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| View out my bedroom window...NH welcomes me |
We could not have timed it better, we flew into NH and arrived 20 minutes before my dad's flight landed from Phoenix. He had spent a week out there with an old army buddy (we are talking an almost 40 year friendship) before coming back for a weekend with us.
It was a frigid welcome, as we left good ole MD (insert sarcasm here) for the winter wonderland of New England.
There is just something SO relaxing about returning to your childhood home...it is literally the one place on earth that I can leave the bed unmade and an outfit on the floor without absolutely losing my mind. I cannot leave out apartment in the morning unless our bed it made and clothes are either in the wash or in the hamper. I may be firmly in my 30s, but I fully embrace the only child spoiling that comes upon my return to my parents house, where I dwell in relaxation and fatten up on my mom's soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Contrary to Adam's feelings, I thoroughly enjoy that my parents have no internet (besides when I am here and wanting to Skype with them) and we get no cell phone reception. Yes, there are places like that still in the world. My parents live there. I grew up there.
As per standard, we have a huge feast with the aunt and uncles and just enjoy our time together. This time around was celebrating the Thanksgiving meal that Adam and I would not be in the state for. I am bless with an amazing family and love when we are all able to come together. We enjoyed a fantastic feast with family, as we definitely appreciate a good meal and wonderful company.
For part of Adam's Christmas gift, mom scouted out a brewer of beer that Adam has been looking for F O R E V E R. Literally. He finally asked my mom is she could look for it when she was out. The surprise on our trip was that we were going to take a road trip and hit up the brewery for a tour. Yeah, sounds awful and like something that we would hate right??!?!?!
So on the road we went to northern Vermont....ROAD TRIP! Well, we hit the town a bit earlier, and I saw the sign for cider mill, and made us stop. I LOVE cider. I had a nice steaming cup of fresh hot cider, Adam had fresh mini donuts...the world is an amazing place.
And there was a winery across the parking lot?!??! This place was built for us. The wine really wasn't that notable, but still fun to learn about and taste.
So the notable gap you will see here is the missing brewery tour. Due to my cider mill stop, we arrived 15 minutes after opening....the line for the tour was 2-3 hours of waiting long and they had already sold out of the beer. I had a disappointed momma and hubby on my hands. None of us were patient or dedicated enough to wait around, so off we went. We stopped by the Cabot cheese factory store to try and eat the woes away.
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| Yes, I would like to sample a dozen flavors of cheese |
While we did not get to tour the brewery or buy a case of beer, I did manage to buy the last two cans of the beer for which our quest was inspired IN THE ENTIRE TOWN. Not kidding. From a restaurant where they opened and required consumption before leaving. Cheers to a beer at 10am before breakfast.
With a whole day ahead of us, we decided to venture up to Burlington, VT, as we had never been and heard it was a fun little city. We stopped in to tour the Magic Hat brewery (a really REALLY interesting little set up) and another little brewery that I have forgotten the name of.
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| Magic Hat Brewey |
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| Magic Hat |
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| Love my dad |
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| My favorites at Magic Hat |
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| Love at Magic Hat |
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| Love this sight |
After the brewery tours, we ventured into Burlington to walk around and enjoy the city. I bet this place is really awesome in the summer, when the temperature is above well below freezing. We had a very late lunch at The Farmhouse, an AMAZING farm to table local restaurant with delicious food and a craft beer tap list that left Adam drooling. Me too actually, they had cider options!
It was a wonderful long weekend, too short as always.
