Vermont in the Fall; Peek Leaves

Vermont

Fall- September 2021 (Pictures are out of order and I cant figure out how to move them.)

During the summer, my friend Chris told me about needing people to help with her place of employment. She works as a chaperone for individuals with disabilities on trips. I thought this was right up my alley, and informed her I was available pretty much anytime. We connected in September, and this was my first trip with the company; Tulip Travel. 

Everyone met at the office and once we had checked in we were on our way to Vermont. On the way, we stopped at McDonalds and had lunch in the picnic area. 

So, I don't get paid for this position rather I get to enjoy the opportunities that the individuals have for their vacations. For the most part I assist in any travel supports (transportation/assist in walking or wheelchairs), support in hygigne support if needed, support the individuals in having an amazing vacation. 

We started the vacation at the hotel and everyone got settled in. 

Then we headed out and about to enjoy the Autum leaves, get some maple syrup and embrace the fall season. 

Our first stop was at this quaint farm. We all enjoyed the farm animals before heading to the corn maze.

Some of the travelers petted these goats. They are so cute.

The animals were so stinking cute. I just loved the baby calf.
 He had to be my favorite. 

Hathaway Farms was the name of this place. They had all kinds of fun things to do like hay rides, snacks and the like, but we got there just minutes before closing. 

We were able to do the corn maze and enjoy the grounds, but everything else was closed up for the day.

I took one of the travelers in the corn maze who was blind. I had him instruct me on which way we should turn. We got a little lost, but had fun trying to find the exit.

The sun setting over the mountains was lovely. It was during this time that I got a better awareness of the travelers and what supports they might need on the trip. We had about 20 travelers and the chaperones included; Me, Chris, Annette and Leo. This was the first time I had met Annette and we sure hit it off. She is so like me and we had so much fun.

We had dinner at Applebee's before heading back to the hotel. 

The following day we headed to Burlington VT to partake in some Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. That morning I got my first reality check about traveling with a large group, COVID and finding dining. We struggled to find a place for all of us to eat breakfast. McDonalds would be easy and welcomed, but due to (COVID? Staffing?) the dining room was not open. (I see this more and more on future trips and it does become frustrating) 

We ended up eating at Johnny Boys Pancake House. Much better than McDonalds, but it took so much more time than expected and we got to our destination pretty late. 

When we finally made it the place was packed! I'm not sure what was going on this weekend, but most of the places we visited were overcrowded for a late week in September. I guess we picked the best time to come for the leaves. As it turned out the weekend was incredibly beautiful and the weather couldn't be beat. (I digress)

We made it to Ben and Jerry's. We all got out of the vans and made our way to the attractions. (The last time I was here, which was at least 10 years ago, we had gone on the ice cream tour and got free ice cream at the end as well as spending some time in the gift store and the Ice Cream graveyard.) 

The tour was not open as well as the store due to COVID.  So nearly all of the visitors were forced to be in the same small areas. The travelers love to shop, so we did our best to shop at the little outdoor store located near the side areas. There was a wait time of up to 1 hour to get ice cream and none of it was free. 

After several bathroom breaks. (This happens a lot with this population of people). We made it to the line for ice cream. 

I ended up getting a flavor I have never heard of; it was called Netflix and Chill. It had peanutbutter, pretzels and caramel. It was pretty yummy. This ended up being our lunch and since we had such a big breakfast it made the most sense. 

We were scheduled to go on a boat ride along lake Champaigne, but unfortunately, we were so late getting to the area and there was still another hourish drive to the boats we were not able to do it. I was a little crushed as I had not stopped talking about "Champ". I was sure we would see him swimming in the lake while we toured. I had also HOPED to see a Moose. Afterall, there are moose in Vermont are there not. No moose, but Annette and I a Bald Eagle. SCORE!!!!  

And we just could not get enough of the beauty surrounding us in the hills and country side. 

We spent the afternoon driving along the backroads admiring the leaves as they were changing. It was incredible. I simply loved this part of the trip. We went into Green Mountain National Forest, which gave us some of the best mountains and the even better leaves. 

Just incredible!

We had dinner at Pizza Hut. I haven't had pizza hut in a long time. It was fun. What an amazing day.

On our last day, we went shopping before heading home. 

We went shopping at the Vermont Store. It was insane how packed this place was. There were actually buses that came in to drop people off here. I guess this is the thing to do. I got a magnet with a moose on it since I never saw one. We also had some fresh made apple cider from the tasting tank. 

We all made it back to home safe and sound. It was a great adventure and it started me off on several future trips with Tulip Travels. TTFN