Londonderry, Vermont

This weekend was the annual First Lutheran Church retreat in Vermont. It was my first time in VT and its charm and beauty totally blew me away; I would love to go back with Seth to spend a few longer days soaking it up. However, it was wonderful to get a taste of our neighboring state and share it with the good company of 16 other adults.

There was lots of down-time and plenty of opportunities to relax, though the highlight of the trip was a Saturday afternoon hike to the top of Magic Mountain (the lodge we rented for the two nights was at the base)--not a long hike but pretty steep and a bit snowy. I had tried running up the mountain that morning but couldn't find the best trail to the summit and had to turn around as it had gotten late (I spent nearly an hour and a half running up and down ski runs trying to find the best route--each trail eventually became so steep that I had to use my hands to help pull myself up before deciding to shimmy back down).

Snowy trail on Magic Mountain

The sun is coming up

Getting steep...

This is about where I had to head back down (you can see the lake that Cindy and I ran around the next morning)

Later in the day a group of us try again (Tom apparently knew the best way to go up)

We lost a few but most of us made it!

At the top all there is is a chair-lift

Half-way back down (actually really close to where I turned around earlier in the day)

The rest of Saturday afternoon and evening was very laid-back and cozy inside the lodge; there were games, books, painting, a warm fire, wine, fudge, an unused hot tube, etc...

So cozy and warm...

Sunday morning Cindy joined me for another early morning run (6am) around Lowell Lake. It started off great but became surprisingly muddy and poorly marked, which made for an exciting yet slow and extremely long run (we were out for 1 hour 40min). We even exited the park from a different road from which we entered and had to double back--this of course didn't help.

Lowell Lake with Cindy

After the run I was late to breakfast so had to eat as much 7-grain hot cereal, waffles, and granola as fast a possible before our casual Sunday morning service. Sadly we then had to check out of the lodge and headed home, stopping for a picnic lunch in a small town nearby. Luckily for me, Paul and Susan, who kindly offered to let me ride with them, decided to take the especially scenic route back home, which passed by several old covered bridges before winding through New Hampshire on its way back to Massachusetts.

Sunday morning breakfast

The lodge in front of Magic Mountain

Picnic lunch (it got so much warmer!)