Road Trip

There have been so very many road trips. Road trips to New York, NY, Washington DC, the mountains in NH, various Canadian destinations, Vermont, western Massachusetts, One crazy drive home from Indiana, and multiple epic drives to Florida and back. 

So many road trips, but unlike most of these “pick one” sort of prompts, I am actually going to only pick one to focus on. It was fourth of July weekend in 2008 and Jen and I had tickets to see Rush in Saratoga Springs, NY. A road trip was required. It was our first venture into Vermont together as well as our first visit to upstate New York. We made a bunch of noteworthy stops including one extra special landmark on the way.

First was Quechee Gorge which is on Route 4 in Vermont, not far from the New Hampshire state line. The view was fantastic and we’ve been back a few times just to check in and make sure the sites are still glorious. They are.

Just a ways down route 4 you come to the second notable landmark. This one is super important. Woodstock, VT. We were so taken with this little town that we agreed we would move there when we retired (we probably won’t, but I’m still game if Jen is), and it ended up being the first stop on our honeymoon. We spent our wedding night in a bed in breakfast in town and it was everything we hoped it would be. I absolutely love this town, and every time we drive up to see the kids I want to stop and visit even if we just drive through. I love Woodstock, VT.

One other important spot from this drive was in New York. It’s a place we talked about revisiting at the time but still haven’t managed to return to yet. Lake George. We had one spot overlooking the lake that was just spectacular and put it on our vacation to-do list. Maybe this summer? What do you think, Jen?

Eventually we made it to Lake Champlain which, while maybe not as scenic as Lake George, offered us one touristy spot that we’ve actually gone back to at least once. Fort Ticonderoga. The fort played a role in both the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and the American Revolution (1775-1783). The fort is a great place to visit (including the public gardens attached to it) and the views are pretty amazing. I am willing to stop there any time we’re in the neighborhood.

The final noteworthy landmark on this road trip, apart from the simple fact that road tripping through rural Vermont is just freakin’ gorgeous, was taking a ferry across Lake Champlain. We’ve done this for fun a couple of times since. It sounds silly, but I’ll do it every time we’re nearby. 

Finally, there was that Rush concert I mentioned. It was on the second leg of the Snakes and Arrows tour and it was an amazing show. We sat in the back of the balcony (it was either the back row or the second to last row… I think it was second to last) and it didn’t matter that we were nine miles away from the stage. It was perfect.

And there you have it, kids. Highlights from one particular road trip. I could have focused on a dozen others as we tend to road trip a lot. This one was special though as it was the inspiration for our wedding night location and I will always love it for that reason.