A Weekend Away in Stowe, Vermont

This past weekend we ventured up to Stowe, Vermont for our friends wedding. Our pals Joyce and Brian were going to make the journey with us, and we all went with the intention of leaving early so we can enjoy the afternoon and make the most of our short weekend getaway. Even the pouring rain and cold temperatures couldn't dampen our excitement for this trip. But, to say the least, it was an eventful trip. Here's a quick time-line of our 12 hour journey on Friday:

6:00 am - Alarm goes off.. wake up time!
6:30 - Call from Joyce. There are accidents all over, they'll be a little late
7:30 - They arrive at our house. We load the car up and head to Quick Check for some breakfast food and coffee
8:20 - Hit the road
8:23 - Bumper to bumper traffic on Route 80. Great.
8:25 - Rob's check engine light goes on. Call dealership to get the car in to get looked at
9:00 - Arrive at dealership. Really don't like the fact that we're down the street from our office on our day off.
10:00 - Car goes on lift to get serviced. It ends up being the carbon filter. Good thing it was nothing serious! While we're at it, get a tire rotation

11:00 - Hit the road again. Phew, traffic isn't as bad after that 3 hour delay in our schedule
11:35 - Scratch that - signs says 45 minute delay to bridge. Whatever, that's mostly for people who don't have E-Z Pass, right?
11:45 - Wrong. Dead stop and we're miles from the bridge.
1:00 - We finally cross the bridge. It only took us all morning to get out of NJ!

From there we continued to make the trek in the pouring rain, driving through New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and finally arriving in Vermont around 7:30 at night. To say the least, we were all pretty beat and hungry from our journey, so we grabbed a bite at the local pub and then went over to say hi to our friends who were already out celebrating.

Knowing we had to make the most of our one day in Stowe, Rob and I woke up early to get in some golf. Despite the grounds being a little wet, we played a quick 9 holes. After all, I wasn't lugging our clubs up there for nothing! Then we hit up the gym before eating our way through the next few stops:

• Cold Hollow Cider Mill - Delicious cider donuts, apple cider, and we even saw how they make the cider. There was also a fudge shop across the parking lot, and a winery. We made the most of everything that store had to offer :)

• Cabot Annex - We tried probably 2 dozen different types of cheese at the Cabot Annex. Then we crossed the parking lot and sampled some Lake Champlain Chocolates at "A Special Place"

• Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour - We had to hit up this must see spot, but to be honest we both left a little disappointed after learning that Ben & Jerry sold out to Unilever. At least they made it up with our $3 sample of ice cream. After that it was time to boogie back to the resort to get ready for Melissa and Danny's wedding. I was surprised to hit some traffic in this small town, but I guess that's what we get for going during the peak foliage weekend.

We had a fabulous time at the wedding, and couldn't have been happier for our two dear friends. Some other highlights include being neighbors with Megan, Brian and Jen, and our bathroom having a towel warmer (I was in love with that thing!!)

Below are a few pictures from our trip. Stay tuned for next weekend as we journey to another wedding. At least this one is in New Jersey!