LittleBird

So, here we are in Cuba, Missouri. We crossed over the Mississippi last night around 7:30pm, St. Louis was very cool. Tons of roads looping around, the arch, and some very cool skeleton buildings covered in graffiti. We wished it was slightly earlier in the day so we could have a little better light for picture taking, but we also managed to get some very cool shots of the city with the lights blurring across the image. We'll post them when we get to our next destination. Drove through tons of strange strange places...we have lots of pictures. Milo, our corgi, is being great in the car, sleeping most of the journey and playing at rest stops. People love this kid and he's a ham for the attention. So far it's been a great ride. We'll ... read more

I wanted to take some time to summarize our trip, from the traveler's perspective. Also, attached to this post are some photo highlights from our trip. I highly recommend the village of Stowe, and Mt. Mansfield, for a ski vacation. For anyone who lives in a city, or is overrun with commercialization, advertising, and everything else that accompanies a fast-paced lifestyle, Stowe is a refuge. The village is flavored by plenty of old-style shops (like Stowe Mercantile) and plenty of old-world charm. From its quiet Main Street with Town Hall, Church, and Visitor's Center all in a row, to its precision crafts-men and women, to its comfortable and inviting "everyone's-a-local" atmosphere. I speak for, at the very least, Jess and I when I say that we felt rejuvenated from all the stress and anxiety of city ... read more

January 7th, 2009 Today was our last day skiing. With my calves nearly non-functional, and Jess' knee partially swollen, we started our day off with two bowls of medicine cabinet salad and decided to take it easy on the mountain today. Both of these "injuries" proved more-or-less harmless, as my calves were rendered unnecessary by the height of the ski boots (as anyone who has skied will agree, you can't really use your calves for skiing), and the swelling around Jess' knee actually helped to hold it in place. (quick note of excited personla accomplishment from Jess: "I got both my boots on all by myself today!) When we arrived at the mountain, we elected to spend the majority of our day on Spruce peak, Mansfield's sister-summit, so to speak. It is smaller, but still ... read more

January 5th, 2009 *Quick addendum to last night* Last night after logging our journal entry, we went for a walk around our lodge grounds at night. We had a snowball fight, made snow angels, and re-enacted the scene from Eternal Sunshine when they lied under the stars on the frozen lake. On our way back to the room, I ran off up a hill, and was pleasantly surprised to find sleds there! I called Jess up and we rode sleds at midnight! Dear Golden Eagle Lodge - that may be your most underrated amenity! So with that taken care of, let me tell you about our first day with our new friend, Mount Mansfield. I woke up at six, but Jess was not interested in getting up, in her own words, "before the ass-crack of ... read more

January 3rd, 2009 Today we woke up and were greeted by 4" of fresh snow! Too bad our skiing destination was over 6 hours from where we were. We got out of bed and enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared by Jess' aunt and uncle. After a cup of tea, I went out to clean off the car and get us re-packed. I loaded up the car, and with a little help from Jess' uncle, we got rolling out the driveway and we were off on our way. Stowe, here we come! The snow made us both very smiley, and we were both getting very excited. After what seemed like decades of driving, we finally crossed the border (rather un-dramatically, given the one tiny sign that welcomed us to Vermont) into the state of our destination. Only ... read more