Upper Valley, Vermont

Needless to say, I don't travel enough to fill this blog, so I invited some guest bloggers to step in, starting with my friend Kristine, a soon-to-be marathoner who stays busy playing tennis, skiing, running...you get the idea. She's into adventures. So at the end of February, she and her husband Dan jetted off to Vermont to hit the slopes. Read on for their take on this East Coast travel spot.

Dan and I decided to take a much-needed vacation to Vermont in February. Vermont in February, you ask? Isn’t there a lot of snow in Vermont in February? That was the hope, anyway. For us two snow bunnies, nothing sounded better than a snow-filled skiing trip. Yet even if skiing isn’t your thing, there’s plenty to do in Vermont – specifically the Upper Valley, which comprises central Vermont and New Hampshire.

Because Dan and I do love to ski, we spent five out of our six full days skiing. We hit up Ascutney and the Quechee ski hill (a private hill we were able to access because my aunt and uncle are landowners in Quechee Lakes, where we stayed for the week), as well as Killington and Sugarbush. We spent two full days at Killington – the largest of the resorts with more than 200 trails. Conditions were ideal at most of the resorts due to a storm that dumped more than 12 inches while we were there. However, East Coast skiing conditions are notoriously icy, and we skidded and slid down Ascutney all day. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed East Coast skiing as much as West Coast skiing if it weren’t for the record-breaking amount of snow in 2008. Our favorite resort definitely was Sugarbush (see photo at right). The view from the top of Mt. Ellen was breathtaking. On a clear day, locals say that you can see Mount Washington in New Hampshire and Canada, which is a few hundred miles away.

During our off day, Dan and I decided to check out some of the local attractions. Finding recommendations was easy. The locals were more than accommodating and offered fantastic advice. We began the morning in Hanover, New Hampshire, home to Dartmouth University. The quaint town was reminiscent of Athens, Ohio – which just happens to remind me of New England...Go figure! We ate breakfast at Lou’s, a local diner on Main Street. Breakfast was great. Dan ate an omelet atop a biscuit, and I had a bowl of homemade granola with fruit and yogurt.

We drove around the town and campus a bit, and noticed many bookstores, a Gap, restaurants and an art museum. Next we were off to Simon Pierce in Quechee, Vermont (our hometown for the week). Simon Pearce is an upscale glassblowing and pottery factory, store and restaurant. (You definitely wouldn’t want to bring an unruly toddler into Simon Pearce. One accident could set you back thousands of dollars.) The merchandise, ranging from lamps to wine glasses, is exquisite. Watch men working in the factory downstairs, which is powered by the dam next to which Simon Pearce is located. The lunch and dinner menus looked just as fancy as the merchandise. I would definitely consider dining at Simon Pearce for a special occasion.

Everything was going fine until we were on route to our next stop: Sugarbush Farm in Woodstock, Vermont. My aunt and uncle served us cheeses from the farm when we first arrived, so Dan and I decided to check it out. Turns out our non-four-wheel-drive rental car had other ideas in mind. We got stuck on the access road on the way to the farm and would have had to call for a tow truck if not for the generosity of Ralph, a local who drove our car up the huge hill and gave us his advice for driving on snowy roads without much traction: “Drive the car like you stole it.” (In other words, haul it!)

No cheese in hand and a bit shaken up from our back-road debacle, we high tailed it to the main road and continued on to the town of Woodstock, Vermont. I personally would move to Woodstock in a heartbeat. It’s the quintessential New England town – tree-lined, snow-covered streets, a covered bridge and boutiques, restaurants, inns and a general store. We walked around the town and stopped inside Mountain Creamery to split a brownie a la mode sundae. The brownies were baked fresh that morning, and the vanilla ice cream was nicely melted, thanks to a heaping dollop of hot fudge. Turns out the server at Mountain Creamery is a neighbor of Ralph (our local hero!) We pointed to our rental car across the street and asked her to keep an eye out for us this week.

Here are some other highlights from our week in Vermont:
- Grab a “Vermont pint” (23 ounces) and a bite at Long Trail Brewery in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont. The brewery is ranked one of the top ten in the nation by USA Today and we could see why. The staff was friendly, and the beer and food is fantastic. We tried a sampler, eight of the brewery’s beers on tap. My favorite was the brewery’s name-sake, Long Trail Ale; Dan’s was the Double Bag Ale, a full-bodied ale with an alcohol content of 7.2.
- The closest damn thing to a slice of New York pizza I’ve found in a long time came from Monaco’s pizzeria (listed as Ramunto’s in the phonebook) in Quechee, Vermont. Having been born and raised on Long Island, my family’s biggest gripe about the Midwest is that it doesn’t serve New York-style pizza. I don’t think Dan was an enamored as I was when it hit my lips, but if you’re craving the real deal, hit up Monaco’s.
- Enjoy a cozy dinner at Fire Stones in Quechee. A wood-burning oven and log-cabin-inspired decorations made this the perfect setting for dinner after a long day of skiing. I warmed up with a spiked apple cider. Dan enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich and sweet potato fries while I dined on Mediterranean pasta. The food was delicious and the prices weren’t bad.