Went to Vermont for a little "vacation". I drove 869 miles the first day to Syracuse. Was going to drive to Troy, N.Y., but my father in law had enough. No biggie. Drove the other 430 miles the next day to get there.

So when we get there, we have to open the place up. It hasn't been used for a year, so the water, etc., has to be turned on, cleaning to do, etc. Primed the pump for lake water use, and it fired right up. Heard something, and there were some pvc fittings that were broken, and had to be replaced. Tried fixing the leaks with what we had, to no avail. We had minimal tools, so had to wait until the next day to go to the hardware store. I replaced the fittings, and turned the pump back on. There's two bathrooms, upstairs and down, and both toilets were cracked, and leaked water all over the place. So, I replaced both toilets. Heating element was out of the water heater, so that was replaced twice, the first being a lemon. The water pump for the well water had a busted flange. Turns out, the guy that did some work for Pop didn't winterize the place as he said he did. He didn't drain the water, open the valves, put anti-freeze in the toilets, etc., so everything busted. Then, the water pump stopped working. We looked for hours trying to figure it out. Checked the switch in the box, it was good. Ran an extension cord to the pump, and it worked fine, so wasn't getting any juice. Turns out that Pop forgot about a switch he made upstairs, to turn the pump off, without having to go to the basement. Wife was cleaning, and turned the switch off.

We left with my step son (19) having a fever. Thought he was over it, as he was feeling better. Get a call from the step daughter, saying the son went to Prompt Care. They told him he had to have his gall bladder removed. WTF??? 19, gall bladder removed??? We were going to take my wife to the airport so she could fly back, but before we did, we got a call, and he went for a second opinion, and turns out he has mono.

But, with all that going on, we still managed to have a little bit of fun. What the hell, we're in the beautiful state of Vermont, just a few miles from the Canadian border. Wife and I went for a couple hundred mile ride, and took some photos.

Pop's summer get away. He's had this place for over 50 years:





Looking out from the front porch:



Went for a ride. Lake Willoughby:



Down the road:



A few waterfalls along the way:







Other end of the lake, on the beach:







Found a trail, and walked back a bit:







Went to Stowe, VT. This is Maria Von Trapp, of The Sound Of Music fames, lodge. Apparently after she fled the Nazis, she settled here, as it reminded her of her home in the Alps:



Looking out:



Did a small hike to these falls. Crappy photos though:









On the road in Smuggler's Notch. The road was twisting and winding, and sometimes one lane:



Got out and walked a bit, for some photos:













Back at the lake, with the loons out and about:







The final sunset:



As you can see, it wasn't all bad, and I'm ready to go back. Hell, we want to live there. Thanks for looking.

Oh my, what a crazy vacation. I hope you sent the bill for all the repair supplies to the handyman who said he winterized the place. Lovely photos.

Those are great photos Warrior.
One question. Why do they call that place Smugglers Notch?

Thanks. Pop would have, but this guy did work on the place, and his bid was $30k. Everyone else's was $70k. Hard to complain about a few hundred bucks.



Thanks. Here's a history I just Googled:

Welcome to Smugglers’ Notch State Park. The famous Smugglers’ Notch is a narrow pass through the Green Mountains. Lined with 1,000-foot cliffs, the winding road is closed in winter. In the earlier days, only a footpath and trail for horses existed here.

In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson passed an embargo act forbidding American trade with Great Britain and Canada. This was a severe hardship for northern Vermonters, since Montreal was closer than other markets in the US. Many local people continued illegal trade with Canada, herding cattle and carrying other goods through the Notch. Later, fugitive slaves used the Notch as an escape route to Canada. During the Prohibition years, liquor was smuggled from Canada over the improved road built in 1922.