Mt. Mansfield

 

Vermont Fun

 

Vermont, here we are!!!

Hi  - this is McKenna and I will give you the "scoop" on our trip to Vermont.

~DAY 1 ~
1)  We went to a Cider Mill where we got to follow apples on the floor until we got to the place where we saw the cider mill, watched a video about how they make cider, and then got to taste apple cider and it was SO GOOD!  They had all kinds of apple products and we got to taste test a bunch of yummy things.

2)  We went to into Stowe, Vermont and walked around a little bit.  Stowe is known for skiing.  Quite a few people who were in the olympics train here or so my mom says.  We had lunch at a restaurant called "The Rusty Nail" and I ordered chicken fingers and we sat outside and it rained on us a little.  DELICIOUS!

3)  After lunch, we headed to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory which is where their ice cream making started.  We went on a very fun tour  - we saw a movie about Ben and Jerry - they were friends in college.  We went into the factory and saw where they make the ice cream, put the yummy chunks in it and give it flavors.  They wouldn't let us take any pictures because they said they were worried that we may be spies from Hagen Daas!  HAHAHAHA!  We also saw it put into containers with lids on top.  They were making "Americone Dream" that day and we got try it at the end of the tour.  It was good but it was your basic vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and chocolate covered waffle cone chunks...I don't like chocolate so it wasn't my favorite.  We went to actually get ice cream after that and I had the hardest time picking out of ice cream because most of them had chunks in them which I am not a big fan of and they had chocolate in them.  So I ordered rainbow sherbert..wah wah!  (Karie:  this tour was awesome and I would highly recommend it if you are ever in the area (thanks to K.Cherry for recommending it) and since I think Jimmy Fallon is the coolest, I ordered the ice cream made for him which has potato chips in it and Aaron ordered "Bonaroo Buzz" which also very yummy.)

4)  On our way back it started to rain pretty hard.  We kept noticing all of these police cars going by - at least 20 cars.  We never figured out where they were going.  We went back to the trailer and had dinner and played farkle...which is a really fun dice game.  I am really good at beating my dad!



~ DAY 2 ~

We discovered at our campground that there was a river right behind where our trailer was parked.  It was warm so we decided to go and explore it.  We decided to walk out to this rock and there was a little current so I grabbed onto a rock and my dad said it was ok to get wet and I was already a little wet so I got up on the rock and jumped in.  The water wasn't cold at all - it was actually warmer than the pool.  My mom was taking pictures because she was afraid of the water.  Just kidding Mom!    Then, dad went and got us blow up intertubes and we all floated down the river  - it was awesome...so fun! 

We then went up to Mt. Mansfield and went for a hike to the top.  It was stressful because I am a little scared of heights.  A lot of the hike was over rocks and the view was beautiful.  We met this man & woman from Brooklyn who were backpacking for a week and they told us about a couple things we should do in NYC.  They were really nice -- she was a teacher and told me about a really cool sounding playground that I will write about after I visit NYC.  We kept hiking and my mom and I decided to stop while my dad and sister kept going.  My mom and I heard an animal of some kind behind where we were sitting - I think it was a moose or something.  We also met a yellow lab named Piper and it made me miss Dawber.  When we got to the top, we could see a Lake, lots of trees & rocks, and a couple of little towns. 

~ DAY 3 ~

We were on a mission to find a swimming hole.  Not too far from our campground, we found one but to get there, we had to walk down this path that felt like you were walking thru the jungle.  We found a spot, had lunch on a rock, and found a little water slide where the water went in between two rocks that we named "Bad Man's Butt".  We jumped in our inner-tubes and floated down our new ride.  Again, my mom was very scared, crying, and she thought she would pop the inner-tube.  (Karie:  sad but true...I am humilated) While she as crossing the deep part, she was remembering what happened when she was 11 and she was white water rafting and the raft tipped over on top of her and she had to ride the rapids and almost died.  My aunt was also in the raft and she was screaming and my mom reached over to grab her and she grabbed my mom around the neck.  But she conquered her fear and rode the water with me.    We stayed there for a while and then went back to the campground and played in the pool.

~DAY 4~

We left on this day but on our way to Maine, we stopped at two places.  The first place was a sugarhouse where they make Maple Syrup.  We watched a video about how they make it and there are 4 kinds of syrup.  They can only get syrup out of trees in March and a little bit of April.  We got to taste test all of the kinds and it was so good.  TIP:  Always buy 100% Vermont Maple Syrup in the stores, it is the best.  They also had animals there and I went up to a really cute donkey and it decided to pee right in front of me.  They also had 3 little ponies that really like me.

We also went to a Cheese factory called Cabot and it smelled bad.  We saw how they made cheese and got to taste lots of different kinds and my favorite was horse radish.  We saw the curds and this guy was putting salt into the curds in this huge tray thing.  I learned that cheese is naturally white because milk is white.  Cheese that is orange is dyed orange.  TIP:  Buy white cheese becauce who wants to eat orange dye.  It still tastes good.

That is all from me!

Shout outs to Emmy & John, Jessi, Emma, Eden, Popo, Gummy, Anika, Mason & Kate, Katie A., Rachel, & Jess.

Love, McKenna

P.S.  From Vermont, we headed to Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park.

A Day in Montreal

 

Niagara Falls & Montreal

Hi friends & family ~
So, if you aren't caught up on what went down in Niagara, you should read the Whiz Dells post to get yourself informed.  Our time in Niagara was about 17 minutes...the falls were pretty impressive but the stuff around it was nothing to write home about.  It seemed to me that at one time, maybe in the 1950's, it was a favorite vacation spot but it is now very run down, lots of old buildings with boards over the windows, graffiti... and we were not wanting to spend too much time there.  

After the falls, the highlight for the girls was...wait for it...getting donuts at 7-11.  I know, I know, my stomach did a little loopty loo when Aaron brought them out but to say the girls were thrilled was an under statement.  Other than a few ice cream cones here or there, sugar has not been seen too much around here so they were stoked!!

We decided to bypass getting out to experience the falls and just take pictures from the car on our way to Montreal.  We had to drive about 10 hours to get to Montreal and with no air conditioning the sooner we got there, the better.  I think the worst part about no ac is that we have to keep the windows rolled down to stay cool and as a result, we can't really talk because it is so loud.  Needless to say, my right arm is very tan!

The things I loved about Montreal:

• The french language - it is truly a beautiful language that I wish I spoke.  I am sure that I overheard someone telling their family member that they were out of toilet paper but it sounded so sophisticated and elegant.
• The beautiful archictecture - small streets, old buildings with window boxes full of flowers
• Going to mass at the Notre Dame de Basilica - the ornate and timeless carvings and wood detail, the service in french, and oh, the stained glass...exquisite.

(Sorry, my connection is struggling a bit so I will post this picture later)

• The diversity of the people...that felt very much like Paris to me. 
• Riding on the subway with the girls who had never done that before... it is making me very excited about NYC...the subway there is so much more...more smells, more people, more alive...
• Going to a farmers market that made me miss my yard and my dog...there were a lot of both ...I could not stop taking pictures of fruit, vegies, and plants.  The rest of my fam thought I was crazy.   The "Pioneer Woman" in me was coming out in food staging and photo taking!

We spent just 1 day in Montreal before we were back in the states  - Morrisville, Vermont...which is a new post coming...and we loved Vermont.  Lots of fun things...a few descriptive teasers are bugs, ice cream, river, puppy, Dotty, nails, views, rain, and the curse of the whiz dells strikes again.  Tune in next time on...the BFT 2011.

A couple of miscellaneous items:

• I am on my third book - I have read "The Art of Racing in the Rain"  - (very good read - also made me miss Dawbs - the book is told from the point of view of a dog named Enzo) and "Water for Elephants"  - (I now want to see the movie but the book was also a page turner and a history lesson on the circus..who knew?) and I am currently riveted by "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett.  Thanks Steve & Marlyse for the book - I have been telling Aaron and McKenna about it and they are enjoying the book too through my story telling.  :)  If you know me, reading books just doesn't happen so this feels like a treat...my next book is "Dogs of Babel". 
• I feel dirty...kinda always.  Even after I take a shower, I still don't feel 100% clean but the sad part is that I am sorta getting used to it.
• I haven't worn makeup for 25 days and I have found myself thinking "these people won't ever see me again so who cares!"  But I think the real reason is that it is so warm that my makeup would end up running off or down my face with all of my sweat!  UGH!  So gross...

That is all from me for now! 

Love & Hugs!  ~  Karie

P.S  Happy belated birthday to one of my favorite Jack's -Ashley!    And to Emmy Rose Jack...Happy belated birthday to you too!  We would be camping together right now at the Bar  - we are missing you and your family!

P.S.S.  I am so bummed about the Women's World Cup...they definitely made it exciting!  I was on the edge of my seat...

Snapshots from the road

 

This is Michigan

Hi its Sydney.  My family got to spend 5 days with our friends in Grand Haven, Michigan. 

We got to do lots of fun things - In two days, we went to 2 different beaches.  The first beach had lots of waves and there was lots of sand to play in, it was warm, and I got to play with my friend Hadassah.  We played this game where we jumped over waves we saw and then we got washed up to shore in the water.  My freckles came out and I got a little sunburned there but it was fine, nothing like all the mosquito bites that I got in Yellowstone.

At the 2nd beach, me and Hadassah made a sand castle and there were two boys there for her brothers, Eli & Wyeth, to play with.  That night we all played together and it was fun - we even got to have a dance party in their living room.

I lost my first tooth at their house!  Here is a picture of me with a missing tooth!

I also got to be a part of Hadassah's birthday party.  She had a flower birthday and I got to meet some of her friends.  We made bracelets, ate ice cream cake, and listened to Justin Bieber while playing musical chairs.  We then went upstairs and played with her new toys.

They have a duck that lives on their street - every house has a name for him but our friends call him Peabody...PB for short. 

That is all from me!

Shout out's to Hadassah, Kaitee, Ms. C, Dawber, Anya, Auntie Heather, Blake, Jessi, Jess, Rachel, and Amanda!  And thanks Maggie for sending me a note!

P.S.  This is Karie - we had a wonderful time in MI and although we miss our friends so much, they live in a darling town on the shores of Lake Michigan and they are doing well. Couldn't be happier for them.  We then headed from Michigan to Niagara Falls on our way to Montreal.