Reviews and Personal Thoughts

November 19, 2008

Oil has come down in price, so I'm doubly glad I didn't fork over for the $4.79 pre-buy offer. The wood boiler arrives tomorrow, and I have a dozen cords of wood stacked for winter. I still think this is a good move, both to use sustainable Vermont resources, but also as a protection from future higher oil prices, which I believe will return sooner or later. Not to mention giving my kids something to do when they claim they're bored. :)

August 05, 2008

I've given a lot of thoughts lately about how to deal with high energy costs, as well as to make the business more sustainable. When we got our prebuy offer from the local fuel company and they were offering $4.79/gallon for heating oil for the upcoming winter, it was enough to help me make a decision about changing our heating system at the inn. We're going to be installing a modern, high-efficiency wood boiler this fall. In addition to saving money, we'll be buying our fuel from locals with wood lots rather than Middle Eastern dictators, and nobody ever fought a war over a wood lot.

The downside is that wood is a lot of work. As they say, wood actually heats you twice, once when you burn it and once when you have to cut it. I would add that you're also warmed when you haul it, split it, and stack it.

We got two cords of wood delivered yesterday and this morning in three small shipments from a couple of guys who get the wood from the 100 acres that used to be their grandparents' farm but has now gone to woodlands. It was a bit difficult to get it all stacked and arranged in the far basement and off the back porch, but we managed.

And then, a couple of hours after the kids and I finished stacking, the guy I'd called last week, but never heard from, showed up with his larger truck and two more cords of wood. We now have several huge wood piles, given that we already had 3-4 cords on hand from earlier deliveries plus cutting/hauling/splitting/stacking on my part.

That gives us roughly 7-8 cords of the approximately 12-14 we'll need for the winter. I'd take a picture of the impressive stacks, but my arms are too tired to lift a camera.

June 12, 2008

We have the new siding on the main building and are just finishing up the painting of the lodge. It was great to see the project come together and to hang our new, freshly painted signs. The inn is looking great and I'm excited about the changes. We also replaced the roof over the lobby and the carport, which isn't as visible to guests, but was much needed.

March 29, 2008

We've had a great winter and as a skier, I took advantage of the conditions to get up to both Sugarbush and Mad River Glen as often as the busy inn allowed me. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. Even though it takes awhile for the weather to warm from "mud season," I enjoy the return of the birds and the chance to see the green landscape, take my daily walks around the beaver pond, and get started on my vegetable garden.

I also enjoy the feeling of improvement after our annual spring projects. This year I'm planning to paint the lodge and replace the roof over the carport and dining area. It's also time to start on some carpet replacements, although this will probably be a multi-year project.

December 13, 2007

What a change a year makes. Last year, we had a great finish to the season, but it started very slowly. Instead of warmth this December, we have unusually good early season snows. Even Mad River Glen (all natural snow) is fully open and skiing incredibly on every trail. Conditions at Sugarbush are like February.

We've got another big storm coming this weekend. A classic nor'easter.

July 02, 2007

It's almost July 4, one of the truly great times to be in the Mad River Valley. Warren has one of the best small town parades and Independence Day celebrations you will ever find.

We finished replacing the roof of the lodge about two weeks ago and it looks so much better. It's not the sort of thing that most people will notice, but it will sure give me peace of mind this upcoming winter. The old roof had never had any leaking problems, but it was only a matter of time. Pulling up the old roof also gave us the chance to put in some extra insulation. Energy conservation can be tough up here but I like to do what I can.

April 02, 2007

We had an interesting winter. The first half was challenging conditions, but once things improved, wow. The snow from the Valentine's Day blizzard (37 inches in the valley, 40-48 inches on the mountain) through the first couple of weeks of March was as good as I've seen. And we've had terrific spring skiing as well, with as much snow depth as we enjoyed.

Things are warming up and I can see the ground under my garden for the first time. I still haven't decided what I'm going to plant. I've got some work to do on the strawberry beds as well if we're going to enjoy some of those wonderful Belgian waffles this summer.

As for off-season work, we were lucky enough to get all the mattresses replaced last November, so that checks another thing off my list. I want to replace the roof in the lodge. It's not leaking, but its old enough and starting to show it, so I don't want to take my chances.

June 24, 2006

The good news is that everything is green and beautiful in the Mad River Valley. The bad news is that it seems like it's been raining since April. Thankfully, we're getting a break in the weather starting this weekend. Hopefully, things will stay warm and clear for the July 4th parade and festivities. It's always a fun time and things really start to pick up with activities and numbers of visitors in the Valley.

Our air conditioning is now fully online and we've been taking advantage of the slower midweek days during this rain to get caught up on some painting.

It's still early to be thinking about ski season, but here is some pre-trip planning for people considering a ski weekend at Sugarbush, with the best way to plan your trip and how to hit the slopes to avoid lift lines.

May 02, 2006

It's nice to see spring here again. I've started my initial preparations on the garden as well as planted some flowers in the boxes. This year I'm growing tomatoes, beans, and squash in addition to my berries. I'm hoping for a better crop out of the blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries this year. Last year the strawberries were fantastic and made for some great Belgian waffles, but the bushes were just getting started.

I'm biting the bullet and putting in air conditioning in the rooms. You really only need AC for about six or seven days a year but people are starting to expect it. I had one person decline a reservation last May because we didn't have AC. Never mind that the forecast high for the weekend in question was 63 degrees. It will be nice for those few hot days in July and August, though.

All of this means some electrical work and some work that should be finished by the end of May.

The other project is putting in a new lamp post for the lower parking lot and beginning a wall that will run from there up to the sign and the mailbox, protecting all three. We lost the sign to a drunk driver last winter, the mailbox to a snow plow, and the lamp three times in three years.

The new stone wall will look great, but it will take me a couple of years to get it completed.

November 18, 2005

It was a strange and unsatisfying foliage season. We had terrific weather up until the day before Columbus Day Weekend when the rains came. It rained for twelve straight days. When they finally left, so had any hope of seeing some good colors. The leaves that had just started to change had fallen and a good number of the remaining trees just yellowed their leaves and drop them. Ah, well. Such is the weather in New England.

The weather for ski season, however, is looking up. We had an early dumping a couple of weeks ago that didn't stick around, but the weather has turned cold in the last twenty-four hours and looks set to continue cold and with snow showers for the next ten days. No big storms on the horizon yet, but it's ideal weather for snowmaking and laying down a good early base. The Accuweather forecast is for a colder, snowier winter than normal in the northeast.

I sent off for my Sugarbush season pass a couple of days ago and hope that it gets here soon so that I can take a couple of ski days before the crowds come. Mt. Ellen's opening day is tomorrow. They're just opening a few trails to start with, but should be bringing more online week by week. Lincold Peak should open on December 10 and Mad River Glen whenever they have enough natural snow to throw open the gates.

I've got a couple of last minute projects I'm trying to finish up before things get crazy. With fuel prices so high, I've been trying to do some winterizing, including replacing a couple of old doors we had in rooms in the Lodge. I'm also replacing the vinyl in the bathrooms in 11 and 13 and the vinyl in the kitchen in 13 and putting in new shower units in those two units. We've put in new carpet and some new furniture in 13 as well, making it the leading candidate for most improved room for the year.

The other big news is that we have a new addition to the family. Liam was born on October 6 and weighed over nine pounds. Both baby and mother are doing fine.

June 06, 2005

The new front deck is almost finished. I knew that it would need to be replaced sometime in the next year or so, but after a hard winter, the decay was too great to ignore. As I've torn up the old planking, the rotting joists (not pressure treated, just plain spruce) was alarming. The new deck is made of Trex, which should last forever, and sits atop a much stronger foundation. The deck should be finished by Thursday. I'm hoping to get some continuous rain gutter up as well instead of the inadequate flashing.

We've seen some wildlife around lately. I caught a milk snake last week and there is a brown toad that was living underneath the front deck, chased off by the racket, unfortunately. The chipmunks are back in force and as a result I can scarcely keep the bird feeders filled. It might be time to relocate them. We've also had a fair share of birds: blue jays, grosbeaks, grackles, and of course chickadees. I saw an oriole in a tree about two weeks ago.

May 05, 2005

After a much needed break in April, I'm ready to get back at it. The ski resorts are closed and the weather is starting to warm. I've got a lot of yard work ahead of me. I spent a few hours yesterday just getting some basic cleanup underway. It will be a couple of weeks yet before the beds are cleaned up, the flowers planted, etc. I'm toying with putting in a bench and a path leading onto the upper stretch of the Kingsbury Bridge Greenway, which we're now a part of. It would provide a nice overlook of the river with a granite ridge at your back to block all noise or sight of the highway. It would also mean a lot of work, so I'm still just considering it at the moment.

I love the winters in Vermont, and certainly enjoy skiing, but they can be long. Vermont summers are brief, but we enjoy them while we're here. I'm looking forward to picking blueberries, to the Warren Fourth of July Parade, to the farmer's market, and to swimming in the river (but not yet, brrr!) with the kids.

March 11, 2005

It's been a long time since my last update. To give a quick summary, we had a challenging early season. Up until mid-February, every week seemed to have one warm/rainy day. We would then slowly improve conditions with a bit of snow and cold weather until the next week's bad weather. Just before President's Day weekend, however, the weather turned cold and snowy and has been that way ever since. It doesn't feel anything close to the middle of March now and we should have good skiing for at least another few weeks as they are saying the weather will be unusually cold and snowy.

My nine year old son, Ethan broke his leg today at Sugarbush and I feel terrible about it, especially since I bear more than a little responsibility for it.

He's been taking classes through the elementary school and had finally reached the point where he was able to take some real runs down a real lift and was so excited about it. After his school program ended, I met him and we took the Gatehouse Express up. I skied behind him through the first few turns of Pushover and was quite pleased with how much progress he'd make since I worked with him on the Poma five or six weeks ago. I started to ski ahead. When I ski with Melinda, who is also learning, I ski ahead, wait, ski ahead, wait, etc., and I was instinctively doing the same.

The thing is, with the school, they follow the instructor in a big, snaking line down the mountain. He saw me zipping ahead and tried to keep up, even though we'd just hit the one steep part of the run. I came to my first stop and glanced back and realized what he was doing even as he lost control. His downhill ski twisted back away from him and didn't pop loose until the damage had been done. We spent the next couple hours taking him down the hill in a sled, getting x-rays, cast, etc. Thankfully, it wasn't a compound fracture, but what is called a fracture of the tibial spine. Still, bad enough. He was just getting going and now he's done for the season and hobbled for the next several weeks.

Geez, I feel bad. I know it was an accident, but two seconds of thought and a bit of advice before we started would have prevented it all. Poor kid, even as he's fighting back the pain, he kept saying, "I'm sorry, Dad."

December 20, 2004

I took my first runs of the year last Thursday. I was quite pleased with the quality of the skiing, made all the better because there were surprisingly few people on the slopes. It's started to pick up a bit over the last few days, but with the quality of the snow, the light crowds, and the lower prices here in the Valley, I can't imagine a better week to come ski Sugarbush and Mad River Glen.

It's kind of funny, but I've noticed that when it's snowing in New York and Boston the phone rings off the hook up here. It's as though it takes a few flakes outside the window to make people think, "Hmmm....skiing!"

December 10, 2004

Wow, it's really feeling like winter around here. It's been snowing more days than not, although I would like to see a big nor'easter to really get things going and force our plow guy to earn his keep. Actually, the Minister of Propaganda weather guy at Sugarbush is saying we might get a big one starting this Sunday, which will follow another few inches we're supposed to get earlier in the weekend. That would be great, as I'm hoping to get on the slopes myself for the first time this season sometime early in the week.

Something about the change in the weather or maybe just something in the air in Southern New England and New York has set the phones ringing. We've still got a couple of rooms for the holiday break, but we're a lot more filled up than we were just a few days ago. People are already starting to look into January, February, and March bookings as well.

November 19, 2004

Winter is almost upon us. Mount Ellen area of Sugarbush celebrates their opening day tomorrow. They've had the snow guns up and running for about a week now, but I'd love to see a big snowstorm to get Lincoln Peak up and going as well, not to mention Mad River Glen, which relies entirely on the natural stuff. Personally speaking, I bought a new pair of skis last year, so I'd prefer to get some thicker cover before going out.We had a couple of big ones in late November and early December last year, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

On the other hand, we've still got some projects to do before the big crowds hit. I've been digging a *&%! trench in back of the lodge so that we can put in a light post at the base of the stairs leading up to the back deck. There is already decent lighting in the lodge, except that the lights are controlled from the individual rooms, which means that they can be shut off and that leaves the backside too dark.

We've just finished painting the Riverside Efficiency and will have new carpets there as well, assuming the carpet installers can get off their duffs and make it out here in time for the holidays. Of course, we did that massive renovation of the Brookside Apartment in the spring/early summer, and those rooms look terrific, with all new bathrooms, kitchen, carpet--everything. It also has a gas fireplace, which is especially nice during the winter.

October 05, 2004

Peak foliage day is upon us. Yes, that's right, at 8:37 this morning, the foliage will be at its brightest and most beautiful, so be sure to go outside and ooh and ah at the appropriate time. Please do not wait until 8:38, or show up at 8:36 or you are sure to be disappointed.

Okay, taking the tongue out of cheek, foliage will be peaking for the next week and a half, depending on where you are in the valley. Right now, the mountains are spectacular. I think we're still a few days away down here. Last weekend, I took the East Warren Road and thought things couldn't get any more beautiful than that. I'm hoping to slip away for a bit today and drive up Lincoln Gap and then go ride the free lift rides at Mad River Glen. If you come to the inn, be sure to ask about good driving and hiking options. I'm always happy to recommend something, but especially this time of the year when everything is so beautiful.

One of my favorite hikes right now is just taking Sammy (he's our golden retriever puppy) along the new Kingsbury Bridge Greenway that starts at the back of the inn, passes through the woods along the old road, down into the meadow, and then crosses Route 100 at Kingsbury Bridge and down to the pond. The best time to go is about an hour before dusk, because the beavers are almost always swimming around at that time. They slap their tails when we walk by, but otherwise seem generally unperturbed. To do the whole walk, including circumnavigating the pond takes a half hour to 45 minutes. Perhaps longer if you have a puppy who wants to splash around in the water.

August 24, 2004

As regular visitors to the valley know, the Mad River Path Association has been working over the years to give the Valley a fully realized system of paths for walking, biking, running, and hiking. Some of the paths pass through town, while others are challenging segments of the Long Trail, running along the spine of the Green Mountains. There are other trails that snake along the river or pass through fields and farm land. The Path Association has just published their latest edition of the Valley's trails, and it is a superb, professional map. We have them for sale at the inn, with proceeds from the $5.00 cost going entirely to the Path Association.

More excitingly for the Golden Lion Inn, our property is now officially a part of the Kingsbury Bridge Greenway, a subset of a larger trail that will eventually stretch all the way from Waitsfield to the heart of Warren Village. The initial segment runs from a small park just to the south, goes through the woods, then crosses Route 100 at the Kingsbury Bridge to continue along to the Sugarbush Pond. Much of it is still under development, but the section passing through the property will eventually be a beautiful, stone-lined path as it runs in front of the property, becoming more wild in appearance as it reaches the woods and the meadows. I'm hoping to build a covered deck/patio along the granite ridge overlooking the river and this would be a great place for walkers to stop for a rest or picnic.

July 16, 2004

We finally finished the remodel of the Brookside Apartment. It looks really good, completely redone from top to bottom, with a new kitchen, new bathrooms, flooring, lighting, etc. I think our winter guests will really appreciate the new gas fireplace.

We've had a couple of events the last few weeks. The first was the Mad River Valley soaring festival. I really enjoyed this group of guests, who were always friendly and cheerful. The weather was beautiful for their stay, which made for perfect flying conditions. It was good news for us, as well, as they nearly filled our rooms for an entire week. We are the closest lodging to airport, so it was convenient for them.

The second event was last weekend's motorcycle rally. This was the first year, and there was some controversy in the valley about the rally: would it be too loud, rowdy, etc.? It was certainly not rowdy, as the rally participants are comfortable, middle aged couples, for the most part. We only saw a handful of guests who were attending the rally, but I think that many of the participants were daytrippers from Vermont or New Hampshire who had come to check things out. I heard a lot of positive feedback, and of course there are few places more beautiful for riding/driving than the Mad River Valley. I expect that the rally will grow in years to come.

June 02, 2004

I'm hoping to add a section with reviews of hikes and biking trails along the Mad River Valley, but in the meanwhile, let me tell you about our hike to Sunset Ledge. You get to the trail by taking the Lincoln Gap road just south of Warren. This is a beautiful drive in good weather, and a few brave (slash, foolish) souls try it in the winter. At roughly the summit, you can park your car and either take the south trail toward Sunset Ledge and points beyond, or take the Long Trail north. We took the Sunset Ledge hike.

The hike is rated as "moderate" on the trail maps of the valley, and this is probably accurate. The twins (4 1/2) were able to make it, although just barely. They're a little more adventurous than the average child, though. Our eight year old had no problem, and this is probably a safer age. It's a little over a mile to the ledge, much of it step and along weather-worn granite shelves. The view at the end is well worth the hike. You can see the tip of Lake Champlain and all the way across to the Adirondacks.

May 1, 2004

It's been a busy spring. We're doing a complete remodel of the Brookside Apartment to bring fixtures, flooring, etc., up to date, as well as better configure the space. For those of you who've stayed there before, it will still have a full kitchen and extra bedroom, but there will be the option to add in a second bedroom and bathroom for those who have extra large groups. It's going to be so nice that I was joking with Melinda that we ought to just move over there ourselves. I'll post some pictures as soon as it's ready for guests.

It's amazing how much work can pile up over the winter. A good, busy ski season has left us in real need of some serious spring cleaning. And of course, there is all the yard work, but the work on that front really pays off. Bulbs are sprouting, flowers blooming. Together with the warm, sunny weather of the last few days, we've got that mood-lifting spring feel. Melinda and I filled the front planters yesterday with some pansies. Very soon now, I'm going to plant my strawberries for my Belgian Waffles.

March 30, 2004

The season is officially winding down. Mad River Glen closed last Sunday. Sugarbush is still open with some good spring skiing, but this next weekend might be our last good one before spring (or is that mud season?) arrives in full force.

It's too early to plant those new berry bushes yet, but I've been giving a try to some of my spring/summer recipes. I bought a case of California strawberries and made Belgian waffles one day and stuffed French toast on another.

We took the kids on a ride over to Middlebury on a nice sunny afternoon this week. Moss Glen falls has broken through the ice. So had Texas Falls near Granville, but the path was still covered in snow and ice. Isabel went racing ahead to have a look and took a nice, muddy slide down the hill. I'd hoped to find a nice Indian restaurant in Middlebury, but the mud put a damper on that plan. Ah, well. We really were out to get some fresh air anyway.

March 08, 2004

It's been a busy season. Several cold fronts swept down from Canada in January, and we had temperatures as low as the -20s, with daytime highs often failing to reach zero. It didn't keep the die-hard skiers away, but I was picking my own ski days carefully. February warmed up nicely and several small snow storms kept the skiing freshened up all month. We were quite busy all month, and more or less entirely filled for a ten day stretch starting at President's Day weekend through the following week, which is a school break for much of the Northeast.

March...well, it's been interesting, to say the least. The weather turned warm and sunny the last couple of days of February. It was wonderful to feel the sun, to sit up at Alyn's Lodge at Sugarbush, able to eat a sandwich on the open deck, with the mountain stretching down below. But after about a week of that--together with an unfortunate day of rain--conditions have grown spotty, to say the least--ski conditions were hurting. March is a traditionally snowy month, but it was beginning to look like the season would come to a swift and unfortunate end.

But then, within the last 24 hours we've had a return to winter-like weather; the resorts got 2-3 inches of fresh snow last night and this morning (only an inch or so here at the inn) and the temperatures have stayed below freezing. We're supposed to get some more snow showers over the next few days. It's hard to say how much new stuff we'll get, but it can only help.

A couple of friends came to visit from Rhode Island this last week. They were new to the sport, and tried snowboarding lessons on Saturday and skiing lessons on Sunday. Had a great time. We went to the Millbrook Inn for dinner on Saturday night. It was very nice, especially the ambience, which reminded me of a cozy little restaurant in France.

December 09, 2003

The huge snow storm we had this last week has put people in the holiday spirit. These last two days have been quite busy as far as taking new reservations, to the point where availability is getting pretty tight for the holiday period. I'm hoping to go skiing myself in the next couple of days. I'm worried that by next week I'll be too busy and it will be too late.

Melinda and I have been painting the Skylight Efficiency these last couple of days. There was a time about midway through that I was wishing we'd waited until spring, what with all the interuptions, the snow, and other things on the to-do list, but I'm glad we pushed through. In addition to the paint, we got some new lamps, painted an old dresser, put up new window treatments and got some new quilts on the beds. It really looks a lot better. We're doing a little bit of work on the fireplace lobby in between breakfasts; any other projects will have to wait until spring.

Last week, we stopped in on the Easy Street Cafe, just up Route 100 from the inn. We had some excellent sandwiches. They've got a nice dining area with a view of a meadow and the mountains. The other side of the building is the Purple Moon, a popular local pub and hang-out.

November 21, 2003

We had quite a bit of rain over the past few days. The rain combined with the melting snow to swell the waters of both Clay Brook and the Mad River well beyond their normal levels. The Mad River took on white-water dimensions for about twenty-four hours before gradually subsiding as the weather dried out.

It's hard to say with the famously changeable New England weather, but it looks like we're due for a colder stretch starting next week. Hopefully, we'll see more snow.

I had the chance to try out a couple of local restaurants this last week. The first was Rosarita's Cantina up the access road toward Sugarbush. They had a mole on the menu. It was perfect, with that mixture of sweet, spicy, and chocolate that is so startling the first time you ever try it.

I have to digress for a story about my first real experience with mole. I was invited to stay with some friends once a few years ago when I was traveling through central Mexico. My friend asked if there was anything special I'd like his wife to cook while I was there. "I've heard that you make really good mole in this part of Mexico. Does she know how to make that?"

There was a pause. "Uhm, yes. Yes, she knows how to make mole. Would you like her to cook it for you?"

Well, of course the mole was absolutely fabulous and I insisted that his wife send me the recipe when I got back to the United States. She emailed it a few days later. I read through the recipe with growing dismay. I read about the two days of advance preparation required, about the several hours spent giving just the right flavor to the turkey and the sauce. It was as if I had posed the same question to a visitor from Mexico and he'd replied, "I've heard of this thing called 'Thanksgiving Dinner' that you serve in America. Can you make me a full Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings? Do you know how to make that?"

But back to Rosarita's Cantina. The twins had taquitos from the children's menu, which they loved. It was exactly the sort of food they like: crunchy and eaten with the fingers. Our older son had a quesadilla, which he also liked, but he was eyeing the taquitos by the time he'd finished. It might not be enough food for an older child.

The second restaurant was Flatbread, just up Route 100 from us. I'd inherited a couple of their frozen flatbreads (think thin-crust pizza with more cheese than sauce) when we'd first moved to the inn, but hadn't yet been into the restaurant. Flatbread is located in a nicely restored barn/farmhouse complex. Several employees were hard at work feeding the wood-fired oven when I arrived. I got a couple of tomato herb pizzas from the current batch, which we took home and ate while they were still hot, and a couple more for the freezer. The latter did not survive the weekend.

Flatbread is one of those socially-conscious businesses that you see in surprising numbers in Vermont. When customers care about the quality of ingredients, to say nothing of quality of life issues, it is indeed possible to get high-quality products and for a reasonable price.