Although I came late to loving White Christmas, I wait eagerly each December to pull out the DVD, make some cocoa, and hum along as the soldiers sing, “We’ll follow the Old Man wherever he wants to go.” (Then I cry, and laugh, and cry again at the end when they all come to honor him. Every single time.)
I didn’t watch White Christmas this weekend, but J and I did drive up to Vermont. And I thought of (and quoted) Danny Kaye all weekend. “Vermont should be beautiful this time of the year – all that snow!”
There wasn’t much snow (see above), but to quote Danny Kaye again, it was just what we needed.
We got a Groupon to the charming Stowehof Inn, tucked among a grove of evergreens:
It boasts this lovely common area (also reminiscent of White Christmas), where we drank tea and played Scrabble:
We read for hours in front of the fire (I spent my weekend with Jane Eyre):
I could have stayed in front of the fire all weekend, but there were other sights to see. Such as the Trapp Family Lodge, where the hills were alive:
(I’ve been on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg – it’s one of my favorite movies ever – so I loved seeing the inn the Trapp family founded and ran after immigrating to the States. Note the Austrian flag on the far right.)
We also took an informative, delicious tour of the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury. No photos in the production room, but J tried to drive the Cowmobile:
We both sampled some fantastic new Greek frozen yogurt (mine is Raspberry Fudge Chunk):
We visited the Flavor Graveyard, where dearly departed past flavors are laid to rest:
We browsed Stowe’s main shopping area, and J found a vintage ski gondola to hang out in:
We drank chai at a cool little cafe, ate several delicious meals, and visited a cider mill, where they make scrumptious apple cider donuts:
(Yes, we got apple cider to go with our apple cider donuts. Yum.)
We stopped in Montpelier on the way home – to eat tasty crepes and browse three bookshops, including this one (I love the name):
I fell in love with the children’s upstairs area at Bear Pond Books:
(Not pictured: the Book Garden, where I found an adorable 1962 edition of And Both Were Young.)
It was a perfect weekend away. No schedules, no Internet, no chores, no commitments except to relax and spend time together. We love exploring new places, and this area was utterly charming.
I’ll be back, Vermont. I’m sure you’ll be beautiful any time of the year.
cakes, tea and dreams 
Snow…snow…snow! Great, now I’m going to have that song in my head all day. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to go to Vermont — and your pictures make it very enticing! Noel would be so happy to get to go to the Ben & Jerry’s shop, he’s the biggest Cherry Garcia fan ever!
It looks like you had a lovely, restful weekend – just what you needed, I suspect!
By the way – you won a copy of How to Eat A Cupcake in the giveaway on my blog. If you’d like to claim it, email your postal address to: beccasbookstack@gmail.com
I’m SO glad you and Jeremiah got to do this! And thanks for posting such nice pictures.
What a lovely weekend getaway! I long for cider donuts with all my being. There are no good orchards in these parts, which is painful in the fall. I love that Ben and Jerry’s has an actual graveyard! I knew they had the tab on their website but didn’t realize a real one existed. They’re so clever.
“Vermont should be beautiful this time of year, all that underwear!”
“Oh,I hope I can take back the electric blanket back.”
“Where’s that?”
“Under the underwear.”
“Snow, snow, snow, snow, SNOW! It won’t be long before we’ll all be there with…a little ol’ snowflake eskimo pie, a chocolate and vanilla for you and I! Bum diddi bum diddi bum diddi bum….”
Sorry Katie, I couldn’t resist the quoting. I LOVED this post. Thanks for sharing so I could live vicariously. This whole trip looked like too much fun.
I pretty much love everything about this post – and your weekend getaway. What could beat White Christmas and Sound of Music tributes?!! (Ben and Jerry’s does come close.) Looks like you two had a great time! 🙂
So much fun! Really enjoyed this post – thanks for taking us along on your trip 🙂
Now I will be humming “White Christmas” tunes in my head all day 😉
So lovely! What a fabulous weekend away. I’ve been to Vermont many times, but never to the Trapp Lodge. Added to the list!
That lodge really does remind me of White Christmas! So happy you had this kind of refreshing experience. Thanks for letting us in on it!
You guys really packed it in!
And you hit on so many of my favorites in your post. 🙂 I (1) just moved to Vermont a couple of months ago – hurray!, (2) have a long-time love affair with White Christmas and kept singing the “Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow!” line over and over (annoyingly) when I first moved up, (3) went on the Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg, and (4) have been to that same apple cider donut place!
Glad you had such a wonderful weekend!
The fall is my favorite time to be there, with the turning leaves and the maple syrup and the crisp air, but this post inspired me to take a spring trip to Vermont when I finally make it to the US. I’m so happy you two had a beautiful time!
Gorgeous pictures! I especially love the Von Trapp family lodge – I, too, am a huge Sound of Music fan. (Oh, and part Austrian by heritage – love seeing that flag.) And that gondola – priceless!
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