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If you love coffee and food, and appreciate dry humour and childish antics then we're off to a good start. If you are interested traveling, DIY, home remedies, and random nonsense to you I say: Welcome :-) And I suggest you start by reading About Me to see if you'll want to punch me or not before continuing. I hope you enjoy!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Mother/Daughter Road Trip Part 1: Vermont

Every year my mother and I embark on a "Mother/Daughter" adventure. Usually we escape for 2-3 nights, but this year we chose to go for 8-9 nights to make up for not going anywhere last year (thanks to that oh-so-joyful job I had). Many locations were tossed around and after much deliberation, we decided to start planning a road trip around North-Eastern USA. Fresh seafood was at the top of our list to indulge in, so Maine was a given. When it was decided that we were driving instead of flying, I made sure that NYC was added to the list (I've been in love since I first went there at age 14). After that, a few other locations were tossed in, taken out, and shoved around. Our final itinerary ended with us visiting (or at least traveling through) 7 states, sleeping in 5 hotels and driving for roughly 30 hours in total. We tried to cram in as much as we possibly could, and both of us even managed to cross some items off our bucket lists. And here is how it went down: 

On Thursday July 12th, we left our town in the rear-view mirror and headed for the border. Our first stop was Burlington, Vermont which was about 8 hours from home and another 4.5 from our next stop in Maine. If you've never been to Vermont, let me tell you one thing: it's simply breathtaking. There are rolling green mountains and sparkling lakes all over the place. This would be a spectacular place for a fall drive, and I'm seriously thinking of doing just that later this year.
From-the-car-iPhone-photo, but still - so, SO pretty. 

Anyway, our first mission upon arrival in Burlington was to set up camp at our hotel. We chose to stay at Sheraton Burlington, where our room was clean, comfortable, and average-sized. We didn't have a fridge or microwave in the room, however there was in-room wifi, complementary hors d'oeuvres that night & a great complimentary continental breakfast the next morning, both in the club lounge. We had a sliding glass door off of our room that opened up to a sort of indoor courtyard which was actually quite pretty. We'd have much preferred the view of the mountains, however it really wasn't a huge issue for one night. We ended up not being quite as close to downtown as I had hoped, but we just drove there the following morning after checkout.
Great continental breakfast - Starbucks coffee too! 

There are a lot of nice shops in downtown Burlington, so we took a wander around for a few hours on Friday afternoon, and this is what we found:

I can think of several people who may find this to be of entertainment value - we stumbled across a glass blowing shop, where you can actually take lessons on how to make your own glass pipe. How fun is that? Also, once a year, they host a competition that involves making the coolest fully functional pipe. It's actually a pretty big deal in the industry, from what I understand. Check it out - Official Website and Facebook Page.
Hookah display in front of Bern Gallery

If you're into fancy food like I am (okay, just food in general), then you have to visit Saratoga Olive Oil Co. They are a family owned business, who's mission is to provide the freshest of extra virgin olive oils. They do that, and much more! They have flavoured oils, vinegars and sea salt - and you can taste them ALL, just like you'd taste wine at a winery. Mouth. Heaven. The decisions were hard to make, but I settled on a delicious Peach Balsamic vinegar and their Smoked Bacon Chipotle sea salt. Make sure that you visit these guys if you're in the area! 


Cherry Garcia St, for all you Ben & Jerry's lovers :-)
One of the most genius things I have ever tasted.




















We didn't eat much while there, as we got in after dinner and had breakfast at the hotel. I did grab a free magazine before leaving though, and found a lot of delicious-looking/sounding places to eat at, so I have lots of ideas if I ever go back!


Would I return to Burlington, Vermont? Yes, I would. I feel that there was a lot more exploring to be done. I'd return for probably 2 nights, but I'd try to find a hotel closer to the waterfront and downtown.



*Part two of four to come tomorrow. Until then, Cheers my friends.  



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