VERMONT

On October 12, we left for a weekend getaway to the Adirondacks and Vermont. This was a much needed break from everyday life and medical school. The morning we left Mike had a final exam so this trip was a great reward for lots of studying. Friday we drove east through New York and didn't exactly know where we would stay that night. We tried a town just on the outskirts of the southeastern Adirondacks and no luck. It was a college town and it turned out to be parents weekend. We drove a little further north to Lake George. We stayed in a very comfortable and rustic inn there. We awoke Saturday to a incredible blue sky, fresh air and gorgeous leaves.

We decided to visit Fort William Henry which is located right on Lake George. Aliza is standing at the fort. What a great view! This fort was used during the French and Indian War and we were able to capture a sense of that time period. Canons were shot and there were many amazing stories told.

Rachel and Hannah were taken prisoner! They had a lot of fun learning about the war and life then. I think we should construct one of these for their teenage years!

We traveled north through the breathtaking Adirondack mountains. Around every bend was beauty. Rachel is taking New York state history and was thrilled to see what she has been studying. We are pretty sure the mountain behind Rachel is Mt. Marcy, the highest peak in New York.

Somehow we had to get to Vermont. Big ol' Lake Champlain was all that seperated us so we decided to take the ferry across. The kids were overjoyed! It was freezing but that didn't stop the excitement. Nathan loved all the cars on the ferry. It was just short 20 minute ride which was just about right!

Nate and Liza enjoyed the view from inside!

Once we arrived in Vermont we drove a little north to Burlington. Mike interviewed and was accepted to med school at University of Vermont and wanted to show us the beautiful campus and city. Its quite a "hippy" type city, very cool, very trendy. I don't think we would have fit in very well! Our next stop was Cold Hollow Cider Mill. What a great place to visit. It was cold and raining so the hot cider and cider doughnuts (yum-o!) were SOO good. We watched the apple press make cider and learned all about the process. They also had freshly pressed cider on tap for samples. Never had cider that good before! We bought souveniers and sure enjoyed the countryside there. We also passed Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory. We didn't have time to take a tour, but it was fun to see. On to Sharon, Vermont....

We arrived in Sharon, which is the birthplace of Joseph Smith. There is an amazing feeling there. We were able to walk around, gather some incredibly colorful leaves and take a tour of the visitors center. There is an amazing monument that was dedicated in 1905. A lot of our pictures didn't turn out too well because it got dark and the camera had been dropped in a puddle earlier in the day.

After a wonderful visit, we headed down the road to White River Junction. It is right on the Connecticut River. We stayed the night in an awesome place and the kids and Mike went swimming. I ran to get some dinner and got lost! I actually ended up buying the pizza in New Hampshire and then back across the river to the hotel. Whew..time for bed!

The next day was Rachel's 10th birthday! She thought it was cool that she turned 10 in Vermont. We had a nice relaxing Sunday driving through Vermont. We saw the famous covered bridges, amazing fall foliage, mountains, white church steeples. We decided not to bring our portable tvs on this trip. It was a good thing. The children really enjoyed looking out the windows and taking in the views!

Okay, so we had to take a break from the car! We stopped at a Stewart's gas station and there was this big lawn out back. We played tag for awhile and then wrestle mania!!

Nathan LOVES to wrestle!!
We had a super fun weekend trip! We got to see awesome sights and enjoyed each other (most of the time!)