Vermont

VERMONT APRIL 1999

We left from South Jersey at 5:00 A.M. Our trip to Vermont took about 8 hours. It probably would have taken longer if we hadn't mapped out our quest through MAPQUEST.COM. We were on our way to MOUNTAIN MEADOWS LODGE in Killington Vermont. We did not take one wrong turn. Our stay at Mountain Meadows Lodge was to say the least, relaxing. We arrived to a genuinely nice and gracious hostess', " Owner + proprietor " Michelle and her assistant Amy. They immediately led us around the lodge starting in the main livingroom (where every night at 4 P.M. they light the fireplace). By the way, there is a constant aroma of burning wood scent in the whole place. We were led then to the gaming room, the sauna room, the entertainment room, and the dining room.

We made reservations 6 months ahead for April 12th- 15th. (Mon.-Thurs.). So we really didn't know that that week was the very last week that the lodge was open. The weather was in between seasons. The skiing and snowmobiling season was over and it was too early for the hiking, canoeing and swimming season. So, we winged it.. We basically had run of the whole lodge, because the first night we were the only couple in the whole lodge. We were pampered in every way. We took advantage of the sauna. It was luxurious.

The dinner by candlelight was splendid. My husband had veal scallopini w/glazed carrots and I had seafood over lingini/ asparugus w/hollandaise. Chef Richard is a genius. No one else was in the restaurant but us. It was amazing to hear that they were also playing our favorite dinner music, "VIVALDI". What a coincidence. We hung aroung the lodge on our first night playing ping-pong and playing pool. Outside there was also sheep and a goat to pet and talk to.

DAY 2- Starting off with a "Power Breakfast" including pancakes, omelets, homebaked breads, coffee, and juice we went on our way to the small town of "Woodstock". We were able to do all of our gift shopping right in this town. Back at the lodge we were disappointed to find out that we were unable to go fishing as anticipated so we settled for more pool and pingpong playing. Dinner again was wonderful. This time by the fireplace. From there we stopped by the telephone to call our beautiful daughter Rachel to wish her a happy birthday. She's 11 now. After spending time in our beamed-ceiling suite we then went down to the livingroom and Cleve popped popcorn, the old fashioned way, over the fire. Once again it was back to the gameroom. We are very competitive. Finally retiring to our room for the night we lit the fireplace and jumped into a suds-filled jucuzzi.

Day 3- We thought we'd start our trek down the hiking trails. We had to turn back because most of the snow was still left and we were unable to walk on it with our sneakers. We needed spikes. So we decided to explore the territory in the CAR. The scenery is beautiful.

We landed in downtown Rutland where we began to "PUB-HOP". A cozy place called "Sabby's" was a quaint sports bar which reminded us of the bar in the series "Cheers". I discovered a new happenen' beer called "Guinness". Along with that, t equilla is always a must. It's a very dark pungent beer which looks like hot chocolate with a head on it.

We then wandered over to the "Bistro-Cafe", decorated Greco-Roman. We had clam chowder, latte' and cappuccino. Our last stop for the day was the movie theater to see "Life is Beautiful". It was a lovely day. Back to Mountain Meadows we had dinner and retired to our room for more R+R by the fireplace with a nice bottle of wine.

Final Day- We kept it simple on this day. After our breakfast we packed gingerly and said our fairwells. On this sunny day, I drove this time so that my husband, Cleve, could catch the views of the mountainsides. All in all it was a calming and nice stay at Mountain Meadows Lodge and I would highly recommend it especially during the peak seasons. I hope someday to return. Michelle