Vermont | Olliebop Blog | Inspiration, Ideas and Information for Busy Families

Posts Tagged ‘Vermont’

Road Trip Nation Giveaway!

Happy Thanksgiving! We’ve had a lovely day here in Vermont — I’ll share a few fun photos, below. We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving day too!

But first, with all of the road tripping going on this Thanksgiving weekend, it seems most fitting to share news of the Olliebop Road Trip Nation giveaway. After I wrote this post in praise of Road Trip Nation recently, the nice folks in the Green RV contacted me to offer this box of SWAG to give to one lucky reader! It contains an assortment of goodies to inspire tweens, teens, and even grownups to follow our passions and consider unique careers and paths in life.

To enter to win, leave a comment in the box at the end of this post between now (it just takes a second!) and December 15. In your comment, just name one favorite road trip destination! That’s IT. It’s also OK to leave your comment at the end of the original post. One entry per person.

Two DVD sets, the book “Road Trip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Path in Life,” hat, stickers and buttons

Like many of you, we are road tripping this weekend! Here we are this morning, headed to Vermont. Ollie loves to settle into the back of the car, and we pile stuff all around him.

Next: naps, music and movies. If Hudson and Ella disagree on what to watch or do, we get to give them the speech about how we didn’t even have iPads or DVD players when were were kids. Blah, blah, blah… I’m guessing many of you have had the same conversation, yes?

Then Mr. BOP and I can catch up. Topics today; steps needed to finally finish the kitchen renovation {that’s a whole other story}, that he has just finished writing his 41st song and wants to write 100 songs by the time he is 50, and our conflicted feelings on Ella’s #1 Christmas wish — a trampoline {anyone have advice?}.

The best part of the any road trip is the destination {well, one would hope!}. Ella gives Grandpa {aka “Tappa”} a big hug. {Hudson is not in any of these pictures because he was rather sick and in no mood for picture taking!}. The good news is that he improved throughout the day and was able to join for Thanksgiving dinner.

Upon arrival, Grandma {aka “DorDor”} gave the grandkids — Daniel, Emmett, Ella and Hudson — the job of posting the menu and welcoming guests on the yard sale chalkboard she recently scored.

We spent the afternoon while the turkey cooked outside in the beautiful sunshine; playing kickball and having a quesadilla picnic. It was an unusual kind of Thanksgiving Day — in a good way.

Followed by our feast! As always, well worth the wait.

It simply does not get better than this!

Today, we are truly thankful.

From right to left: Dor Dor, Aunt Sue, Uncle Vic, sister Sarah, Daniel, Tappa, Hudson, Emmett, Ella, Beth {me}.
Mr. BOP; photographer.

On behalf of Mr. BOP, Hudson, Ella, Ollie, Pablo, and me – Happy Thanksgiving! And Happy Road Tripping!

{Now, scroll down to that comment box and enter to win! Just tell us a favorite road trip destination.}

The fine print: This is all so official isn’t it? A drawing will be held to include all commenters from November 22-December 15, 2012. The winner will be randomly selected on December 15, using the true random generator on Random.org. The winner will be notified through the provided email address and must respond to “bop@olliebop.com” to arrange for the free delivery of their prize. It is recommended to add bop@olliebop.com to your contacts to avoid a junk mail classification. If a response is not received by midnight on December 17, 2012 a new winner will be chosen. Open to US residents only. One entry per person.

Thank you to Road Trip Nation for their generous offer! Full disclosure: they kindly surprised us with an extra season eight DVD for our family to keep — and I can attest that there is some true gems of wisdom here!

Finally Feels Like Fall! A Day in Vermont

I spent Friday afternoon in the capital of Montpelier, in my home state of Vermont. My beloved Aunt Alice was traveling through from Santa Fe, offering an excuse for a field trip back home. The weather has been dismal lately here in the Northeast, but the sun did cooperate for a few of hours — enough to offer a quintessential fix of Fall. And there’s nothing like Fall in the Green Mountains! I snapped a few pics with my iPhone {and tried the new panoramic feature too}.

I posted one of these shots this afternoon on my personal Facebook page and there were so many “likers” that I thought I’d share here too. I tried to use jazzy borders and things to distract from my iPhone photography. Did it work? Enjoy the Autumn eye candy, here at the Vermont State House:

Sigh. I love Vermont.

Feel Good Friday: A Beautiful Offering for Vermont Flood Relief

It’s been a month and two days since Hurricane Irene swept through Vermont, devastating many communities — including my hometown and surrounding areas. A unique way to help resilient Vermonters rebuild now is through the purchase of this commemorative tealight — made of hand blown glass by the renowned Simon Pearce in Quechee. Their work is simply stunning!

For each tealight purchased {$40} by October 31, Simon Pearce will donate $20 to the American Red Cross of Vermont and the New Hampshire Valley. A special stamp on the bottom denotes the significance of the piece — which, in its own right is a dazzling gift. I’m getting a jump on my holiday shopping now, thankful that Simon Pearce has created this beautiful opportunity. {Click on image to start shopping!}.

Thoughts of Vermont: Sweet Memories from a Summer Meadow

My heart is with my home state of Vermont, simply devastated by Hurricane Irene’s flooding. At the same time, one of our fondest memories of the summer is still fresh, captured in a Vermont meadow in mid August. I’d like to share some pictures of that day — pure cuteness, basically — knowing that happy times will again return to Vermont. But there’s also a story here, of family and of new traditions…

Several weeks ago we attended the annual family reunion, held at my Grandparents’ Hancock, Vermont vacation house, fondly known as “The Castle.” A shingled house with all sorts of funky roof lines, The Castle was designed by my stepfather, Dick, as his architectural graduate school project — and was built by the family as they camped in the meadow for a summer. In the group of scanned pictures here {I wish I had a larger version}, there’s Boppy proudly standing in the meadow. There’s also a shot of the house just framed, and beautiful Granny up in the bucket of Boppy’s beloved tractor. We’ll get back to that tractor in a minute.

This was a special place for Boppy and Granny, until they died in 2007 and 2008, respectively. When most people would flock to Florida in winter, Granny and Boppy would come to Vermont “until the wood pile ran out.” The whole family has loved coming to The Castle, including wonderful Aunt Bobbie, whom we lost to cancer last year. It’s been a very hard time for this side of the family.

Thankfully, Aunt Sue and Uncle Vic have taken The Castle under their wing as its new owners, which means that there’s still a special gathering place where we can regroup and continue family traditions. One of our favorite traditions once was the thrilling tractor rides that Boppy would give around the meadow — an assortment of his ten grandkids piled in the back of the trailer on the hitch. We would be bouncing along and Boppy would suddenly turn the wheel, put the tractor in reverse, and start backing into the river surrounding the property — eliciting shrieks from us all! It never got old. That trailer was nothing special to look at, but its plywood walls surrounded many a happy memory.

So, at this recent reunion, Aunt Sue and Uncle Vic declared that it was time to give the old trailer a makeover. It needed a paint job anyway, so they decided to let the next generation of kids — the great grandkids– have a go of it. We were missing just a few kids, but the crew that was there attacked the project with gusto! {Look for the one unhappy face, below… priceless!}.

I’m not sure what Boppy would have thought of this have-at-it approach with his trailer. I don’t know that he would have endorsed such a free wheeling idea initially, but I bet he would have chuckled over the end product. And Granny and Aunt Bobbie would have loved it!

I realized as we were gathered ’round for this project that it was important for the family to honor some treasured memories, and also be free to take a new approach. This post will be a little something for Dick and Dorothy {my mom and stepfather} to discover when they again have power and internet access in Hancock. As of this post, they have neither — as well as no land line, no cell phone, and no way to reach any neighboring town, grocery store, or services of any kind. I spoke with them last night just before they lost phone access, and they were upbeat — thankful for kind neighbors, their vegetable garden, a stocked pantry, and their camping water filtration system.

And as for this meadow, it was completely under water as of yesterday, with the river rising nearly to the front door of The Castle, and luckily no further. We will surely have much fun in this same place next year. Today in Vermont, looking ahead to happy days does take some imagination — but it will come. I can’t wait to get back there!

Update as of 9/15/11: While the initial crisis in Vermont has passed and power and phones have been restored, there is much work to be done. One of the best ways to help with recovery is to support Vermont’s vital tourism industry. Vermont is eager and ready for your visit, and the foliage is predicted to be spectacular this Fall. Click here {vermontvacation.com} to plan your trip. Vermont’s Green Mountains and kindhearted residents will welcome you!