Vermont Symphony Orchestra at the Trapp Family Lodge

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the final summer performance of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. The concert was the summer kickoff of the Stowe Performing Arts Music in the Meadow summer concert series. Music in the Meadow showcases  acclaimed musical acts in a pastoral setting on the slopes of Stowe's green mountains.

Each year concert goers gather in the concert meadow with picnic baskets, low back chair, and blankets where they settle into their own sites, many of which have been continuously occupied by the same families for several years, and enjoy an evening of musical entertainment. Cars arrive several hours early as parking can sometimes limited and the spaces closer to the stage fill up fast. Blankets are spread out and picnic of lavish spreads including wine, finger sandwiches, cheese plates, and fresh fruits and vegetables are laid out atop portable picnic tables from Crate and Barrel. High school students meander through the throng of people selling raffle tickets and water bottles to the waiting patrons. By the time the sun sets and the concert begins the crowd is tightly packed and eager with anticipation for the evening's music.

                       

This year the VSO was conducted by a Briton Andrew Massey who has been with the orchestra since 2007. Massey MC'd the evening in between songs to keep the audience involved and to create a light whimsical atmosphere which reflected the musical selections. The program included a mixture of classical, popular, and Broadway musical numbers and as always the evening ended with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture seamlessly followed by a Sousa march. This was also the first year that I can remember where the fireworks representing the canons in the piece actually went off without a hitch. As the orchestra played it's final notes fireworks filled the sky from the valley below the stage. The display rivaled 4th of July presentation from the week before and left concert goers satisfied and eager for the coming musical attractions.

Maple Cheesecake and Moonrise Kingdom

It's been a rough week for me with everything going on at work and with myself at home which is why I've been absent from my keyboard for so long. Between overtime, bad weather, and community tragedy all I've wanted is to crawl out of bed, go to work, and come home and crawl back in again until the sun comes up the following day. I will write more about those things as the work week coming up unfolds, but all last week I've had to push myself a little extra to keep plugging along and as the week progressed little pockets of brightness popped up until the I finally got two days to myself to reset and recharge for a full weekend of work.

Being back under my parent's roof is not as bad as I would have believed it to be four years ago. In high school I was kept under a tight, watchful eye that lurked in the shadows of my father's office, but now I come and go as I please (mostly to work and to Burlington for errands). I still inform one of my parents where I go as a courtesy so that they know whether to expect me later or not, but there is no more forced family fun and my free time is now my own to do with as I please.

Having two days off in a work week is a rare treat for me that by the second day I hardly knew what to do with myself and had to be creative with the day so that I wasn't sitting around doing nothing for most of it. I allowed myself the luxury of sleeping in until 9am and then got up feeling like half my day had already been wasted. Since Lance had finally finished the flourless chocolate cake I baked him for Father's Day I decided it was time for something new. I settled on a maple cheesecake recipe that I found on the internet and spent the afternoon mixing ingredients for my first cheesecake.

Usually I am very successful on my first attempts at new recipes, but this one was a disaster. The crust and cake batter all looked and tasted fine until it actually time to bake in the oven. As the dessert cooked it browned unevenly and wouldn't set properly. Lance came in at the very end with a suggestion about cover the springform pan with a sheet tray while in the oven and another baker friend, Sam recommended a water bath for next time. After abut 35 minutes I pulled the cake out and placed it in the fridge to chill and set up while I went to see Moonrise Kingdom.

By the time I returned home and broke through a window to get inside my house the cake a set up to about the proper consistency so I decorated the top with fresh berries to hide the surface cracks from where it had risen and fallen back in place and glazed the berries in a healthy maple reduction for extra sweetness and flavor.

It surprising turned out okay. 

While the cake was setting up in the refrigerator I set out of see Moonrise Kingdom at the Bijou in Morrisville. I've been waiting a month for the film to finally reach Vermont and now that the day had come I took off for the first showing I could get to. There was about ten others in the small theatre, about ten more people than I would have expected for a Wes Anderson film in Morrisville, VT, but it was nice to have an intimate audience in the dark, intimate theatre where I could binge on restricted food items in privacy while Edward Norton and Bruce Willis searched for wayward children all across an island off the coast of northern New England. I won't say too much about the film because I'm still waiting for my friend in Philadelphia to go see it, but I will mention that while the cinematography is quintessential Anderson, the plot is a more juvenile than his past films, but still has the core values and integrity of all of his film.

No, what kind of bird are you?

Trapps to Taylor Lodge and back.

Being in Vermont I'm never at a loss for where to hike, but with years of climbing the same trails I've had to get creative with where I want to go. On Tuesday Justin and I decided to tackle Taylor Lodge. The hike is a fairly moderate one that takes you up from Lake Mansfield to Taylor Lodge, a shelter along the Long Trail. However to make things interesting and because we planned to go directly after work we decided to start at the Trapp Family Lodge and hike down the back side of the property into Nebraska Valley and then start the trail head at the side of the lake. Our new starting point added an additional five miles round trip to our trek.

View from the ski trails. 

A sign along Old County Road warning motor vehicles. 

The beginning of our journey was fairly easy following the cross-country ski trails across the property and down into the valley. Once off the property we followed the overgrown Old County Road onto the Catamount Trail. I was shocked at how steep some parts of the trail were considering that the Catamount Trail is a ski trail that follows the length of Vermont. Eventually we hit the bottom of the Valley and followed the only road back to the Trout Club and to the trail head.

We finally made it to the Trout Club. 

J. at the trail head. 

A gross snake on the road. 

The actual trail to Taylor Lodge is a moderate one that winds through the woods and the cuts up the side of the Green Mountains. Besides ourselves only a handful of others were out on the trail that day. At the shelter we chatted with two nice, older women who were enjoying their lunch. The two of us did not stay very long because of our time constraints and the heat.

A mountaintop valley and pond. 

A small beaver lodge in the valley. 

The backside of Taylor Lodge. 

Heading down the side of the mountain was more difficult for me than I anticipated. I had finished four miles of excursion and was becoming tired and had drug my hand through a nettle vine. I kept on trudging down the mountain and along the road until it was time to head back up the other peak to Trapp's. The last few miles were uphill and left me so exhausted that by the time we were back on the ski trails I didn't notice the deer I was about to run into until I was ten feet away and it jumped in front of me.

Two deer off the side of the trail. 

Despite me being completely out of shape still for long distance hiking, it was an enjoyable afternoon of tackling new trail routes and being outdoor. The 8-mile hike also made me one step closer to my distance goals for August.

Leah & David are getting married.

Friday evening I attended the surprise engagement party of my childhood friend Leah her fiance David. The fete was romantic in an outdoor setting at Little River State Park. White balloons and pictures of the couple throughout their six years together hung from the branches of hemlock trees. At the entrance of the campsite stood a few white candle lanterns to mark the party entrance. Friends and family of the couple gathered early to decorate and prepare food, unfortunately Leah and David arrived ahead of schedule, but were able to assist in the setup of their own celebration.

The evening was a wonderful success with excellent food and drink and a beautiful cake designed and created by Leah's younger sister and maid of honor, Kate. If Leah's engagement party was a lovely as it was, it only set the bar higher for the rest of her year of celebrations.

A homemade banner hung with care spelled out "Happy Engagement"

The balloons and pictures hung from the trees created a very romantic atmosphere that reflected the couple's love of the outdoors. 

The cake created by Kate had a model of Leah's engagement ring encircled the picnicking couple. 

Leah's engagement ring. 

Best Wishes and Congratulations Leah and David!

First hike of the season: The Pinnacle

Today I finally decided to get up and do something exercise worthy after work. Monday a work friend and I were supposed to take a hike after work, but it ended up being a rainy afternoon so I settled for a nap and catching up on True Blood. I also checked out the pilot episode of Bunheads, a lot of potential and very Gilmore Girls-esque. Anyways it ended up raining most afternoons this week so when J texted and asked if I wanted to go hiking I jumped at it. We intended to jut do the mild 3-mile hike up to Slayton Cabin since I had to work, but because I picked up a lunch shift I didn't get out until almost 3pm and realized that I didn't have any extra clothing or shoes for the expedition. Instead of driving across town to change and then drive all the way back to work I took J home with me and we made our way to Pinnacle Meadows. My intention was to just walk up to the Meadows and maybe the Vista if I could, but once we passed those check points and I realized that the stabbing pain in my lungs really wasn't going to kill me I decided that we could make it all the way to the summit.

View from the top. 

Being the first hike of the season I kept a good pace, only stopping a few times to rest and have a sip of water. J, the experienced and slightly more fit hiker, was patient with me the entire time. It didn't help that after eight hours of working on my feet left my calf muscles feeling tired and strained, but if there's anything I learned from the boys on Sherwood this semester it's to work through the pain. Which is exactly what I did and once I got going I didn't noticed my legs. Of course I was deeply distracted by how winded and out of shape I am.

J and me all red faced and awkward. 

The summit was beautiful of course even on a hazy day. An older couple was lounging on the rocks behind us and quietly eavesdropped on our conversation about the other peaks we could see in the surround Lamoille and Washington counties. I shared my summer goal of hiking from the Pinnacle along to the Worcester Range to Elmore Mountain in a day and the female counterpart of the couple kept interrupting to ask me to point out Elmore Mountain to her. It was cute in a get glasses soon Ma'am kind of way. Sitting on the summit also gave me a chance to cool down and finish my water bottle. Hiking the mile and a half from the Meadows left me winded and red faced in a bad way. Still it was a fun time and nice for me to finally meet some new people now that I'm back at home.

Mount Mansfield in the hazy distance. 

Back in town.

The other day I ventured down to Montpelier, America's Smallest State Capital, to visit the closest AT&T store to purchase an iPhone. Yes, finally the last person of my generation has gotten a smartphone. Anyways while driving down to the mini-metropolitan area I realized how spoiled I've been living in the city. It is only sixteen miles to Montpelier along country roads and six miles of interstate, but the country roads can seem like an awful lot when you're only going out to replace a phone. Back in the city there was an AT&T store only a mile from my apartment, I could walk if I truly wanted to to speak with a service representative about an wireless problem. Now having to travel makes me long for the time when everything was in walking distance to my apartment and a Wawa.

Being in Montpelier I noticed that some things do change in Vermont. Back in high school I spent a lot of time in the area for various reasons and then most of the buildings were dedicated to state use or Vermont College. There was the movie theatre of course along with NECI and a few odds and ends shops and restaurants, but nothing unique or trendy. Montpelier back then was a stagnant town along the river. The other day I noticed the hipsters roaming the streets with their cutoffs and ironic tattoos and realized that the city is moving forwards. Slowly, very slowly and in a direction that would make traditional Vermonters cringe Montpelier is moving in a relevant direction catering to the youth culture of Vermont.

Now that I've realized how much I hate driving more than a five mile radius (which doesn't even get me  out of Stowe) I'm not sure when I'll be back, maybe when Moonrise Kingdom comes to the Savoy Theatre. When I do venture down I will be sure to check out the various updated shops and eateries like the Skinny Pancake and check out the local musical scene. 

Drink (More) Vermont Beer

This week I started my second job, pouring wine and beers and selling sandwiches in the afternoon after my breakfast shift. It's a great job even if it makes for a long day (6am-4pm) of standing on my feet because it's still on property and I don't have to wear a dirndl. What's even better is that when I'm able to again I will be able to stuff my face with the delicate, sugary pastries behind the counter so that I will be more familiar with them and able to better sell them to guests.

What's even better than eventually being able to eat sugary things is that I have discovered the Vermont Brewery Challenge. As a part of the Vermont Brewer's Association the deli/bakery hands out little stamp cards with the logos off all the Vermont breweries and when a person visits the brewery their card gets stamped. After a certain number of visits to breweries around the state the person is eligible for different swag items from the Vermont Brewer's Association and once the whole card is filled up a collector's set of Vermont Brewery gear is awarded to the drinker! With the Vermont Brewers Festival fast approaching I would love to get taps flowing with this challenge.

The challenge reminds me of the McShea's Beer Challenge where patrons must drink a list of 50 beers to get their own mug proudly displayed behind the bar only this is on a greater scheme with considerable gas mileage involved. It also sounds like the perfect thing to take the Hebrew Friend on if he ever gets a chance to make it north. I think with considerable dedication we could complete the challenge in a week.

All images via Google Images