While I typically go to the northeast in the fall, at the insistence of my Great Niece, Laura, I booked my flight to Newark to join the family at my Nephew's wedding. I flew into Newark on June 16th and spent time with Vicki - shopping and eating and visiting friends. We left for Arlington, Vermont on the Thursday before the wedding to scout out the area. While my Nephew, Dan, called it The Wilderness, it was filled with charm and many things to do.
After checking into The Candlelight Motel, we decided to investigate the area. So, we headed to Manchester which was touted as a shopping mecca. Basically, it was an outlet mall but not in the mall fashion. It was spread out with the outlet stores interspersed among eateries and local shops. Not a park and walk type of place, but a charming little village full of interesting shops. We were a bit hungry so we looked for a local place and found Seasons - charming and inviting. In honor of the untimely death of James Gandolfini, Vicki and I split a Soprano, which was delish! I had a lovely Palm which was recommended by our waiter, and Vicki had a root beer.
Next door to Seasons was Manchester Footwear, and of course, we went in. Since I neglected to bring walking shoes and Vicki saw a REALLY cute pair of shoes, we both whipped out our credit cards. ;0) Gotta keep the economy churning. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking around the Village. Since Vicki had a busy week at work and was tired after the drive, we settled into our PJs early and rested up for the Little People Onslaught!
The Seekonk Giuseffis were due in on Friday around noon so we had a few hours to kill. Since I'd bought the new shoes, we walked down to the park nearby. We followed the path through the park and enjoyed the bubbling sounds of the Battenkill River and the cool pine-scented woods.
We walked back to the motel and decided to take a ride to The Battenkill Grange where the wedding was to be held to check it out. Lovely venue is all I can say. In order to get to the Grange, one must drive across a covered bridge. A working farm is adjacent.
Time to go back to the motel and await The Arrival!! We didn't have to wait long! Of course, since there was a pool there, The Little People [and Carol] quickly donned their swimsuits and dove in! I don't imagine I have to tell you, Laura and Josh had a great time in the pool. In between swims, we played Heads Up on my iPad and if you've not had a chance to download this yet, you really should do so. It's great fun for all ages. I posted one of the sessions to Facebook so check it out.
Dan arrived around 4 o'clock and shortly thereafter, Sue [mother of the groom] arrived followed by Jim [father], Chris [groom] and Pat [best man EVER]. They had to quickly change to get to the Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner. Left to our own devices, we all cleaned up and went to Chauncey's which was just "down the road a piece." Vicki and I had breakfast there Friday morning and it was not at all what it appeared to be from the road. Very charming inside and quite nice food. We had a waitress that was VERY specific - "The Fried Fish is a fish that is battered and fried." We were grateful for the clarification. Our thoughts were that Laura and Josh might be able to get a job here.
Back to the motel for more Heads Up fun until the mosquitos forced some of us off the porch [Vicki because she's so sweet]. Jim and Sue came back and joined us but we were all in our beds by midnight. BIG day on Saturday!
I'll close this post for now and start another one later! Enjoy!
