#tbt: A Winter Weekend
Today's #tbt is throwing it back to December when Joe and I ventured to Vermont for a winter weekend. Now I don't know about you, but this NY girl thinks Vermont automatically means snow...so when I showed up to dried grass I immediately regretted my weekend wardrobe. Snow pants, boots, and gloves were not going to be that weekend's fashion. Instead, we spent our time indulging in amazing food. (Did I mention this was a culinary resort we were staying at?) The Essex Resort and Spa spoiled us rotten with great meals and perfectly paired beverages.
I was a bit of a Living Social addict at home so when this vacation deal popped up I wasted no time. Being the food lover that I am, I was ecstatic to have convinced Joe to spend a weekend in Vermont eating...yea, you're right - it didn't take any convincing. We enjoyed meals such as grilled Caesar salad, mussels in root beer reduction, braised rabbit and crispy gnocchi, and bone marrow soup...just to name a few. Obviously I liked these meals enough to be writing about them six months later. 
The Essex also offered private cooking classes but we didn't have enough time to partake in such activities. Instead, between beer flights and chef tasting menus we spent our days swimming, napping, hot air ballooning and zip lining.
Now, waking up at 7am has never been my strong suit. But you bet I wasn't going to miss jumping into an hot air balloon just to stay in my warm bed. While this was only a tethered ride, it was still cool to be under the flame and see how it all worked. It's not a "get in and go" kind of thing. It takes time and lots of science. After a few bounces off the ground we got up in the air and I can safely say I'm ready to take my hot air balloon training wheels off and try the real thing one day!
After catching up on my lost ZzZ's, I was ready for my next activity. No it wasn't an eating competition...Ropes course here we come!
And what's a trip to Vermont without a stop at the Ben and Jerry's Factory? If you're saying to yourself, Didn't you eat enough the last two days? Then clearly you don't know me.
