Our Green Mountain Getaway

The first time Steve and I snuck up to his family's camps in Vermont, I was 19 and he was 20.

We didn't turn on the electricity, because someone would know we had been up there. We used the wood stove for heat, got buckets of water from the well and I used an outhouse for the first time. (Things like that don't bother a Goshen Girl).

We played Chinese Checkers by kerosene lamps and drank bottles of Arbor Mist wine. We ate cheese, crackers and chocolate and talked about life between naps and games.

It was at the cabin that Steve first told me he wanted to marry me. My 19 year old self swooned, my current 30 year old self still gets butterflies at the memory.

Two kids and 11 years later, we're heading up to Vermont this weekend for the first time this year. It is our little getaway that we look forward to all winter long. Once the kids go to bed, I know we'll have a campfire the first night there, no matter how cold it is, because it will be the first one of the season. We've decided Coronas will be our adult beverage of choice to enjoy by said campfire, and we're looking forward to picnicking with the kids at the local state park on Saturday. It's free and has a great playground.

How we spend our time in Vermont has changed since we had kids, but one thing remains the same. We still eat cheese, crackers and chocolate. I kid. We do that, but the main thing that hasn't changed is that it is a TV and Internet free zone, and it is a chance to unwind, unplug and reconnect.

It's our Green Mountain Getaway- nothing fancy, and not on a lake, but it means so much to us. Year by year we are building memories there with our family.