Burlington - Smuggler's Notch
 January 18 - January 22 2014

Click each picture to make it bigger, then back to return here.

Overview - We learned to ski at Smuggs 13 years ago.    We decided to come back to remember how it all started.   

Day 1 - Saturday January 18th - Flew to Burlington Vermont on Delta.   We met up with our daughter and BF at LaGuardia airport, then continued on to Burlington.   From there we picked up the rental car from Thrifty, and checked into the La Quinta Inn.   We had stayed at this hotel 13 years ago, now we were back.    This is where Laurie and Ashley first saw snow.    The hotel looked great.   

We headed out to downtown Burlington, visited lake Champlain taking pictures.    This is where "Champ" lives.   

Healthy Living is similar to Whole Foods, and is located across the street from a mall.    We came here twice eating the salad bar.   This is a good place to stock up on fruit and granola cereal before heading to your resrot.    There are also ski shops in a shopping center next door if you need a hat, gaiter, or gloves.  

Day 2 - Sunday January 19th - That night, it snowed.  Our rental car was covered in it.   We had to drive slowly and carefully to Smuggs, but we made it.     13 years later, we were back.
http://www.smuggs.com/

We checked in, got a free box of cheese as a returning gift.    We rented our ski equipment from Triple Diamond, located just outside the main entrance of the resort.    We saved approximately $20 per person per day.     We changed into our ski cloths, and went skiing.

We ate lunch at Riga Bello's pizza place on site, then got a call saying our room was ready.    Here is room 56+A in the Liftside building.    This is a 1 bedroom, which also has a  pull out couch in the living room, sleeps 4.    This unit was great, we didn't have any problems.   The gas fireplace worked, the floor heaters worked, we had hot water, and the bed was clean.    The last picture is the view from our balcony.     It was a short walk to the lift.   

  

Day 3 - Monday January 20th - The snow continued to fall, Smuggs was getting dumped on.   The trails were not groomed, the top layer of snow was fluffy powder, not ice.    This made for some great skiing.   

I headed out by myself to the Madonna and Sterling mountains.  These are more advanced Blue and Black trails.    It was so cold, my phone shut off.   I later found out that my battery was freezing.   Back at the room, I plugged the phone into the charger, and it came right back with full power.   

At the end of the day at 03:30pm, they have free hot chocolate. Characters come out, sing and dance to music.  They even have CDs for sale.     It's a welcome party on Monday afternoon.    There's Mogul Mouse, Billly Bob Bear, and The Friendly Pirate.   They take pictures with everyone, and talk about events happening at night, such as free snow tubing.    

Here we are at the rec center.   They have 2 ping pong tables, a pool table, and other games to play.     Really good for kids and adults. 

 

After the rec center, we went the El Zorro, located about 2 miles down the road from Smuggs at Edwards Road.    The food was great and I gave them 5 stars on Trip Advisor.   
http://elzorrovt.com/

Day 4 - Tuesday January 21st - The front passed through, but behind it was very cold temperatures.   So cold, that my phone did not work.   No pictures on the slopes.    I went back to Madonna and Sterling mountain, it was -10, the ski lifts had frost bite warning signs out.   I made a few runs, and my hands and feet were freezing.   I met up with Ashley and Wesley on the Morse Mountain side, we went down a trail together, then I had enough.   We went back to the room, and decided to visit the Ben and Jerry's Factory tour.    The tour costed $4, a 6 minute movie plays, then you get a sample.   From there you walk down a hallway with the top ten flavors.    After that, you can purchase ice cream from a window, and walk outside to see a grave yard of discontinued flavors.    The tour isn't that long, lasts about 15 minutes, then you'll want more ice cream.   I think they should give a pint.    I'd say the total time to take the tour and see the graveyard is about an hour.   You don't need to plan your entire day around this visit.    

Day 5 - Wednesday January 22nd - Drove back to Burlington.   The temperature outside was -20.     We made it to Burlington, returned the car to Thrifty, took the shuttle back to the airport, and flew home.    On this trip home, we flew to Atlanta.     The north east airports were all snowed in.      Ashely and Wesley flew home to Jacksonville, Laurie and Robert flew home to Miami.  Pictures up above are of  Marco Island and Miami just before landing.    Great trip, thanks Delta for making the flights possible.    

End of Report.   Thanks for reading. 

Email me at skiguy777@bellsouth.net.

Home

Synthetic Oil