Road Trip Recap Day 8 (Lake Champlain, VT)
Waking up at the North Hero House feels similar to waking at a friend's house after a late night. Or at least it did for me.
After a quick run down of where the hell am I, I smiled and remembered.
But this shouldn't be about me having too much rum punch and not enough carbs, it's going to be about the treasure that is the North Hero House and the adventures it offers.
I often wonder about smaller inns and whether my not so quiet family of four will disrupt everyone else's experience. We probably only did mildly. And there were other disruptors too, so it was fine.
What makes this place so dreamy? I kept asking myself. I'm certain it has to be a combination of the views, the charm, the blue velour and the food.
There is something so mesmerizing about a rack of tourist maps and pamphlets by the front desk. And I'm pretty sure the old house was haunted but we didn't have any encounters.
The clunky metal key added even more charm. Our screened in porch with sweeping views of Lake Champlain felt a bit unreal. And the newly renovated inn boldly featured deep cobalt blue with pops of gold and fuchsia everywhere.
Sitting in Adirondack chairs watching Sean and Meadow swim out to the floating dock was novel for us. We hadn't vacationed in a spot like this before. The rocky slope into Lake Champlain led to green water with pockets of icy cool swimming. They loved it!
And I loved the chair. Although they did convince me to swim out to the floating dock and the closer I got the more I could see and smell the green goop which covered the base and the anchor. Alas, our family was standing on the floating dock yelling at each other and cracking up about who was going to jump in and in what order. Disruption for sure. Lucky for everyone else we were only there for two nights.
The General Store just steps down the road is the only place to go. It was packed with candy, Ben and Jerry's ice cream, handmade Vermont candles, maple syrup and local pottery.
We nearly didn't stay here but I had a strong feeling that it would be dreamy. Sean almost talked me out of it but I was able to convince him. Look how much fun he had.
It's less than 90 minutes south of Montreal, so not the wisest "stopover" point to break up a drive back to PA.
But when I sat in the cozy lobby with my coffee and my journal, I sipped in some deep breaths and let the blissful ambiance permeate my being before we hit the road towards home.
