A few months ago I found myself between a rock and a hard place. I was desperate for a little vacay time, but neither my boyfriend nor any of my friends had the extra days that I had. So I decided to take it to a higher source.

My mom had a little time on her hands, and she was still upset over the loss of our family pup and felt like she could use a get-away as well. Still, it took some coaxing on my part to get her to agree to a short trip. Then, once that was decided, it was clearly time to pick the place. I suggested California— she said too far. I suggested Chicago. She said she wasn’t too keen on the prices of flights at the time. So I did a little further digging and came up with Burlington. I had heard great things about it—like mountains, breweries, cobblestone streets and Lake Champlain. And that’s all before the amazing fall foliage you’ll find if you go at a time like we did— in mid-October.

A few highlights:

Homemade apple cider at an apple cider mill in the mountains in fall= best time ever.

Gorgeous Lake Champlain.

Drinking beer with mom from a local brewery. Priceless.

A Burlington vineyard.

It’s just a tiny taste of Burlington (not to mention the Ben & Jerry’s factory tour and the Lake Champlain chocolates factory tour and tasting), but having just been there for four days left me wanting to see more of it. My mom and I have decided to make the mother-daughter trip a yearly thing, so maybe this year we’ll hit it up again. Could I get her on the ski slopes next time? Probably not, but here’s hoping!

A few other must-hit spots if you’re in the Burlington (and surrounding) area:

The Skinny Pancake: for some really delicious crepes
Nectars: if you happen to care where the band Phish began (who doesn’t care about that?!)
Downtown Burlington (Church Street Marketplace): complete with street performers, tree-lined cobblestone streets and a street named Cherry (guess what lives on that street? You guessed it. Ben & Jerry’s. They’re everywhere in Burlington!)
The Storm Cafe: overlooking Otter creek, it’s a little creepy to go when it’s raining, but cute nonetheless

Until next time, my friends…bis bald…and see you soon!