I know I’ve already mentioned it a few times, but I LOVE road trips. Florida road trips are kind of a bummer— unless you like swamps, offensive billboards, and love bugs that is. (I mean, I don’t mind those things, but obviously a more scenic road trip is where it’s at). Alex and I have had this Massachusetts trip planned for a while— and we knew that while were were up here we would want to do a bit of exploring (we’re not big sitters on vacation), but we didn’t know what we wanted to do or where we wanted to go. I knew I had been promising Marlowe a trip to New York for a while now, so that was a possibility. And I’ve always wanted to show Alex Rhode Island (still on a one day to do list), but I also knew that Alex had never been to Burlington and a (chilly) drive through the mountains of northern/western MA and through the entire state of Vermont would be awesome.
This trip has been good. I wish it was longer so I could see more of the people I love, but other than that— the road trips have been good and the weather has been great—- temporarily great πŸ˜‰ I couldn’t live up here again, but we got the much needed chilly break that we were looking for. And it was cool to get away with Alex, even just overnight for some alone time together. I’m probably mistaken, but I don’t know if we’ve done that since our honeymoon? Either way, it’s been nice to pack a weekend bag, some sweaters, and jump in the car and just drive. Honestly, we weren’t sure if we were going to rent a car or not, even taking part in an enterprise campaign, it wasnt required of us and we weren’t sure we needed a car (we originally planned to take a train to New York)— but when all is said and done, I’m SO SO happy we rented a car. It was nice to not rely on others and have the freedom to roam around a enjoyably explore. Β In this past week alone, we drove to Burlington, VT (practically canada), back down to Massachusetts, down to New York, back to Massachusetts, and yesterday we hopped in the car in search of the home/farm that Alex proposed to me at— we didn’t find it, but we found a bunch of other neat local hidden gems in the area instead. If I could have it my way, we’d always be able to hop in the car and explore—- and the weather would always be perfect and sunny and everyone would have big open farms for us to visit πŸ˜‰

We opted to take the slower scenic route north— and we accidentally took it home too πŸ™‚ It takes about an hour longer, but it’s SO worth it in my opinion.
Admittedly, my favorite part of our Massachusetts to Vermont road trip was our first stop. I say it often, but I love the internet. Whether it’s on twitter, Facebook, or wherever, I love being able to ask what feels like the word for recommendations. I asked my Facebook for road trip stop suggestions, and within minutes was recommended the most amazing market— like, my official new favorite market. Like, if I lived in the area I would live at the market. And if you’re ever in the area you NEED to go to the market. It’s just amazing how small our world has become— and such a wonderful thing to find these local gems to visit— without the suggestion, I would have had no idea to stop— and I would have missed out on some of the most delicious food.Β 

so so so good.






So many kids! And babies! And baby wearing! And tie dye πŸ˜‰
I’m not sure why this started or became so amusing to us, but we now have an abundant amount of photos of Alex gazing out into nature.
we found the tropics! aka a poo-powered bio-dome right in the middle of vermont πŸ™‚
After 25 years of knowing this girl, we are such polar opposites, but still some how end up looking more alike— I showed up in jeans, a black sweater, and a scarf— she had on jeans, white sweater, white scarf. Almost identical rings, and nose rings, and too much hair forever.

I need this in my life.

winning at awkward photos since the 1980’s

So, this sounds silly, but Vermont was a bit of a culture shock for us. I mean, yes, we live in the united states, but south florida is SO different than northern New England. Where are all my cuban accents and avocados at? πŸ™‚ Β I love both parts so much— but I guess being away so long, I forgot how very different it is. The tree-lined highways, and barn-home antique shops, it used to be so normal in my life. But now, living in florida so long, I’ve forgotten how secluded (in a good way) everything feels. I mean, living in the tropics, I just assume that everyone feels heat, humidity, and constant sun like we do. It’s such a norm for us— but then we step out of the car and it’s a completely different world in its own. It’s so normal, for everyone up here but something forgotten when you’re away for so long. It makes me want and need a full on across America family road trip. It’s been so long since I’ve had one of those πŸ™‚ I’ve loved my north and south road trips. And I loved the ride from Massachusetts to Arizona. But Arizona to Florida, I could do without— or I would do it much differently at least πŸ™‚ Oh, and I would totally drive to Canada again, hey. Yeah, I love road trips that much, haha πŸ™‚
the drive:Β 
worcester, MA to burlington, VT.
we took route 2 (the slower scenic option) to 91 north, to 89 north.
do:Β 
all the rest stops in vermont. No seriously, sounds silly, but there’s some cool stuff in there. and TONS of brochures on things to do— I know, all rest stops have brochures, drea. but you can find EVERYTHING. Our favorite was the one on 89 north between Sharon and Bethal. #poopowered
see:Β 
church street, burlington VT
lake champlain
hippies
eat:Β 
the brattleboro farmers marketΒ (brattleboro VT) a vegan foodie dream.
sherpa kitchen (burlington, VT) traditional Nepalese food! lots of vegan options. hooray!
a single pebble – (burlington, VT) I’m sure everyday is great, but we were lucky enough o be visiting on a sunday for dim sum brunch. If you’re vegan just specify that when you go in and they will be sure to bring the vegan options by the table!
ps. follow along withΒ @ohdeardrea and @enterprise on twitter, where I’ll be taking part in a twitter chat (my first ever!) talking about travel fun. The chat will be on the 27th, at 7pm. Hooray!
In other news: I have 10 million photos from the past three weeks. Hope you guys don’t mind the overloading of family photos— cause there is A LOT πŸ˜‰
Where would you drive? What would you do?
Have a great weekend, friends! If you need me, I’ll be doing my standard pre-departure flight routine: booze. Florida, here we come.
*this post was sponsored by enterprise

39 Comments

  1. I'd go to the Grand Canyon with a compact car… just needs to hold luggage!

    @woozzlewozzle

  2. My family and I love to take road trips down the east coast, from PA to Florida. I would love to rent a fuel efficient Prius for our road trip!

  3. I follow them via twitter as family74014. I would travel to Portland and rent an SUV
    alaine74014 at gmail dot com

  4. I love love love that farmer's market! I'm in NYC and my good friend is from a small town near there and its a must do every Saturday. Thanks to her (she's the one with the car), I've been to VT in the spring, summer and winter. I would love to be able to get up there in the fall and finally see the leaves change colors. As for the car–I'm easy, give me an automatic with some room in the back for some found treasures from the thrift store. πŸ˜‰ Thanks!

  5. I've always wanted to go to Frank Lloyd Wright's falling water, so I'd drive there (just outside pittsburgh). Any car will do, as long as it's not too small for my husband!

  6. My favorite road trip would include driving along the Pacific Coast from Washington to the bottom of California in Pruis because it is good on gas and for the environment. πŸ™‚

  7. Favorite road trip would be to the Hudson Valley in New York. Such a gorgeous place! I like Altimas so I would go with one of those.

  8. I love this post! Thank you so much for not only sharing your adventure with us, but also for offering such a wonderful giveaway. My dad grew up in Vermont and New Hampshire, so I would definitely love to visit those areas. As for my weekend road trip… I would rent a cute hatchback or SUV and zoom off to Asheville, NC.

    clogzilla(at)yahoo(dot)com

  9. I've been dreaming of road tripping from Portland oregon to homer Alaska! much longer than a weekend πŸ™‚ how bout Portland to the San Juan islands!

  10. It truly wouldn't matter which type of car as long as it was a manual! And in terms of my ideal road trip? Just start in Maine on the East Coast, drive from Maine down through New York, the Virginias, across Kentucky and Oklahoma, continue straight on through the mountains and end up in California. I want to go right across the country! You're 100% right – there is a culture shock sometimes even just visiting different states! Crazy, isn't it?!
    ~ Samantha
    samsamcherie.blogspot.com

  11. I didn't really get to enjoy this entry, the experience was marred by a moving Dove ad which had no option for removal. Honestly, would you even use Dove products? If not, maybe consider stopping them from ruining your blogs. The intrusive ad content now on this blog is such a turn-off and makes you seem so disingenuous as most of the ad content which mars your posts by literally being on top of them, seems to go against your philosophies as a human. So disappointing Drea.

    • I'm sorry you didn't get to enjoy this post— so for ads and working with third ad parties, like i do it's very very hard to control specific brands from popping up on your blog. I've made the efforts to ensure that certain things don't pop up, like "fast food" for instance, but for things like soaps, if I choose general soap options, it removes all soap products, good and bad, not just the ones I wouldn't use. No, I don't use Dove. On the d being a pop-up, that's an error. The ad company seems to be changing it's set up, but I did have every option (and boy there is a lot of them) for ad pop ups turned off— I had no idea that pop ups were happening, it hasn't happened to me and in the past people would usually kindly warn me so I could fix it. Sorry to disappoint you. Next time please know, that I am human, and good philosophies or not, sometimes technical errors happen, and this is one of them. Thanks for letting me know, I'm working on it now. Hope you have a good weekend.

  12. I follow enterprise on twitter @ vivacious gold and I want to go to myrtle beach for a bike rally and would rent a truck

    Yes.4eva.r(atgmaildotcom)

  13. i would love to go down to the keys in a convertable! two things i have never done! it would be awesome to take the hubby for our anniversary hes never done them either!

  14. I follow Enterprise on twitter(kellysaver) and one of my favorite weekend roadtrips is going to visit Mystic, CT. I would rent a standard SUV.
    kellywcu8888ATgmailDOTcom

  15. I would take a road trip to the mountains in West Virginia to go camping it's our most favorite thing to do and I would rent an SUV from Enterprise so we could have plenty of room for our camping gear.

  16. It looks like you guys had an amazing time!

    This giveaway is awesome, it would be fantastic to win it. My husband & I keep talking about how we want a weekend getaway to Salem, MA or to Atlantic City (I'm more partial to Salem). I'd want to rent a Ford Fusion, they're so cute and so spacious!

  17. The coast – always! And I'd try out a minivan or standard SUV. Gotta fit the whole crew!

  18. love those Northeastern drives- Florida highways can be really boring in comparison. BUT you should give the I-10 out to Arizona another shot- it was the first 1/3 of an epic roadtrip for us in 2012, and if you plan it right, it can be pretty incredible πŸ™‚

  19. My favorite weekend road trip would be Long Island, I'll rent a standard SUV for the whole family. kraftmaking at gmail dot com

  20. Oh that market looks absolutely amazing, what a find. Poo-powered biodomes haven't reached here yet. I live in hope. CJ xx

  21. I want to go to SLO, California! I only live 4 hours south but its so different up there. So much I want to do and see and eat!! Also, on the way up I would want to stop along the coast and swim and eat tacos in the sand. THE DREAM.

    I would want to rent an Intermediatte SUV like the Toyota Rav 4.

    Cquinn@LibertyinNorthKorea.org

    YAY

  22. We are moving to North Carolina on Monday and I really want to take a long rambling road trip to see the farms all around our new city! Up into the mountains and back down again, visiting lovely people who grow food and love animals. I'd get whichever car had the best gas milage and a decent safety rating!

  23. So fun! I was just telling my husband we need to head to Vermont because we haven't been together! But right now we're planning a weekend roadtrip to Newport, RI (favorite favorite spot!), and we'd look real good in a Ford Focus πŸ™‚

  24. gorgeous photos!!

    I live in the Seattle area so I would LOVE to rent something like a Range Rover and drive over to Montana and check out Glacier National Park- spend some time glamping and hiking πŸ™‚

  25. This makes my heart ache! I lived in Burlington for a few years when I was young, I have been in the Tampa area since high school (ahem a few years). I took my husband to VT for our honeymoon 9 years ago, we had a similarly lovely time driving down Route 7. I would love to take our boys back but I'm with you, quaint towns and crisp cool air is sweet but palm trees and salt water is the life for me πŸ™‚

  26. I'm in Chicago so ideally I would love to go to Michigan. I would probably choose an intermediate SUV.

  27. I follow Enterprise on Twitter (@mami2jcn) and I love Charleston, SC. I would rent an intermediate SUV.

    mami2jcn at gmail dot com

  28. I love VT, of course I could be biased since Growing up in NY and marrying a Vter. Once the kids start coming we are moving there. I'm stoked you had a good time!

  29. My favorite road trip was with my Dad, back when I was able to see him more often. We drove all the way from Massachusetts to Georgia. If I were to rent a car from Enterprise, I'd definitely go with a Ford Focus. They just seem like such great road-trippin' cars!

    Logistics: Followed on Twitter (username: Edwards_Iz) xo

  30. My favorite weekend road trip would be going to San Francisco. & I would choose a Prius. I always wondered what they were like. Great timing on this giveaway! I just turned 25 and I plan on a weekend trip in November πŸ™‚

    – Christina http://www.cityloveee.blogspot.com