A Parting Gift -- Part Four

The final part of the gift that our trip to Vermont became was the chance to spend time with my mom and sister! We've always talked about taking trips over the years but of course it is never practical to do so! Vermont threw us together on an unplanned adventure full of both old and new memories.

How do you like our matching sheepie hats? Thanks to Christina for those!

We had our own car to ride around in which proved very convenient! Mom was the designated picture taker.

Another thing we've always talked about but only done once before (15 years ago in Scotland) is stay at a bed and breakfast together. Nye's Green Vally B&B was so welcoming and so hospitable to us. Built in 1811 as a stagecoach tavern, this home is still welcoming travelers!

Mom and Christina had a room with the cutest Beatrix Potter border!

I had this room!

Laura would have enjoyed these cute little bunnies tucked in the bathroom:

Antiques abounded in this cozy place:

There were plenty of teas to choose from too!

Everywhere in Vermont this style of door latch is used. Whenever I come across this it reminds me of my childhood!

The bedroom doors were hung with antique children's dresses:

Outside it still looked like Christmas thanks to all the snow!

Check out the long icicles! We rarely see those here in Indiana!

And there were goats, a Shetland pony and a donkey. They were so cute!! (And they appeared to like Christina!)

Isn't this little donkey so sweet?!

Enjoying a cup of tea before the next adventure:

Breakfast was served in the kitchen/dining room along with any other guests (think skiers from International backgrounds!!!). 

Mom got to have blueberry pancakes -- just what Grandma made for us whenever we went back to Vermont as kids. Of course they are always served with real maple syrup!

One morning we drove through our old hometown of Jeffersonville and stopped here to see the old Windridge Inn where Amanda's mom would buy us cinnamon bread topped with a thick slathering of maple cream anytime we came into town.

Visiting our old house that my dad built was also on the list. Here's where it all started for me.

And the house dad built for Grandma next door:

Christina flew home Monday and after our airport run mom and I headed into the countryside to visit old friends.

Here's Courtney and I sitting at the same table we sat at when we were the ages of her boys! 

And our moms got to have tea together just like old times.

We even went out to the barn just like we did whenever I visited:

Only now it's Courtney's boys feeding the horse instead of me. :)

What lovely scenery they enjoy from their house!

Our last morning we headed over to Stowe because I had one more pilgrimage to make.

The Austrian Tea House at the Trapp Family Lodge (think Sound of Music Trapp Family):

Our extended family has a long history of coming here and one of my very earliest memories is attached to this place. Lunch seemed appropriate!

So did pictures of the lovely tea treats!!! Mostly we came in the summer and it seems pretty certain in my mind that the Black Forest Cake was what all wise family members ordered.

I convinced mom and Aunt Karen to split some Linzer Torte so I could vicariously partake:

And here's the main Trapp Family Lodge!

With a view out from the parking lot.

Affectionately known as "Bertha's House", this was another place I had to take a photo of. As a very young child my mom brought me here to visit her elderly friend Bertha. The smells and tastes of her kitchen pantry have lived on in infamy.

Cambridge Village Market was on the list for the times we crossed the street with Amanda and Ben to go inside or popped in with Grandma or my mom to buy something we needed.

Yes, our trip to Vermont was about as full as we could possibly make it. It was a precious gift that I will always treasure.

And, as we always did growing up, our last stop on the way out of town was back at Amanda's house to say goodbye. It seemed fitting it was our last stop this time too.

Chapters in life often open and close without much warning. I suppose that's why it's always best to savor the moments that come along today and not take them for granted.