Back from Vermont

Everything about my trip to Vermont was amazing. The state has been bombarded all spring and summer with rain, but the sun came out and we had beautiful days my entire vacation. The plants are growing like crazy – my parent’s lilies are literally over 6’5” tall! I spoke with a local farmer who said crops are actually really hurting, because the rains have caused a 4-6 week delay in harvesting, and while plants are tall and green, the slow fruit protection is throwing a real curve ball in many locals’ incomes. But the easy going, friendly Vermonters just seemed happy the rain had subsided and the sun was shining.

The water levels in rivers are also insanely high, and all the rain has caused a lot of erosion of dams creating dangerous water conditions in many areas. My very first day of the trip I left Milly with her Polish Lowland Sheepdog (PONS) cousin Minka, her human aunt Amanda and human cousin Cecelia and went tubing with my boyfriend Bill and my brother Drew for a few hours. The river was insane! We hit many rapids, and in one spot Bill was actually stranded on debris in the river, with the cooler caught in rocks. The river was moving way too quickly for Drew and me to stop – we would grab onto low hanging branches that would 1) break off or 2) we’d get a hold of a large branch, only to have our tubes swept out from under us! It took us almost 30 minutes to get down stream to a safe beach to pull off on and wait for Bill. I use the word beach loosely as the place we pulled off on was actually someone’s yard, as their entire beach was submerged in 4’ of water! There were definitely moments where Drew and I were really worried that Bill would lose his tube in his efforts to get back on the river, and to make matters worse, the keys to both Bill and Drew’s cars were in our cooler, which was stranded along with Bill! Despite the rapid filled river and somewhat frightening water conditions, we were able to enjoy our tubing trip, and this is just proof to how relaxed and easy going Vermonters are. The rains have really caused a lot of problems for them, but the river was filled with locals (by filled I mean we passed three sets of people – so nothing like the “filled with tubers” my DC area readers can identify with from tubing excursions) and lots of smiles.

Minka has been great about sharing the house with new baby Cecelia!

If you have never been to Vermont you must go! It is a very dog friendly state, and there are so many wonderful outdoor activities to do with your four-legged friend. With the exception of mud-season, Vermont really makes you want to just get out and walk/hike! In February, Milly and I spent an entire day (with some indoor thawing sessions mixed in) hiking through the deep snow and across the frozen lake. She had a blast! But, she had just as much fun during our recent summer trip! She was able to run across grass filled fields, romp with neighborhood dogs, hike a small mountain and even go for a canoe ride. At one point she decided to apply her selective hearing, stop listening to me and darted to the local resort’s beach to frolic with the children catching minnows and crayfish! It was impossible to be mad at her for not listening when she was clearly having so much fun!

You can really see Milly's age in this photo, but she acted like a young puppy the entire trip! I think there is something very regal and wise about her expression in this shot.

We spent one day running errands in Burlington, a very dog friendly city, and I believe home of one of my favorite bloggers – Life with Dogs (correct me if I’m wrong). If you’ve never been to Burlington there is a lot to do! First, I suggest going to Church Street, a street with traffic blocked off that creates a large walking precinct filled with shops, restaurants, food carts, crafts, musicians and lots of dogs! I stopped counting at 30 dogs. You’ll also want to make sure you at the very least drive by Lake Champlain, but if you can make a day on this should-be Great Lake, I highly recommend it! We then hit up the Girlington Garage (owned by an old family friend), so if you make the trip to VT and have car trouble, this is the garage to go to! When we arrived at the Girlington Garage we were greeted by two adorable, friendly and blissfully happy toy breeds (I know one was a Yorkie, but I’m not sure what the other was). The Girlington Garage is wonderful – the vision is to have a six bay garage with all female auto mechanics, and it is well on the way to being a reality.

I am sure I will fill you in on so much more about my trip, but with out further ado, here are some photos taken by Bill for you to enjoy!

Beautiful sky in Greensboro, VT

Red barns are all over Greensboro, VT

We spent a large chunk of our time on Caspian Lake, here you can see the picturesque water, and the amazing horizon filled with wild-flower filled pastures.