Up early, after a very cold and strange night. Temps in the low 30s, alarm went off at the farm we are staying at. We could hear the alarm in the background….wondering if the police would eventually show up. Ha. Turned the generator on so we wouldn’t freeze.
We spent some time at the Maple Farm to learn about how syrup is made and bought some from our Harvest Host. Her stories of maple farming for the last 200 years were interesting, and her pride of her family farm. She also shared about her hoarding of mason jars to can her tomatoes was pretty funny given the short supply during the pandemic.
From there, we made our way to the northern part of VT to take highway 100 down the west side of the state. We had a tip from a friend on an easy hike to take outside Stowe, so ended up hiking the Mill trail in Smugglers Notch State park/Stowe private land. It was beautiful and calm, low stress.
We decided to drive the full VT 100 to see all the leaves along the highway. The colors were amazing. Too many pictures to take, everything seemed like eye candy. And my iphone totally does not do it justice. It was windy, full of white and red barns with epic hills behind them full of varying colors.
Given the short night (cold and alarm) I took a nap in the back while John drove. Yes, it was loud. Yes, it was very bumpy. But I slept like a baby for 30 minutes.
Last stop in VT was a nice hike around Emerald Lake. John and I have committed to find one place to meditate every day during our journey. We stopped on the shore of the Lake for 5 peaceful minutes, then a 3 mile hike. Thinking about gratitude, kindness, and no need to worry. Trying to be sensitive to John’s knee pain.
It is amazing how fast the days go by when all you are doing is driving to see the beautiful parts of our country, stopping to hike a few trails, a little time meditating. It adds up.
We decided to just stop and sleep at a rest stop tonight. Somewhere close to our NY stop. Grabbed some take out on the way (Chilpolte) and man did I miss my veggies. Look forward to a home cooked meal, where I have tons of space to spread out and make something yummy.
We ended the night talking about what we have learned from this adventure and what this means for our ultimate adventures we will take with our own vehicle. I am thinking 2 weeks at a time max…I will miss my kids too much. I also think I need to find a way to build routine into my days….reading, stretching, yoga, cooking, socializing. The things I do at home and will miss on the road.
Getting excited about making my way home. Miss my bed. Miss my kids. Miss my house. Miss my routine. Miss my yoga. Signed up for Church Yoga Sunday and will be teaching to a small group in the neighborhood in the morning.