Day 14 – Flat Hiking, Molly’s Spa Day and Dining With the Von Trapps

From – Stowe (Maine)
To – Stowe (Maine)
Via – High on a Hill (where there was a lonely goat herd)

Today's Photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157609476394359/

The original plan was to stay in our posh hotel for one or maybe two nights but a quick (and I mean lightening quick) glance at the upcoming schedule (we need to be in Buffalo by Thanksgiving) revealed that we could afford to spend another night here in paradise. When I say “afford”, I am talking about time rather than money because the longer we stay here, the longer Kate will fritter away money on non-essentials such as spa treatments (I think her and Klaus are now officially an item), mini-bar nuts and (my personal favourite) her insistence that breakfast should be accompanied by a pint of Bloody Mary. That’s right, my world renowned lightweight wife is turning into a booze-hound. I think her dad just punched the air with pride.
So suitably fortified by another astonishing Top Notch breakfast (these guys turn the mundane into the extraordinary with apparent ease) and one third of Team MacNaughton a bit tipsy, we got a lift into town via the hotel’s space age mini-van in order for us to walk the 6 mile recreational path back to our resort. Nothing major to report here other than my bold claim that morning that “there is no such thing as non-shorts weather” proved to be very, very wrong. By the end of the walk I had purple knees whilst Molly was looking rather snug in her embarrassing “I love New York” hoodie which I was seriously considering mugging her for by mile 2…if only I could catch her.

Now the odour of our vehicle has been turning more and more sour recently and Molly has also started to bite her nails which keeps us awake at night and makes us look like terrible parents so it was time for her to get some pampering. Dogs Etc couldn’t bathe her as they are booked out until past Christmas (thus confirming my belief that the highest earning industries are dog grooming and dry cleaning, both of which can be done by drunken monkeys) but they could clip her nails which, on closer inspection, resembled burnt cashews. As such, the bathing was done in the Top Notch bath – I only tell you this as you may want to avoid room 120 if you ever go there…avoiding the specific towel I used to dry her with is going to be somewhat more of a lottery.

Next was a trip up to the Von Trapp Family Lodge which provided the inspiration for The Sound of Music and is perched 2 miles up a hill with incredibly picturesque views of Stowe and the surrounding mountains. We had a very quick look around (it is beautiful but the average age of the clientele matches that of Maria and the Baron) and decided to return later for dinner with the vague hope that we may not be the only people in this restaurant because of its tourist appeal. Well, we weren’t the only people there was a table of four who were celebrating one of the couples 50th wedding anniversary (clearly a cover for some kind of muppet themed swinging vacation) and there was an entertainer who bashed out requests more impressively than iTunes. We were even treated to a Sound of Music medley which I am sure he is sick to the back teeth of playing. It might all sound cheesy but we were quite a couple of happy campers, sat in front of an open fire, munching wiener-schnitzel and finding out how to solve a problem like Maria.

Heading west into the Adirondacks towards Lake Placid tomorrow…but not before one more luxurious breakfast and, no doubt, a pint of reddened vodka for Fag Ash Lil.