RVan◦◦◦OurVan

After our hiccup in Stamford and New Rochelle we've begrudgingly come to learn that our idea of a free-spirited van life actually comes with a lot of restraints, restrictions and calls for a lot of planning. Our eyes were opened and we weren't interested in risking it during our next trip to Vermont and New Hampshire. We decided to bite the bullet and do some research - it took all of one hour and completely eased our minds. Lesson learned.

Why Vermont and New Hampshire? We knew we wanted to have a fall trip to the New England area to see the foliage and do festive activities. Chris attended New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire his freshman year before transferring to Rutgers. He had a lot of great memories there and made a lot of friends who he still keeps in contact with today. He seemed to remember going to a pumpkin festival his freshman year and it being something to see. It just so happened that there was a pumpkin festival happening in Laconia, New Hampshire during that same weekend. We decided to base our weekend off of the pumpkin festival and also hit Stowe, Vermont while we were in the area.

Friday, Chris and I both worked from home in order to have the closest 5:00 departure possible. Unfortunately the night before, it was brought to our attention that we had a flat tire. We spent Thursday night fixing the extender valve on the tire and Friday checking, double-checking and triple checking before we hit the road. Our destination? Little River State Park in Waterbury Vermont, just minutes from Stowe.

Remember how I mentioned we'd called ahead and booked a campsite? Right, well we were well intended but this particular state park only takes reservations for two or more nights and we were only staying one. We were told there were several spots still available but that it was a first come first serve basis. So, in our typical fashion, we risked it. In our defense, at least we had a destination this go around. So onward we went, to Little River.

Upon arrival we were hit with several NO VACANCY signs. Tired and but determined we continued down the bumpy path to the main lodging area. What were we expecting? A spot to suddenly open up? Absolutely. And did one open up? Absolutely not. With our tails between our legs we turned the RVan around. However on our way out we noticed a trailhead parking lot with one lone conversion van tucked away. Being that it was nearly midnight we decided to, yes, you guessed it, risk it and stay in the parking lot over night. We were lucky to have slept safely and soundly throughout the night without any strangers banging on our door. When I woke up in the morning to make coffee and run the heater I peaked out the window to see what our campsite actually looked like. It was beautiful. Hearty trees surrounded us in their prime of turning for the season. The sun was strong and a light fog scattered on the ground meeting the early morning dew.

Once we were up and moving we headed towards Stowe for a light breakfast. Our plan for the day was to hit the Alchemist Brewery for their infamous Heady Topper beer. Chris had been to Stowe 5 or so times in the hunt for this particular beer in the past and each time the entire town was sold out. It's so popular that they actually put a limit on how many 4-packs a person can buy at a time: 2! Before heading to the brewery we stopped in a convenience store and saw that they had Heady Topper in stock. We bought a few packs (4) and made our way to the brewery for more. As we were waiting in line to enter the brewery Chris and I felt two warm arms embrace us. We whipped around to see a family friend of ours - such a nice surprise! We caught up momentarily before heading into the brewery for a self-guided tour and some tastings.

After the brewery the initial plan was to head to Laconia for the pumpkin festival but on our way out I saw signs for the Trapp Family Lodge - the family that The Sound of Music is based on. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the lodge in person, as The Sound of Music is a favorite film in our house.

The von Trapp family fled Salzburg, Austria to escape the Nazis. The day following their escape the Austrian borders were sealed. Interestingly, during World War II, Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler used the von Trapp’s villa as a summer residence. The history is unbelievable. The family eventually settled in Stowe, Vermont, on 'an enchanted farm with sweeping mountain vistas reminiscent of their beloved Austria' and built the Trapp Family Lodge. When you stand outside of the lodge you can see just why the family fell in love with the land and why it felt so close to home.

After having our Sound of Music moment we hopped back in the RVan and made our way towards Laconia for the pumpkin festival. It was a cute festival with a tower of carved pumpkins, hot apple cider and all of the bags of kettle corn you could ask for. After the festival we stopped in Concord, New Hampshire to pick up some food before heading to our reserved campsite for the night in Henniker.

Once we found our campsite and plugged in our water, electricity, sewage and hooked up to the Wi-Fi we truly felt like we were at a resort. It was then that we realized this was the first time we were actually hanging out in and enjoying the RV. Chris was streaming the Yankee game hanging on our tiny couch and I took a long, hot shower without worrying of draining our fresh water holding tank. It was such a nice, relaxing night and the perfect opportunity to really enjoy our home on wheels.

The following day we made our way to Chris’s old stomping grounds - New England College. He gave me the tour of the school and the town and we had lunch at a quaint riverside restaurant.