Vermont | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Win World Class Travel & Get Healthy At The Same Time

Published May 28, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

cabot-vegas Three Vermont businesses are calling all boomers, zoomers, red hats, seniors, silver foxes and really cool people over the age of 50 to participate in the “Vermont to Fabulous Las Vegas Virtual Challenge” contest. Because they are located in Vermont, home of the beautiful Green Mountains, where people love to love to bike, row, run and walk, Cabot Creamery Cooperative (of cheddar cheese fame), Concept2, and the Vermont Department of Tourism thought it would be fun to design an online challenge that revolved around healthy lifestyles, the pursuit of good eating, and exercise.

Stoweflake Resort

It’s easy to participate. First, create a log-in name and password on the homepage. This is a virtual contest, so you won’t see the other contestants involved – and although you will exercise, you won’t actually walk, run, row or bike to Las Vegas from Vermont. Simply log the minutes of physical activity you do each day to move along the map towards Vegas. Play tennis for an hour? Give yourself credit for an hour of walking or running, depending on how vigorous the game. Or if you play a round of golf, log those hours played as walking. Players earn poker Continue reading →

Posted in Contests |

Tagged AARP, Cabot cheese, Contests, Las Vegas, Smugglers Notch Resort, Stoweflake Resort, Travel, vacations, Vermont, virtual challenge |

Maple Sugar Making at Sugarbush Farm in Central Vermont

Published February 21, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

I’m thinking pancakes. It’s not my normal breakfast – most days I just scarf down some fruit and a cup of coffee. But pancakes have been calling to me lately. Perhaps it is a longing for simpler childhood days when Mom mixed up a batch of buttermilk batter and lured us out of bed with the delicious aroma of flapjacks sizzling on the griddle. Sometimes Mom threw in bananas or chocolate chips for variety. On occasion she got really creative and made pancakes with Mickey Mouse ears. Ah yes, my sisters and I were pancake gourmands. Or so I thought until I visited New England.

Quiet during the fall "leaf-peeping" season, the Sugar House roars to life every spring as the sap is boiled down to produce pure maple syrup

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Posted in New England travel |

Tagged cheese, maple trees, pancakes, photos, pure maple syrup, Sugarbush Farm, Travel, Vermont, woman, Woodstock |

4 Comments

Magic Fingers – A Blast From The Past

Published October 21, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Give me a Mom and Pop motel over one of the ubiquitous chain motels any day! They are often dated to the point of being dilapidated and offer only the most basic amenities: a couple miniature bars of soap, two or three cellophane wrapped plastic cups, a few scratchy towels barely big enough to be called towels, and a roll of single-ply toilet paper slightly less rough than sandpaper. The better ones occasionally even provide shampoo, conditioner, and a coffee maker. So why am I so attracted to these small, locally-owned operations? Aside from the fact that they are affordable, the owners of these establishments almost always bend over backwards to make you comfortable.

When I rolled into Woodstock, New Hampshire for my recent visit to Franconia Notch State Park, I spotted The Carriage Motel high atop a hill overlooking a river. It had that kitschy look that screams Mom and Pop, including an old-fashioned game room in the courtyard. True to form, owners France and Dennis Demers welcomed me with Continue reading →

Posted in New England travel |

Tagged Carriage Motel, Franconia Notch State Park, hotels, Magic Fingers, Mom and Pop, motels, Travel, Vermont, Woodstock |

17 Comments

Little Susie Sunshine At Quechee Gorge – The “Little Grand Canyon” Of Vermont

Published October 18, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Last night, the only thing I wanted to do was get in the car and drive back home to Florida. This happens to me occasionally when I travel long term. It may have been a touch of homesickness; more likely I just needed a rest, since I’ve been hitting the road pretty hard and staying up late to sort out photos and blog. So, I recognized my mood for what it was and slept on it.

Quechee Gorge Pond Vermont

Quechee Gorge Dam

This morning, following a good night’s sleep, I decided to hike to the bottom of the Quechee Gorge (Kwee-chee), billed as Vermont’s “Little Grand Canyon.” Continue reading →

Posted in New England travel |

Tagged caverns, fall foliage, Franconia Notch State Park, leaf-peeping, leaves, LostRiver Gorge and Caves, New Hampshire, photos, Quechee Gorge, Travel, Vermont, waterfalls |

2 Comments

Speechless In The Presence of Vermont’s Fall Beauty

Published October 17, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

It is rare that I cannot finds words to describe my travels, but my wanderings through Vermont today left me speechless. Each time I discovered a scene of spectacular beauty I believed nothing could top it; yet the landscape continued to offer up the most astonishing views throughout the day. I think it best to just show my photos from today, since no words can possibly do justice to Vermont in the fall:

Vermont Fall Foliage

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Posted in New England travel |

Tagged cheese, covered bridges, fall foliage, farms, leaf-peeping, leaves, maple syrup, photos, Travel, Vermont, waterfalls |

4 Comments

Magnificent Fall Foliage Following Me Everywhere

Published October 16, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Despite patchy fog and spitting rain this morning, the views from the Interstates of eastern New York were spectacular. From the Hudson Valley, past the Catskills, and up to Albany, the fall foliage was at its peak. North of Albany, many of the trees had already been stripped of their leaves, and I began to worry that the fall colors at my intended destination for the evening – Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains – would be past their peak. I will simply say – not so! I think the following photos speak for themselves: