Vermont.

This year we decided to go to Vermont for a week.

The drive up was long, so we broke it into two, stopping in Easthampton to visit with K, T, and J11 for a night, then the next morning we drove the rest of the way up. 

I'm betting this picture is from the drive from Maryland to Massachusetts, since that was the leg were we left at 4:30 or something. Lucy Dog is wearing the thundershirt, so she's moderately happy. Not really panting and shedding and smelling exceptionally doggy. Just calm.

We drove up the next morning through Vermont, gorgeous, of course. Even the rest area was nice, and look at these three:

Q11 found a painted rock, which we picked up and took with us to put somewhere else.

And we headed to Ben & Jerry's which was somewhat out of our way, but ice cream? So we went. Although it has changed quite a bit since we were last there ... The tour is much more of a hustling through, now, to accommodate the larger number of people visiting (because, ice cream!). But the ice cream is just as good, and the flavor graveyard is always fun, and the store smells delicious.

Our sample flavor was something caramelly. Maybe Cthen12butnow13 can remind me what it was. I'm sure she can remember. Plus, C12 was annoyed that Q11 got TWO. They were offering two to everybody, because they had a few extra scooped. Q11 went and got one before she was done her first one. C12 decided to wait until she was done. Mistake. She missed out. It was OK, they gave you a LOT.

Yum

Lucy did NOT like this. It was a half-baked idea. Mwwwa-mwwwwaaaa.

Yum.

Anyway, we then kept driving, and arrived in our vacation abode, a yellow house in Barton, VT. It is on Crystal lake, a nice, clear, beautiful lake. 

The house was just across the street from the lake, and we were allowed to take Lucy Dog, which was great.