Sunday was my mom’s birthday! She’d kill me if I told you how old she is, but since it was a somewhat milestone celebration, my dad, brother and I wanted to do something special. She is definitely not a surprise-party person (she’d probably also have killed me if I had planned one of those) but she does enjoy the occasional surprise. So, between my dad, brother and I myself we managed to surprise her with a weekend getaway to Vermont.
Being from NY, Vermont is only a short drive away (hour or so) and growing up we often spent long weekends at the various inns, B&Bs, and so on in the beautiful state. Unfortunately, the inn that we so often stayed at was booked with a wedding for her birthday weekend, but we managed to find another great Inn (the Inn at Ormsby Hill) not too far away in Manchester. So we booked the Inn, made Saturday night dinner reservations, and waited hoping that she wouldn’t find out. She knew I was coming home for the weekend and spending three days home (Sat-Mon) but that was it.
I got in from Cleveland around 11 pm Friday night and just relaxed with my family before heading to bed somewhat early. Saturday morning I got in a quick run, and then it was time for the surprise. During breakfast, we handed my mom a birthday card. Inside the card was a picture of the Inn. She was confused, obviously. She didn’t know why the photo was there or what the picture was of. After we explained everything to her, she was pretty much in shock. She had no idea that we had planned her weekend away and even had planned a quick meeting in her office Monday morning (that she was able to postpone).
Me and the birthday girl!
What a great weekend in Vermont! Not only was she surprised but we had a wonderful time relaxing, reading, drinking wine, trying Vermont cheese, sight-seeing and eating. My flight back to Cleveland got delayed a day – and while somewhat an inconvenience, it meant spending an extra day with my family and celebrating my mom.
Breakfast at the Inn. This was a polenta egg bake and it was amazing.
Another Inn breakfast. We all had our own mini omelets!
So easy to relax with chairs like this.
We drove to the top of the Equinox.
Great view from the top!
Beautiful parents before dinner
Dressed up for dinner in downtown Manchester
We also drove to a museum (the Shelburne) that ended up having a bunch of land and tons of crazy buildings (including a boat!) on site.
The Shelburne also had a merry-go-round
Enjoying some local Vermont cheese.
Thai for dinner one night
Surprise! Birthday candle @ the Thai restaurant
Happy Birthday to the most wonderful woman I know … my mom!
Some questions for you:
- Any July birthdays? I feel like everyone I know is born this month! Okay maybe not everyone. But quite a few people!
- Have you ever been to Vermont? What’s your favorite place to visit in the state?
- Have you ever had a birthday surprise? Or surprised someone for his/her birthday? How did it go?
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