Trapp Family Lodge - One of Vermont’s Finest - TRIP REPORT About This Page:

[MissMousey]

My computer apparently caught some kind of virus and has been locked up for a couple days so I haven’t been able to get to my pictures until tonight. I’m using another computer to post; and managed to save all my important documents and files thanks to an automatic backup system. Anyway, please send pixies and well wishes for my other computer’s recovery.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009


Up again around 7:30 a.m. – seems like a real pattern is emerging here. I am just not good at sleeping in. As a family we discussed the plans for the rest of the week, what things were left to do and which days they fit into best. After showers and breakfast (from the bakery again) we drove over to the main lodge to ask a few questions about the activities we were looking to experience. They were very helpful, giving us maps, writing out directions, and even calling ahead to one of the places to make sure someone would be there when we arrived. With my fistful of information, we drove down the hill heading to a glass blowing factory where you can watch pieces being made and shop in the gallery. The website showed many of the pieces and the colors and designs were magnificent-different color combinations and patterns. We plugged the address into our Garmin and 20 minutes later we arrive—only to find a “Closed” sign out front. Rats, I was really looking forward to this.

We proceeded to our next stop which was a short drive (in the opposite direction) to GlenMossFalls. We changed into our tennis shoes and headed off down the trail.




We were told there was a spectacular water fall not too far down the trail. We’re hoping we can find it. Within a few minutes we came upon a “Danger” sign indicating steep slopes to the left and a fork in the trail. We decided to go to the right first which took us down to a stream where parts of it had flowing water and other parts were dry rocks. The kids climbed right out on the rocks and started exploring. I pulled my camera out and hooked up the gorilla pod I bought which enables you to wrap it around whatever is nearby in order to use the self timer. I wrapped it around a tree branch, set it up, and then ran back to join them for a family picture.





Then we climbed back up to where the fork was to start the ascent to the left. Up, and up we went—huffing and puffing until we came upon this beautiful sight.






Then up and up some more until we were at the top. From here we could see all of Mt.Mansfield including the white restaurant where we had eaten lunch a few days before. We took some more pictures and then sat for a short break before heading back down.



About halfway down the kids asked if they could veer off over to the falls. I really wanted to go back to the stream to take some pictures with my DSLR which I only drag along for serious nature photos—otherwise I use a small point and shoot for ease of use. So DH offered to take them to the falls while I headed down with both cameras. They emerged upstream about 20 minutes later barefoot and in the water, carrying their shoes. They loved walking through the water, even though it was so cold it made your feet cramp up in the arches within a minute or so. I took off my shoes and socks joined them. We had to step out onto the warm(er) rocks often to keep our feet from cramping though. We took some more family pictures here before putting our shoes and socks back on and heading for the car.









We were hungry by now, so we decided to go to the only burger joint we had seen around town. It was called “Blue Donkey – Burgers on Boards”. We ordered our food and (since there were only counter stools inside) found a table outside. They bring the food to your table once it is ready. DH had a burger wrap, DS and I had cheeseburgers, DD had sliders (mini burgers) and we all shared orders of curly fries and Donkey Chips (freshly made potato chips). Here you order your fries or chips ‘by the potato’ which I thought wouldn’t get you very many. But I was very wrong! We had so many chips, we couldn’t even come close to finishing. So, we saved them and ate them for a snack later.

I was still kind of bummed about the glass blowing factory, so I asked DH if he would mind if we went and tried to visit another one I has seen listed on the resort map. It was down by the reservoir where we had planned to visit another day this week. When we go nearer however, the kids began begging to go there instead. I relented since the schedule wasn’t set in stone and we still had a few more days to get around to the glass studio.

We drove into the reservoir and came upon a park ranger type of office where you must pay admission. We paid $10 for the day. The kids really wanted to rent a canoe and the local outdoor shop has a little rental hut set up and offered canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, etc. We found out that the canoe only seats 2 adults or 1 adult with 2 kids. I graciously offered to stay ashore as baking in the sun isn’t my idea of fun and there was no shade to be found on the water in a canoe! We paid $30 for two hour canoe rental and once suited with life jackets, they headed out onto the water. I found a picnic table under a shade tree and sat to enjoy the beauty that surrounded us.











When DH brought the canoe back to shore so that the kids could change seats (one had a bench and the other had to sit on the floor) DD hopped out and came to find me. She really wanted to go out alone in the paddle boat. We asked the lady since she was only 12 and she said it would be fine. So we rented that for a half hour for $5.






It wasn’t long before I could tell everyone was getting hot and thirsty. We weren’t prepared since we had never been here before and didn’t really know what to expect. We probably should have brought some snacks/picnic lunch and a cooler of drinks with us and spend the whole day here. I decided to jump into the car and make a run for some drinks. When I returned with the drinks, our two hours was almost over. After everyone had hydrated they wanted to cool off in the shade. So we returned the rentals and headed for the benches again. DD really wished we had packed our bathing suits as there was a beach area that allowed swimming. But since we didn’t bring them, we sat in the shade and played Uno again. After a few games, we decided to head back to the guest house. We all changed into our bathing suits and headed to the fitness center to enjoy and pools and hot tub. There were no signs posted at the hot tub that prohibited children from entering. So we took the kids in with us and made sure they behaved. It was really HOT. But it felt great, and since it was outside facing the mountain, the views were incredible! The indoor pool was very big and heated (but not really warm). We hung out there for a few hours before heading back home.

At this point, nobody really wanted to get spiffied up for dinner so we decided that we would have a pancake night. I whipped up some pancakes for everyone, although DD opted for her leftover pizza instead. And of course, since pancakes didn’t really fill us up, I then made dessert. I put come of the pre-made, break and bake cookie dough in the bottom of 4 glass bowls and cooked them in the oven until they were still a little gooey in the middle. I pulled them out and scooped Ben & Jerry’s ice cream on top. The only thing missing was the hot fudge which we didn’t remember to buy at the store this week.

While we were all just hanging out DD found some puzzles in the closet and decided to try her hand at one of the Trapp Family Lodge. Also in the closet, DH found some old guest books for this house. The oldest book dated back to 1988. He found it really interesting to read through them making note that by now some of the kids who had written entries in the book were 21 years older. Dh and the kids lit another fire in the wood stove, but honestly it wasn’t really cold enough this night and it made the house a little too warm. This was easily fixed though by opening the porch door a little to let in the cool night air. Soon enough we were all off to bed for the night.

[hoosiermomma2]

Sounds awesome! I know, I'm repetitive...but it really does sound great to me.

[JoanW]

This all sounds fantastic. I started googling everything you did, making a little list for myself as a possible trip for us. I am a huge Sound of Music fan and this has been a dream of mine for years to visit.

[Colexis Mom]

Another great day! Love the pictures!!

[pamcarey]

Sounds like a great day! What a gorgeous waterfall!

[MissMousey]

Originally Posted by chezp

Looks like another great day.

Thanks Cheryl--it was a great day!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Congrats on buying into the villa! Great pictures of the day and all the tours!

Thank you so much! We're still very excited about our new 'home'. Glad you're enjoying all the pictures.

Originally Posted by jagmom08

Your trip sounds so relaxing!

It was just what we needed on the heels of an emotional week.

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Sounds like a great day! Ben & Jerry's tour.... been there, done that... yummm!!

Cool

Originally Posted by hoosiermomma2

Sounds awesome! I know, I'm repetitive...but it really does sound great to me.

This was by far our best vacation to date!

Originally Posted by JoanW

This all sounds fantastic. I started googling everything you did, making a little list for myself as a possible trip for us. I am a huge Sound of Music fan and this has been a dream of mine for years to visit.

Oh, you have to go then. Hope you love it as much as we did!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Another great day! Love the pictures!!

Thanks again

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Sounds like a great day! What a gorgeous waterfall!

It was beautiful--and huge. The pictures can't completely portray its beauty.

[chezp]

Once again, it looks like a beautiful day and the waterfall was stunning.

[MGW]

Sounds like you all are having a great time! Love all the outdoor acitivities! Are you all usually so outdoorsy? Or was this just a great spot to be outdoors?

[MissMousey]

Originally Posted by chezp

Once again, it looks like a beautiful day and the waterfall was stunning.

Thanks

Originally Posted by MGW

Sounds like you all are having a great time! Love all the outdoor acitivities! Are you all usually so outdoorsy? Or was this just a great spot to be outdoors?

That's the funny thing, we're not normally the outdoorsy type. But the weather and scenery were just so perfect it drew us outside. We didn't want to be inside because we'd be missing the spectacular views and cool, fall air.

[MissMousey]

Thursday, September 3, 2009


Today we had planned to get an early start because we were heading to Burlington which is about 30-40 minute drive from the resort for a factory tour and a scenic cruise on Lake Champlain. So as we awoke we each headed straight for the showers. Everyone was clean, dressed and ready to go by 9:45 a.m. Of course we were all hungry so we decided to keep our eyes open for one of the familiar restaurants (IHOP, Denny’s, Mc D’s) along the way so that we stop for breakfast. But before we found a place to stop we had reached out exit. So we got off the interstate and were heading toward the factory when someone spotted a Dunkin Donuts. While not our first choice, we were so hungry we decided to stop there anyway. DD had ham and cheese bagel sandwich, I had a croissant and egg sandwich and DH and DS chose donuts. Finally we can head over to the factory—the chocolate factory that is! They give ‘tours’ every hour on the hour and we had just missed the 11 a.m. tour start time. Oh well, we’re on vacation time right? This just meant we had 45 minutes to shop in the store, examining all the chocolates, truffles, and souvenirs. We managed to make a few purchases of course. DD and I each got a t-shirt, DS picked a few plain organic milk chocolate bars and some peanut butter cups. And then I remembered I had found some coupons back at the resort which entitled us to free truffles based on the amount of purchases. We wound up with 6 free truffles!



The ‘tour’ was very interesting, but it wasn’t really a ‘tour’ in my opinion. They have a guide that goes over the whole process of chocolate making from tree to bean and then to finished product, but you are seated at some tables in front of a big wall of glass that overlooks the factory floor. You can see in, but they don’t actually take you down there. I guess this day in age they have to be careful that everything remains as sterile as possible, so only workers are allowed in the factory. It was neat to see all the equipment, but I was really hoping to see the big factory belt moving along with chocolates coming out the other side and workers putting them into boxes, etc. My vision was like that episode of I Love Lucy where Ethel and Lucy worked in the chocolate factory and they couldn’t keep up. Remember that episode?

the enrober...


thanksgiving turkey - place card holders




workers placing maple toffee into molded squares


made entirely of chocolate...



After that was over, my DS who had only eaten donuts was hungry again. So we stopped and bought him a sandwich and then headed a few exits down the interstate to go into downtown Burlington. It is a college town (University of Vermont) and the campus takes up much of the city. We drove though and made our way to the King Street docking area and parked our car in the lot. There were several cruises that leave from here and they were plenty of private boat slips as well. We made our way over to the window for “Northern Lights” cruise and purchased our tickets for the 2 p.m. cruise which includes a narrated tour—part pre-recorded and part live. They also offer lunch and dinner cruises as well as a Sunday brunch cruise, but since I have picky eaters in my family I opted for the non-food cruise. We were told the boat would be arriving back from it’s previous cruise shortly and we would board in about 45 minutes.





There was a nice restaurant/bar right at the edge of the dock where we could have eaten if we wanted, but we weren’t hungry.

the restaurant



We finally boarded about 1:45 p.m. and headed for the upper level, under the canopy where they have two rows of back to back upholstered benches lined up in the center. We claimed our spot and began taking some pictures. The lower level of the boat is a large banquet type of room where they have many rows of long tables covered with tablecloths. This must be where they do the meals. There was also a bar where you could purchase drinks and snacks which were available on all cruises and we sure made use of it because they offered ‘free refills’ on drinks and the kids liked that a lot!

our boat



We pulled away at 2p.m. and made a big 2 to 3 mile slow loop down on side and back up the other while listening to the narration. The boat slowed to a crawl at several places so that you could both listen and look at the sites being discussed. We found the slow pace along with the gentle swaying of the boat, and the engine noise to be very relaxing.



Burlington from the lake


Lake Champlain







The boat returned us back to the dock about 3:30 just as what appeared to be a sailing team was heading into the water. There must have been 30 or more small sail boats with two person teams scattered in the lake by the dock.

Now we had a choice to make since we had completed the two things I had planned for us to do. We debated going to the Champlain Valley Fair which just happened to be going on the week we were there, but the kids feared that they would be too old for most of the kiddie rides and so they didn’t have any interest in going. So we decided to head back towards Stowe. Then I remembered that we still hadn’t made it to the glass blowing studio so I asked DH to stop off there on the way back to the guest house since it was right on the way.

We arrived at the glass blowing studio and went inside to find an older gentleman and an assistant creating some beautiful blue and clear swirl-striped champagne flutes. What an art this is. It really was fascinating to watch a big blob of molten glass turn into something so elegant. We looked around the gallery a while, but didn’t find anything we just had to have. And I was a little nervous to take anything back anyway since we were flying and would have to pack or hand carry it all the way home.

We headed back to the house to relax for a while. DH took a few work calls while DS played on the laptop. Soon enough it was dinner time and we all wanted to go to the Japanese Steak House we had passed on every trip to and from TFL. But first I needed to do a load of laundry because it was going to be warm again tomorrow and each of us only brought one pair of shorts/Capri pants with us. The weather report predicted that it wouldn’t get above 73 degrees the whole week. But this was now our third day of 80+ degree weather. I ran over to the laundry room and put two loads in. I do not like coming home from a trip and finding myself buried in laundry, so I try to keep up with it during the week. Once I returned, about an hour later, we headed out to dinner.

We arrived at the Japanese Steak House and as we were walking up the stairs, DD’s big toe caught the edge of the top slate step and tore open. As you might imagine it wasn’t pretty. We raced her inside to the bathroom while simultaneously asking the hostess if she could find a few band-aids. DD has a tendency to faint upon the sight of wounds, so I was a little worried. I washed and bandaged it for her and she managed not to faint. Then we finally headed to the table to join DH and DS. Normally at a restaurant like this we will share meals. DH and DS share and DD and I share an entrée. But we noticed that the menu said “No sharing please”. I inquired about this when the waiter came to take our order. Luckily he said it would be okay if we shared tonight since it was not busy (there were only two other tables occupied) and this rule was mainly meant for peak travel/tourism weeks. The food was very good, in fact DH said it was his most enjoyable meal of the week. We talked about going somewhere to grab some dessert, but instead decided to make some more cookie sundaes back at the house so we could watch Big Brother 11 on television. Can you tell that I’m a big reality tv junkie? After the show was over, we all headed off to bed.

[chezp]

The tour and the cruise both looked really interesting.

[JoanW]

The water looks wonderful, and clean too. I was surprised by the size of the city too.

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you had a great time in Burlington and a great dinner! Pixies for DD's toe!

[pamcarey]

Sounds like a great day! Lake Champlain is very pretty.

[CinderAbby]

Just getting caught back up. It's a shame the chocolate factory tour really wasn't a tour. I would have been bummed too. Your cruise on Lake Champlain sounds really relaxing and just the right amount of time too (not too long but not too short). I'm glad you got to go back to the glass blowing. They used to have a place at DTD (long before it was even called DTD) that did things like that. I don't know if they do anymore. Sorry your daughter got hurt but thankfully you acted quick and kept her from fainting. And what kind of policy is no sharing - that's not very consumer friendly IMO.

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