We knew that it was risky to drive for 4-5 hours with a one year old and a three year old, so we implemented this strategic plan: Pack car Thursday night after kids' bed time; wake up early and go directly to Off Broadway Diner (Taunton, MA) for our kids' favorite homemade hash; go from breakfast to BJs (Stoughton, MA) for the groceries we need for the week; and drive to Vermont with two sleeping kids. In addition to being stuffed with their favorite breakfast, we had our son (3) walk and help us pick out items in BJs, which was a special treat because he usually stays in the carriage with his sister. We also withheld all blankies so that our daughter wouldn't pass out during the carriage ride. The kids slept most of the ride to Vermont. We stopped for lunch and got sushi in New Hampshire, and as soon as we were done eating, got back into the car. With the assistance of "Yellow Submarine" on the ipod, the kids were out again until we arrived.
Once we got close to Smuggler's Notch, despite the warning and directions from the resort, we had trouble due to a closed short cut that connects Stowe to Smuggler's Notch. The GPS would NOT cooperate, and we drove right up to the barricade on the Stowe side. In our travels, we found that if we used "The Bad Girls Club" as a "via point" on our GPS, we would avoid the closed road and the GPS would stop trying to "recalculate" in sexy british robot speak. On the last day, we actually tried to see the door of this "bad girls" place, and it didn't seem to exist. We haven't updated our GPS in over a year, so that tip may be no good in the future, but really choosing any place far enough away from the detour but on route 15 should work. If you actually select "detour" on the GPS, it just tries to "recalculate" you for a VERY long time recommending a U turn.
Smuggler's Fun Zone was THE BEST for our vacation days. Be sure that you bring socks. You can only enter it in sock feet. It has indoor mini golf, a mini arcade, ping pong, teen/adult bouncy challenges, and an 8 and under area that was mostly used for babies and toddlers. It opens at 3pm and closes at 8pm. We would go out for the day, every day, have a quick snack and hit the Fun Zone between 3 and 5. We'd let the kids play like CRAZY, go back to the suite for a light dinner, and then put them to bed so the adults could hang out by the fire place. We were VERY impressed with the cleanliness, the parents playing with and watching their children, and the general space. Our son was never in the jumpy house with more than 5 kids, and most of the time, he was actually alone or with only one other child. There were so few toddlers and babies using the jumpy obstacle course that I brought my daughter through several times, which made for an awesome video, and she LOVED it. We tried the indoor heated pool at "Poolside" one day, but the kids preferred the Fun Zone. One day we made the mistake of going to the Smuggler's Notch Mountain Grille after the Fun Zone, which was DELICIOUS for the adults but the kids didn't really want to eat because they were so tired, so we had to leave pretty quickly, and it wasn't as relaxing as we wanted it to be. (it's a much better set up than the picture below, must be an old picture)
Our first day, we went to the Vermont Maple Outlet to pick up some maple syrup for a co-worker of mine and for ourselves of course. We were SO THRILLED with the wonderful woman at the counter. She was so sincere and friendly, asking us about our "viking" family and telling us about hers. She was really our first impression of "off the resort" Vermont, and we couldn't have felt more welcome. There was even a little box of toys for kids to play with while their parents shopped. I am sure that during ski season or during the summer it must be busy, but we were the only people in the store. We bought grade A dark amber maple syrup.
We visited Arrowhead Mountain Lake area as we searched for a pizza place for lunch. What an amazingly beautiful accident! Of course we didn't take pictures because we were worried that the GPS had taken us into the middle of nowhere, and it had, but the scenic tour of Vermont was wonderful, and we ended up at the New York Pizza Oven. Again, the staff was SO welcoming and friendly even though this was CLEARLY not a tourist area. The place is filled with pictures of kids who participate in local sports teams. The kids running the place couldn't have been twenty years old, but they were very professional. They quickly brought a high chair, recommended that we order a "special" to save money, and we had our fill of awesome pizza for $12 for all four of us (and our kids can EAT).
Even thought we packed shorts, it was actually snowing, and we had not anticipated this, so we went to the Smuggler's Notch Ski Shop before we went to Lajoie Stables to check out some animals and horse rides. My husband bought us ALL top notch winter coats that were 50% - 70% off because ski season is over. We bought our kids a size too big so that they can wear them next year. The kids were bundled up, but it was a long ride to the stables, and it was raining by then, so we walked through the muddy path to see some cows, sheep, chickens, and horses. Someone who works there came outside and offered up a pony ride in the mud, which was nice, but it would have been WAY too messy. In the parking area, there were some four foot circular things of hay (there must be a word for them that I don't know) that the kids enjoyed touching/looking at.
We dried off from the muddy trip at 158 Main Restaurant & Bakery in Jeffersonville. It was VERY crowded, but worth the wait. The 158 burgers are excellent, and the kids menu is inexpensive but has plenty of choices and good size portions. They also serve my husband's favorite breakfast choice: Irish Eggs Benedict. Although the hash itself is better at Off Broadway Diner at home, the homemade hollandaise sauce is out of this world and so are the home-fries and freshly baked bread. The only bummer is that we told the kids we were going to a bakery, and they'd get a cupcake at the end of lunch, but because it is the "off" season, they weren't baking anything fun, unless you think bread is fun. One of the waitresses (secretly) suggested that we drive down the road to a little known deli (Cupboard Deli & Bakery 4837 Route 15, Jeffersonville, VT) because they always bake goodies. Sure enough, we got whoopie pies, huge cupcakes, and eclairs that were a huge hit with the kids. Regardless of the lack of cupcakes at 158 Main, we went back for breakfast on a Friday so that my husband could have a second helping of the Irish Benny and were thrilled to find out that they offer the same full menu, and there were plenty of seats and no wait.
Another couple and their two kids stayed with us from Saturday evening until Tuesday, so Sunday night, the men went to Magic Hat Brewery. According to them, it was not "family friendly" as the brochure proclaims and the best thing about the visit was the gift shop. I am not sure though because the website is pretty cool, the beer is delicious, and the men may have wanted to play down their kidless fun.
The wonderful family who came up for a few days gave my husband and me a date night. We went out to dinner at Hana Hibachi, a steak, sushi, and martini bar/restaurant in Stowe. It was worth every penny, but we wished that we had taken the kids to see the awesome show that they put on. Because the restaurant was not crowded, it would have been great with the kids. If it were more crowded, then they may have been overstimulated.
The next trip was probably THE best even though when we expected the GPS to say "take left" it said, "board ferry", which was confusing because we were in our car...on a road. The ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center on Lake Champlain was educational and extremely engaging for both our one year old and three year old. The variety was awesome: hands on activities, places to crawl into, water play, huge fish displays, and a "machine" room with all sorts of cool buttons to press and things to do.
There is an elevator, so we could have brought a stroller, but we didn't really need it. ECHO is open year round, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve & Day. Paid admission allows you to leave and re-enter ECHO as many times as you would like until 5 p.m., which is cool because there are SO many things to do in this area. Admission is 9.50 for adults, 7.50 for children ages 3 - 17, and 2 and under are free. There is full day parking available for $8.00, but we found a public parking lot around the corner behind the Ice House Restaurant by accident, so we parked there for $2.00. ECHO's Think! Café is open from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m, but we chose to eat at Ice House Restaurant.
The Ice House Restaurant's view of the Lake is awesome (I am shocked to see that they don't have a website...am I missing it?). It was a little to chilly for us to sit with the kids on their deck, but most people that afternoon were enjoying lunch and drinks on the deck. There is no kids' menu, but the kids shared a chicken quesadillia and fries. They brought out an actual high chair for our daughter, the kind that most people have at home, not the crappy wooden box kind that are stacked to the roof at most restaurants. Before we sat her in it, the man who brought it over (the bartender I think) decided that it wasn't clean enough (it really was fine), apologized, and wiped it down. As we looked at the lake out our awesome window view, our son "convinced" my husband that there is NOT a sea monster in there because sea monsters are "so fake". The waitstaff was very attentive and professional. They did not mind that we brought some juice boxes for the kids, and they did not express any displeasure to be waiting on a family with toddlers. Food was fabulous by the way! Calamari recommended!
After that excitement, we went to The Shed for lunch. A friend who lives in Vermont recommended the Shed Burger and Mountain Ale. We were NOT disappointed. My husband deemed the Shed Burger his #1 best burger of all time. We sat in the bright solarium, but the kids were not particularly impressed. The kids menu was great, prices were reasonable, and so was the beer sampler (presented on a ski) that my husband and I shared. This really would have been a better place for our "date night" that we had earlier in the week so that we could really enjoy those micro-brews that they make on site.
We ended our trip by eating a leisurely breakfast at the 158 Main Restaurant & Bakery in Jeffersonville after we checked out of our suite in the morning. In order to get the kids good and sleepy for the drive, we went back to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory Tour but skipped the tour and went straight to the playground. Once we had enough playing, we got the kids some ice cream. I got the most amazing frozen latte with the milk and cookies ice cream. It puts Starbucks to shame and was perfect for the drive home. We drove straight through without stopping, and the kids slept right through. We were worried that they might stay up really late because they slept for so long, but they were so tired from our week of activities that they ate dinner and were off to bed.
We would absolutely love to go back to Vermont, especially to Smuggler's Notch, during "peak" season, but this week was really perfect for our family. It was low stress, very inexpensive (except those bears), and filled with quality family time together.
