Vermont. Although Gary’s dad is no longer with us, he would have been glad to know the group is still active today promoting and lobbying for environmental, economic and social welfare of the State’s winter activities.

Gary, his 2 sisters and 1 brother grew up on skis. When Gary and I began dating (at about 24 yrs. old) I spent many weekend mornings skiing the bunny slopes of Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont learning to stay upright! During the afternoons, Gary and his brother Glenn would go back out again to hit the Black Diamond moguls after lunch. Glenn’s girlfriend Donna and I would stay warm in the lodge drinking hot cocoa and peppermint schnapps all afternoon! The compromise worked. Both of us have been with the brothers going on 40 years!

Gary and I had a great Birthday lunch for me at The Lookout Tavern, ½ mile walking distance from the hotel. Rangeley loved the idea of going for a walk… and being the center of the restaurant’s employee’s attention on the patio! I had a fabulous burger topped with caramelized onions, cheddar cheese and fig jam. I chose a side of cold broccoli salad. Those that know me…my traditional Maine lobster dinner for my B Day has been postponed. But make no mistake…it will happen!

The next morning, we headed to Earline’s (Gary’s mom) house in Montpelier, VT. Earline is 91 and doing well. The state’s capitol has been familiar to us for many years as this is where Gary’s dad, Joe Parkinson, mentioned above, worked for VSAA, later living in Montpelier and Gary’s mom and step dad moved here several years ago after living 35 years in Moretown, not far from Montpelier. We enjoyed a traditional lunch at Earline’s favorite restaurant, Sarducci’s, located beside the Winooski River in Montpelier. We enjoyed a quick visit with our niece and her two elementary age girls. We then took Earline to meet Gary’s sister, Laurie and her husband, Larry, at Morse Farm. Another tradition. Morse Farm is where we get our 100% Vermont Maple Syrup to take back to Phoenix with us and always, without fail, we enjoy a Maple Creemee! For those of you who have not experienced one of Vermont’s delicacies, the Maple Creemee, I shall refer you to a couple articles:

https://diginvt.com/trails/detail/vermont-maple-creemee-trail

https://newengland.com/today/travel/vermont/maple-creemee/

In short: the best and most traditional Maple Creemee is made from real Vermont made vanilla ice cream, whipped to a smooth consistency with real Vermont Maple Syrup blended in. Going to Morse Farm has been a tradition for us since our kids were babies (they are in their 30’s now). We lived in Vermont until the boys were going into 2^nd and 4^th grades. They both return to Morse Farm for a Maple Creemee every time they visit their G Ma! There are picnic tables outside, farm animals, they make the syrup onsite and Rangeley loves the fields of green grass.

After dropping Earline back home we drove the one hour to Gary’s other sister, Linell’s house in Westford, Vermont to unpack for a few nights. She and her husband Armando live on the Browns River, next to a historical wooden covered bridge on 3 acres. Their beautiful late 1800’s home and casual welcoming atmosphere makes for such a relaxing place to stay. Rangeley loves the property, especially the water access!

Linell and Armando hosted a family brunch gathering. There’s always plenty of homemade and pot luck foods. Various breads, granola, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit with great coffee, apple cider, juices and loving relatives. All four of Earline’s children and their spouses attended. We took great pictures of all, including Earline’s latest great grandchild, and Linell’s first grand baby, 7-month-old Isabella. Rangeley does not get a lot of baby exposure so they were cute together, getting to know one another yet again as we met Isabella for the first time this past May.

Another important tradition we do whenever we return home to Vermont is have a large backyard fire and Smores! Some of us like to literally “fire up” the marshmallows and use various candy bars to mix it up a bit. My favorite Smore…a sandwich of a half a graham cracker, dark chocolate, golden brown or charred marshmallow, a second piece of dark chocolate, topped with the other half of graham cracker. Enjoy the pics!

We are off to Gorham, New Hampshire next. Trail Magic on the Appalachian Trail! Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading along.

Don’t be that person who is too busy when you are young and then too tired when you are old.