Because of high gas prices this past summer, many of you took "staycations" this year. Some of you may have said "to heck with the staycation and high gas prices, I'm biting the bullet and taking a real vacation." I was planning on taking a staycation, but something said, "get outta Dodge sista," so I landed in the middle and took a J(ennifer)-cation.
I'm fortunate to have friends who live on a beautiful lake in rural Vermont 10 minutes from where I grew up and went to nursery school through college. It's a beautiful area with rivers, lakes and mountains for hiking and boating, not to mention magnificent scenery.
I borrowed my friends' digital camera and took a few photos. Here are the results. This is my first time using a digital camera and I didn't learn (i.e. stumble upon) how to use the zoom until the latter end of my time here, so please forgive my newbie efforts.
Hope you enjoy the tour!
This small Vermont town has no stop lights, but some interesting eating establishments. I cut a culinary swath up and down the main street.
A visit here isn't a real visit unless you hit the Whippi Dip, a small but incredibly busy little burger and seafood shack:
Then there is the diner for breakfast:
Here is the new restaurant in town, Holy Mackerel, offering fresh seafood from the docks of Boston. Wait a minute! Didn't I just drive up from Boston? No matter. The seafood was fresh!
Farmer Hodge's (no relation) is the best place around for fresh produce. I paid $5.10 for 8 ears of fresh corn and a pound of freshly picked tomatoes. Beat that Whole Foods! (Just down the road from the stand is Farmer Hodge's corn maze. Each year, after the corn is harvested, a maze is cut into the field. Last year, it took me 45 minutes to find my way from beginning to end. And across the street from Farmer Hodge's is one of the last authentic drive-ins in the country. There is a motel connected to the drive-in where you can see the screen from the rooms, which have speakers in them. Sounds a little weird to me, but I guess that adds to the charm of the place):
The local feed store:
Got Hay?
Here are a few photos of where I stayed. You can't beat the views! Check out Lucy, the one-eyed wonder dog who is part of my icon. And Sophie, the other English Springer Spaniel who is totally camera shy.
The view from the guest house in the morning. Not bad with a cuppa joe:
The Guest House and Lucy looking for her stick:
The main house. Sorry for the lack of focus. Newbie. And Lucy, still looking for her stick.
Sophie-Dophie (not having any of me with a digital camera):
My martini shot:
The weather was just perfect the whole time and I am happy to report that I did not run into the crusty old scarred snapping turtle while I was swimming like I did six summers ago!
Hope you enjoyed the tour. I really loved taking these photos and plan to get a digital camera of my own so I can share with you fall foliage here in New England. Until then!
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 68
Those were wonderful views you had while on vacation. I love the term "staycation" I am glad you had a great time and such wonderful views to look at.
Well done! It was worth the effort and your Sophie is a sweet girl.
I bet your Leaf Peeping photos this fall will be even more fun to take. My fave photo here was the last one - such deep, dark, beautiful water and the reflection was just superb.
It sounds awesome to me!
Fairlee looks like a great place for a relaxing vacation. Sometimes those are the best kinds.
Namaste ( I bow to the divine within you)
Max
I started the 'stay-cation' years ago. One year, I had so much accumulated vacation time that my employer forced me to take a couple of weeks that I hadn't planned during the summer, and the entire month of December off or forfeit. I planned to spend my one week of my summer stay-cation painting and the other on the deck with a stack of books. But I ended up letting the kids each plan a day. Later, the daycare director told me that the youngest had come back and asked to give her group report on our vacation at Chucky Cheese. Poor kid didn't have a souvenir or a picture.
I like the picture with Sophie hiding in the brush. Great shot.
I've only seen it once after that time, walking on the bottom of the lake underneath the dock. It has huge scars on its shell along with algae and barnacles. I've nicknamed it "Arrgh." Needless to say, I didn't go in the water for the next couple of years. Now, I will only go in the water if one or more people goes swimming as well.
The menace this year was a little sunfish that lived under the dock and would come out and bite people's toes. My friends got the boys next door to come over with their fishing equipment and take care of the problem.
The pic of Sophie in her hidey-hole is a treasure.
So you can push them into the path of the crusty old scarred snapping turtle and hightail it outta there, right? :-)
Side note: you did a great job on your first photo essay.
I went to camp in Vermont for four years — love the areas and the lakes.
Thanks for the photos.
Vermont and upstate NY are places i hope to visit some day....look forward to your Autumn shots
cheers,gayle in WA state
These are so nice. I love rustic America, and love getting out to places that seem to be far, far away from it all.
Although my favorites are usually water shots/photos, this time it's the one with the railing built around the tree. I haven't seen one quite like it -- similar though.
Thank you for sharing part of your J-cation with us!
That place on the lake looks like a heavenly place to get away!
Jennifer, what is the name of the lake?.....I don't believe I saw it in the article....It reminds me of Lake Willoughby where I once spent a wonderful week during labor day weekend back in the mid 70's!!!
We found lots of fresh veggie and fruit stands on the sides of the roads all over the area.....and the corn was delicious!
I will never forget that trip.....we flew to Boston from SC and then took a puddle jumper from Boston to Burlington, VT and then drove to Willoughby. Friends of frieds owned a cabin there and had invited us to stay for about a week to 10 days....the deck was right over the water and it was great to sit out there and read while listening to the water lapping on the pilings........ the weather was glorious and no mosquitoes!!!!
Did you get lost picking strawberries too?