Much to my family's chagrin, I don't ski and have no desire to start. So whenever we head up to Killington, Vermont (which we've been doing regularly for the past three years), there's an awful lot of "encouraging" (some might call it "pestering") that is aimed in my direction.
"But Mom...you would LOVE the views! You would go crazy taking pictures!"
"Mom, don't you miss us all day? It would be a lot more fun if we could all be together on the mountain!"
Truth be told, I do enjoy the days all to myself, exploring neighboring towns with my camera. (It should be noted that "neighboring towns" in Vermont are sometimes an hour's drive away. Luckily, those drives are scenic.) I had good fun going back to Manchester, which has one of my favorite places to spend a whole afternoon, Northshire Bookstore. I also discovered Woodstock during this trip, which is a thoroughly charming town with lots of galleries, antique stores, very old homes, a covered bridge, little boutiques, and (you guessed it) a good bookstore.
It was about five days into the vacation when my husband hatched an "evil genius plan." He bought me a gondola ticket so I could ride up (in street clothes) to the peak lodge at Killington and have lunch with him and the kids at the top of the mountain. They all wanted me to see exactly what I was missing.
At first, the plan seemed to backfire. We were completely fogged in and the "view" out the window was non-existent.
But then...(dramatic pause)...the fog lifted.
And I could finally see what my family had been so excited about. The views were spectacular, no way to deny it.
So, will I try skiing? Okay already--YES! Especially after my husband suggested that he and my daughter would learn to snowboard and my son (who is already a snowboarder) would learn to ski, so we would all be novices together. (Genius, I tell ya!) My family is feverishly planning our next trip to the mountains before I change my mind.
I hear the view is great from the bunny slope!
**********************
Before you go, don't forget to sign up for "Writing with Light", my free monthly letter that's all about my favorite photography tricks, creative inspirations, and upcoming photography courses (with exclusive discounts)...
Last week, our family was back on the slopes of Killington, Vermont--or rather, they were on the slopes and I was firmly down on the ground, exploring old bookstores and snapping pictures. I've said it before (and my kids still can't believe it), but I have no interest in skiing. Zero, zilch, nada. It's just an instinctive "nope!" for me, the way some people would say they'd never-in-a-million-years want to go sky-diving (which, strangely enough, I'd probably try before skiing).
The pictures above represent Vermont to me: Wide open spaces. Rolling hills and looming mountains. Red barns and white houses. Charming towns without "overly precious" pretensions. I'd be driving down a lonesome highway between the mountains and spot something (so many things!) too hard to pass up, picture-wise. Back I'd go, turning the car around for another impromptu photo shoot. That's how Vermont is: Pure beauty that keeps luring you back.
And how sweet are those little yellow and red cabins pictured above?! That's the Casablanca Motel, outside Wallingford. I'm definitely going back there for more pictures. It seemed like it was straight out of another (much less complicated) era.
All in all, it was a picture-perfect week. I hope yours was just as lovely.
*************************************************
Enrollment is now OPEN for my next online photography course running in March 2016:
Even if you're not a U.S. history buff, I'm betting you know about Abraham Lincoln's humble beginnings in a log cabin. So you might be surprised to hear that his son, Robert Todd Lincoln, owned a magnificent 24-room house built on 412 sprawling acres in Manchester, Vermont. It's called Hildene, and I had the pleasure of visiting it last month.
If you've been reading this blog for a while (thank you!), then you already know from my post about Edith Wharton's house that I'm in HEAVEN if I'm allowed to roam around a turn-of-the-century home all by myself, to take pictures at leisure. And just like at Edith Wharton's house, I had free range to roam and snap at the Lincoln house. During the winter months, you can take a self-guided tour of Hildene. There are gracious staff members on the premises to introduce you to the property and answer any questions, but basically, you're on your own. (Just the way I like it!)
Robert Todd Lincoln, the only child of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln to survive to adulthood, had this Georgian Revival mansion built in 1905 and it was the private summer home of Lincoln descendants until 1975.
Robert was the Chairman of the Pullman Company, the largest manufacturing corporation at the turn of the 20th century. You can walk through a beautifully restored 10-section Pullman car, the "Sunbeam", tucked into the woods of the estate. It's the same Pullman car that was used by President William McKinley and President Theodore Roosevelt.
Pretty grand, don't you think? It was interesting, though, to read the historical details provided outside of the Sunbeam, telling about how many of the recently freed slaves became hard-working porters at Pullman, serving the wealthy passengers who used Pullman cars for their travel. The porters formed the first all-black union, which was instrumental to the Civil Rights Movement.
The class divide is in evidence inside the mansion, too. The Lincolns employed 15 full-time servants, and the difference between the servants' quarters and the family's living quarters is striking. Not that the servants were living in hardship--far from it! Their quarters were comfortable and quite pleasant, but on a different level entirely from the Lincolns. I felt like I had stepped into the "upstairs/downstairs" world of Downton Abbey! Can't you just picture Anna or Mrs. Hughes wearing the maid's uniform below?
Here's a corner of the grand entry hall...
And here's Mrs. Lincoln's sitting room...
Mrs. Lincoln's bedroom is below...
For contrast, here's a servant's bedroom, below:
First picture below, the Lincoln family dining room. Second picture below, the servants' dining room. (Quite a difference, no?)
I really enjoyed photographing the servants' quarters--the way the rooms were styled was very warm and comfortable. I could clearly picture "life being lived" there. First picture below: A view of the kitchen. Second picture below: The pantry.
An ancestor of the cell phone, below...
The view from the house wasn't too shabby, either! The formal gardens were covered in a blanket of snow, but look at this majestic view of the Green Mountains...
As you can see, the Hildene estate is a far cry from Abraham Lincoln's modest log cabin--and that's a grand understatement!
Thank you kindly to the wonderful staff at Hildene, who were very knowledgeable and accommodating during my visit. I'd be remiss if I didn't note on this green blog that Hildene practices land conservation and sustainability, in addition to their historic preservation. For more information on Hildene, please visit www.hildene.org.
Last week, my family went skiing in Killington, Vermont--or to be more specific, my husband and daughter went skiing, my son went snow-boarding, and I went off in search of things to do in Vermont as a non-skier who has absolutely ZERO interest in careening down a mountain!
I did, in fact, find lots of non-skiing things to do in the Green Mountain State--towns and landmarks to explore with my camera. Granted, they were all about an hour's drive away from where we were staying in Killington! But I learned that's just how it is in Vermont: towns are sparse and spread out. You can drive for ages and see only a couple of other cars on the road. It was very peaceful, though--lots of time for quiet reflection, plus Bach's Cello Suites (perfect soundtrack for the picturesque landscape).
Here's what else I learned about Vermont during my week up north:
1. NO BILLBOARDS!Vermont banned billboards in 1968. It's so refreshing to drive around a state that's advertising-free and just admire the natural beauty. Mountains and forests, unblemished by splashy slogans and sales pitches.
View from Hildene, Manchester
2. The unofficial colors for houses and barns seem to be white, brick-red, and rustic wood. Occasionally, you might see a yellow house, but any other color is rare. It sort of feels like a private school with uniforms--very neat and buttoned-up!
3. "New England Manners" are in full effect. Staff members at restaurants and hotels are super-friendly, gracious, and helpful, but otherwise, Vermonters pleasantly keep to themselves. If you happen to pass a person on the street, he or she might smile a little, but rarely are "hellos" exchanged. (I'm from Connecticut, so it wasn't that odd for me.)
The Old Tavern, Grafton
4. The winter weather is NOT fooling around! You don't know what "cold" is until you're checking into a hotel in the mountains at night when it's -12 degrees F and a gale wind is hitting you in the face with ice crystals. Toughens you right up!
5. The Northshire Bookstore in Manchester is a must-visit stop! It's now my second favorite bookstore in the whole wide world (right after Strand Books in New York City). Ten thousand square feet of books (some secondhand--very green!), handcrafted gifts, frequent author events, a cafe, artsy parents reading to their precocious children on big, comfy couches... heavenly!
6. Main Streets are mainly deserted. You can walk right down the middle of Main Street in quiet towns like Grafton (pictured below) and hear yourself breathing. Little to no traffic!
7. The Ben & Jerry's Factory in Burlington doesn't make ice cream on holidays or weekends (we were there on President's Day), but you can still take the factory tour and get a free ice cream sample at the end. (We sampled triple caramel chunk--triple YUM!!!)
8. Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, had a very grand summer home in Manchester, called Hildene. (That's an upcoming post--just too many gorgeous photographs of Hildene to squeeze in here!)
9. President Calvin Coolidge's grave (in Plymouth Notch) is in a cemetery across the road from the house where he was born. (How many people, famous or not, can you say that about?)
10. The icicles in Vermont can run from the roof to the ground!
11. You'll see signs in Vermont that you just won't see further south, such as "Moose Crossing" and this one:
12. Sub-zero temperatures don't stop Vermont residents. Snow plow crews seem to be perpetually out on the roads, and Vermonters just bundle up and go on their merry way. I adapted to that mindset during our stay. Although I had no burning desire to go outdoors in -8 degree weather on one of our vacation days, I pushed myself to do it and found three quaint covered bridges in Bennington. (Worth fighting the fear of frostbite!)
Henry Bridge, Bennington
Here are a few more fun things to do in Vermont if you don't ski--all of which I did this past week while my family was on the slopes:
Visit the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. (See where "The Sound of Music" kids ended up in real life, after their time in Austria.)
See Robert Frost's house in Shaftsbury. (It's closed for the winter season, but I still wanted to see where one of my favorite poets lived. He wrote "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" at this house...in the summer!)
Tour the campus of Bennington College. (A mix of colonial and super-slick modern architecture in a rural setting.)
Catch my latest posts by subscribing (at the right), "liking" my Facebook page, following me on Twitter, or circling me on Google+. (That last one is my favorite place to share--check it out!)
Hot mulled cider with cinnamon sticks... Hot cocoa with mini marshmallows... Homemade chicken soup, wafting from the stovetop... Herbal tea in a big mug, while reading a good book under the thickest throw blanket in the house...
We all have our favorite little rewards to congratulate ourselves for making it through the chilliest winter days. What are yours?
P.S. Next post: My favorite snaps from picturesque Vermont!
P.P.S. Two recipes to warm you up are included in the "Related Articles" section below--don't they look yummy?!
