Thursday, October 29, 2015

Vermont

This summer, my family and I traveled to Middlebury, Vermont. Our reason for going was to visit our friends, the Merrill's. Mr. Merrill, is the language school director for Middlebury College so they live there in the summer. When we visited, the language programs summer study was going on and when the students arrive for the program, they take an oath to not speak english. Because the students could not speak english, neither could people while they were on campus because it tempts the students to speak in english as well. So when we would leave the house we were not allowed to speak when there was anyone in sight, was a student (and the students were everywhere.

When they live there they stay in a dorm house, just their family; it's pretty cool. When we visited them we stayed in the dorm house also. It's not your typical vacation housing but it was a neat experience. Middlebury College's campus is extremely beautiful and has so much different culture and natural beauty. The dorm was nestled in the adirondack mountains. Though Middlebury is beautiful there wasn't much to do for fun so we had to travel on day trips to fun spots around the state.

The first place we traveled was to Waterbury, Vermont and took a tour of the first ever Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory and store and then traveled 20 mins through and up the mountains to Bristol, Vermont. Bristol is a small town in the mountains and it is home to one of Vermont's many swimming holes and waterfalls. It was my favorite stop we made by far because you can jump off the side of the mountain into the swimming hole and swim and dive and rest on the ledge of the mountain. The water was probably -100 degrees but we had so much fun anyways.


Not only am I posting about my trip to Vermont because of how much fun and what a great experience it was, but to inform everyone who reads this on how important it is to follow directions on your GPS or Map. On our way to Vermont, when we were in New York, the most boring state to drive through, we merged onto the wrong highway and the GPS ended up taking us a really odd way that had us driving through the mountains, where there are no houses, gas stations, cell reception, bathrooms or humans (kind of felt like we were the last people on earth) and added a good three hours onto the trip. Has anyone else had a similar experience where they have gotten lost and had to find their way? 

15 comments:

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    1. Hi Alex!!
      I agree I bet it is a different experience in the Winter. Unfortunately our friends only reside there in the summer months so it would be nearly impossible to stay there in the winter.I bet it would be beautiful, snowy and extremely cold! Similar to some of Michigan. The funny thing about when we got lost on the drive there, is that once we made the wrong turn out GPS assisted us in finding our way back, but it took us a strange way adding all that time on to the trip. Definitely not fun!!

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  2. Katie,
    This sounds like such a fun trip! I love visiting college campuses. Each one is so unique and different in its own way. I definitely wish I could visit the Ben and Jerry's factory. That would be such an fun experience and it looks so yummy. Next time you travel somewhere make sure you follow your directions on your GPS. I have also gone the wrong way before on one and it is not fun. Make sure you pay closer attention next time. It seems like you had so much fun in Vermont this Summer. Next time you should visit in the Winter and see what else there is to do. I bet it would a be a completely different experience!

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    1. Hi Alex!!
      I agree I bet it is a different experience in the Winter. Unfortunately our friends only reside there in the summer months so it would be nearly impossible to stay there in the winter.I bet it would be beautiful, snowy and extremely cold! Similar to some of Michigan. The funny thing about when we got lost on the drive there, is that once we made the wrong turn out GPS assisted us in finding our way back, but it took us a strange way adding all that time on to the trip. Definitely not fun!

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  3. Hi KT!! I really liked your blog, it was super interesting and fun to read! As your probably know I have also been to Vermont and I really enjoyed it as well. When I was in Vermont, we also visited Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop, and I thought that it was so cool to see where the magic was made! The part that seemed most interesting about this was the swimming hole, I feel like it would be so cool to expierence nature like that, was it hard to jump off the ledge like that? I really wish that when I was in Vermont I could've done something that cool. Also, what was it like being around all those people who spoke different languages? Did you learn anything new?

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    1. Claire D-
      I'm glad you enjoyed reading my blog post!!
      Vermont is beautiful isn't it? Being able to be surrounded by nature was a wonderful experience. When at the swimming hole, it was really scary at first, because it was cold and it was really deep. When we were in Middlebury I learned how to say hello in Russian but i forgot now.
      I'm glad you enjoyed your Vermont trip as well!!!

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  4. Hi Katie,
    This sounds like it was a great trip! One of my hobbies is teaching myself languages, so that college sounds amazing. Your trip sounds like it was fun all around. With the getting lost, at least you can say you survived the unknown of New York!

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    1. Shannon-
      Indeed this was a great trip, so fun!
      Your hobby of teaching yourself languages bust be hard, I can barely handle English on its own sometimes:)
      Even though we got lost, it was very memorable and yes, we can say we survived the unknown of New York.
      - Katie

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  5. Hi Katie,

    It sounds like you had a great trip to Vermont. It must have been so fun to stay in a dorm with your family friends. When at the swimming hole, were you at all scared about jumping in? Your picture was so cute. It looked like a blast. Going to the Ben and Jerry's factory seemed like a great time. How different are summers in Vermont than in Michigan.

    Great Job,

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    1. Hey Maddie-
      It was super fun staying in the dorm, it was a unique experience and especially fun because i shared the dorm room with my sister and one of my best friends, it was a blast! The swimming hole was really scary at first but after a few jumps it was so fun!! In Vermont, the weather is very rainy. It would be beautiful all day and then at night, around dinner time, it would rain every single day we were there, so funny!

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  6. Katie,

    Vermont looks like a beautiful place! It must have been very difficult not to speak while you were surrounded by the students. I could not imagine doing that (it would have been to difficult for me). One of the reasons I love the North East is because of the mountains. Areas like Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Vermont have some of the most beautiful scenery, especially the mountains (those are the highlight of the show). It was really cool that you were able to see the Ben and Jerry factory. It must have been very nostalgic and antique! Interesting piece of information, I have indeed gotten lost while traveling (it usually happens 99% of the time). It usually happens when my mom and I are both in the car and we have no sense of direction so it makes travel a little stressful sometimes, it’s times like those where the GPS becomes a lifesaver for us. What other places have you visited? Is there anywhere else that stood out to you?

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    1. Hello-
      Yes Vermont is extremely beautiful!
      When we were there, It was hard to not speak around the students because there were students EVERYWHERE!! The mountains were gorgeous. When we got lost we tried to use our GPS to get back on track but ironically it helped us get even more lost. On our way to Vermont, we stopped halfway in Niagara, Ontario and got to see the Niagara Falls, and they were a wondrous sight they were so grand and magical.
      -Katie

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  7. Katie,
    I really enjoyed reading about your summer trip to Vermont. I've been to Vermont too! My family and I went to the White Mountains in Vermont, and camped there for three days. I remember everything in Vermont was beautiful (like the mountains, buildings, trees, clouds, etc.) It must of been really difficult for you and your family to not be allowed to speak English. So, how did you communicate with your family? With hand motions? I've never heard of Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory. Is must be famous. I want to visit there in the future! Also, Bristol sounds so interesting and fun!!! I've always wanted to jump off a cliff/mountain into the swimming hole!!! Was it scary? It sounds/looks so much fun! I really like how you wrapped up your blog with a comical paragraph about your family being lost. I've experienced the feeling of being the last person on earth! It's literally the scariest thing ever. My family was also lost one time during our vacation because the navigation led us to the wrong direction, so we drove around in circles, and it added like two hours onto the trip too! We all got frustrated, but I think it was a memorable experience. Also, I remember I was lost when I was like eight years old. I was in the toy section, and I got so into it, I didn't even realized that my mom left me. Tears dropped down, and I was struggling to find her. Fortunately, the person who worked there made an announcement that someone was missing a child, so I eventually found my mom. Did you ever get lost when you were young?

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    1. Joy-
      Vermont is so cool isn't it? Your camping trip sounds fun as well!!
      When around the students we just didn't talk, but when they were not around, we talked as we pleased. The swimming hole was scary at first but after a while it was super fun and the best part of the trip! Glad to know that my family isn't the only one who had a bad GPS. I'm so happy that you found your mom and you are safe now, that must have been a terrifying experience for you as a child.
      -katie

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  8. This sounds like a really fun get away! I have never been to Vermont, and now I want to go. I can't even imagine how much fun the swimming hole was. This summer I had fun jumping off the pier into Lake Michigan, the water was pretty cold also but still a lot of fun. It is kind of scary right before you jump isn't it? We got lost driving through Florida one time like you did in Vermont! We ended up going through the wrong part of town and I was a little terrified like you were. Middlebury College seems interesting and unique. Would you ever consider attending there after high school?

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