After hours of discussing where we would go next, we decided Halifax was too expensive and too far away. Mike was missing our grandbaby, since he had been gone nearly a month already.
Mike had been to Burlington, Vermont and told me all about it, so that sounded wonderful and was actually not that far from Quebec City. We were disappointed to find, however, that Burlington was really expensive too. Maybe people were traveling earlier or just spending more money now, in our new Post-Covid YOLO mindset. Maybe Mike and I had to think about trips where we plan a little–no more winging-it, no more figuring out today where we will stay tomorrow. <<sigh>>
Mike knew of another place, Killington, Vermont, that turned out to be just right! Killington is a small town, popular for winter skiing. We made our way through the west side of Quebec City and across the Seaway.
It was only about an hour later before we were crossing the border back to the USA, with another surprisingly friendly border agent! He asked Mike to roll down the back seat window so he could see in–Whoa! he exclaimed, as clothing and camping supplies nearly tumbled out the window haha. He laughed while Mike explained, Yeah, I’ve been traveling for awhile!
As we made our way through mountains and foothills, Mike pointed out that Vermont is called the Green Mountain State–and I could really see why! Everywhere were beautiful hills completely covered in trees. Occasionally there would be a cutout with tracks of ski slopes spilling down the side of the mountain with motionless ski chairs.
Then farther south there were the most beautiful farms.
We continued to have the best luck with the weather! It was 70 degrees, breezy, sunny and dry when we arrived at The Summit ski resort. It was older, and a little careworn, but had comfy little rustic rooms with a beautiful swimming pool and a really nice porch! There were only about 5 other cars there and the clerk explained they had just opened for the season and it wouldn’t be busy for a couple weeks. She said that in the winter you must make reservations well in advance!
The resort was near the woods, so there were birds chirping and squirrels scampering; it was very relaxing. We nearly had the place to ourselves and it was huge! There were a few kids squeeling in the pool–they turned out to the the owner’s children! The waitress/bartender said they lived there and together we imagined what a life that would be! We saw them that evening in a small library where they were making bracelets with plastic beads.
In the morning, we sat outside enjoying a full breakfast for hours–it was warm in the sun and simply too nice to leave!
But leave we must. We had to make a hard push driving south. We drove into New York then finally Pennsylvania. It was a very pretty drive, as we stayed off the highways. After about 10 hours of driving, however, we were ready to stop. We started searching for a hotel in what seemed like nowhere but everything was full or very expensive. Honestly we were getting a bit frustrated. We stopped at a hotel where Mike hoped to use his points, but they only had one room left for $280 due to a concert of some sort nearby that night.
Finally we broke down and paid $230 for a Comfort Inn, aghhhhh! But we simply couldn’t go any farther.
We fell onto the bed, both of us feeling drained and discouraged, vowing to not get into the car again until morning and to eat whatever crackers we had for dinner. But then, for some reason, I typed Brewery Near Me into my phone and lo’, the nearest one was Desperate Times Brewery. Well, we reasoned, these were definitely a Desperate Times! Unwillingly, we climbed back into that car and soon were enjoying Desperate Beer and Desperate Dinner at the brewery! It ended up being so reviving that I bought the t-shirt!
Mike has cousins who have a house in North Carolina who graciously offered to have us there anytime! So the next day, off we headed for the beautiful Appalacian Mountains near Sparta, North Carolina. Lucky us!
So remote is their house that we stopped for groceries on the way, determined not to leave for at least a day. The house overlooks a mountainy golf course, with trees and birds and deer. Misty rain and wind drifted in and out through the valley.
Mike played golf one day and I got to drive the golf cart, flooring the gas pedal to get up the steep hills! I am sworn to secrecy about how many balls were left in the woods haha. It was a narrow, steep golf course that would put anyone to the test! The highlight of the house is a beautiful grand piano! It was our good fortune to find a local tuner to come by and soon the piano was ringing into the tall ceilings.
We spent a couple hours hiking and found the woods full of Eastern White Pine, which can live to be over 400 years old!
For 3 days we enjoyed solitude and only went into town once. Sparta, it seemed, had held up pretty well, and we enjoyed a coffee and sandwich at a cute coffee shop and wandered into a used book store and nice boutiques.
I used my bird app to try to figure out a new bird call I was hearing. The app records all sounds, of course, and it’s then you realize just how much ambient noise we have in our daily lives. Even in this remote mountain home, there was a constant hum of wind, construction, planes overhead. Rarely do we have silence.
As much as I was so eager to get home to see family, friends, dogs, baby, I felt bummed about leaving. It was so beautiful and the cool weather was captivating. But it was time so on the road we were again. This time, however, it was on highways and was simply awful. The change in people’s driving was shocking and I felt anxious the entire time as poor Mike had to listen to my running complaints. It did in fact seem like Desperate Times–no one wanted to be on the highway only to get off of it as soon as possible at any cost. I was nearly grieving for our lack of trains and after a few hours had resolved to contact Pete Buttigieg at the Department of Transportation. I had the entire train building process worked out–Yes!
Then as if to mock our bad chi, we started getting weather alerts. It had not rained in a month and now, with an hour until home, we were parked on I-4 in a horrible thunderstorm–we could practically see our house! We decided to go straight to Katie’s for a short visit and to pick up Rocky. We were 3 blocks from her house when both our phone blasted a tornado warning! Honestly it was a little weird and by the time we got into our house I was never so happy to be home!
We have to give a great deal of thought to our travel now. For everyone who had hassles with this silly blog, I’m so sorry! I hope it is all resolved because we are going to Toronto in August and then Scotland in September woohoo! I hope to post pictures and updates!
Also, Japan is on our radar, as well as an attempt by Mike to return to Palermo while I meet him in Rome. We have our fingers crossed for an Alaska Redo for 2025 in these Desperate Times 🙂
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