Vermont/Boston Road Trip Part 1

By the looks of this blog, 2014 has been pretty lame. In reality it's been a little crazy. Jan 1 was actually an absolutely amazing day. Then life got in the way. There were a few fun times, but for the most part it was all work. Both career work and prep work. We were quite busy in January and I'm trying to get rid of my other editor - who is just simply not cut out for this job. I also had two vacations to finalize plans for in February. Then I was a little depressed with my little brother's continued struggles. But bad times will always come and go. The only way to get through them is to have fun when you can.

It's not really a resolution, since travel is a goal I make every year, but 2014 should prove to be pretty exciting in terms of getting out there. It's a small challenge to see how many states/countries I can visit in one year. First up: a small weekend covering 3 states.

Another small goal this year was to not be afraid of winter. It's usually when I hibernate but I wanted to try and do some small cold hikes (thought not yet ready for below freezing hikes) and possibly try out snowshoeing. Well, I have succeeded so far. And this trip was to help further that along.

We flew into Boston Thursday night because it was the cheapest means of travel. I got to experience flying over New York City at night - which was pretty damn amazing - and flying into Boston when all you see is the black abyss over the harbor - not as amazing. Last time I flew into Boston I had rum in me and it was daylight. At night it looks like you're flying into death. (ok, that's a little dramatic, but landing near water is freaky).

I was forced to rent an SUV since we were traveling in snow and I wanted 4 wheel drive. Well, turns out, I might like SUVs a little. My car struggle has resurfaced. I had settled on a Camry but now I'm wondering if I should revisit the Subaru. I had a lot of fun in the snow :)

Anyway, we stayed in New Hampshire that night and I got very angry with a cold room. The heat was set on 50 when we arrived and it took forever for it to warm up. But we survived. Also, there was a small dance party in the bathroom, which was almost as big as the room itself. They need to revisit their floorplans at that hotel. 

Friday morning was the rest of the drive to Killington, VT. It was a fantastic drive through mountains and new country. There were quaint little towns and frozen rivers. I was super pleased.

And, there were snowshoes.

I have been debating whether to buy some snowshoes. They aren't that expensive, but we don't really get enough snow to justify them. But again, with my goal to get out more in winter, they would be helpful. Not so much on nearby trails, but if I get out to the mountains more they would be good to have. If I get them I'm obligated to use them, right?

So we went on a test run. We did a few miles, mostly flat trails but I went off road to see how the shoes fared on hills. And I loved it. I could hike in deep snow without sliding all around.

Also, in Vermont the lakes freeze. And not just a little bit of slush. The freeze so well you can walk across them. I was a little nervous about this since it's pretty rare that you find ice that thick in Maryland, but it was legit. We even saw snowmobile tracks at one point, so if they aren't crashing through into an ice-cold lake, then my little self certainly won't break through. we even saw places were people had been ice fishing.