This past weekend we took a little road trip to central Vermont, to the little town of Fairlee. We have spent a lot of time in Fairlee the past few summers – it’s where Bhaktistock was held for the years that it ran, and our good friend Wes has a farm there. It was once a retreat center, but sadly has ceased operating.
This time, our winter trip was to skate on Lake Morey. Jack and Massimo came along with Z and me, making it a fun little getaway for us on a Sunday morning. (Although we didn’t know it at the time, rain and warming temps on Monday and Tuesday effectively ended the skating season at the lake, so it was a timely trip.)
We arrived and rented some skates; we went with the hockey type, instead of the clip-on Nordic skates, which are apparently better on uneven ice. They clip onto the same boots that are worn for Nordic (x-country) skiing, making them a handy option to explore in the future. The folks at Lake Morey Resort had plenty of skates – in case you’re reading this and thinking of going. They had all sizes and for $25 you have them for the day.
I didn’t grow up in Vermont, but our home in Pennsylvania in the 80’s was cold enough most winters to freeze the creek that ran through our property, and my mom always made sure there were ice skates for all of us. I wouldn’t say “I grew up ice skating”, but when the creek froze, we were skating on it. Fast forward to living in Charlotte (VT!) a few years ago, and more winters than not, we skated on the frozen fire pond. I love ice skating, and so was really jazzed about our trip to Lake Morey.
Massimo learned to skate on that pond when he was small, but it had been about 10 years, so it took some time for him to find his ice-legs. We ended up skating arm-in-arm for much of the 4.5 mile loop, which was fun and quite an adventure. At the end of it all, we took a photo to celebrate the achievement.
Thanks Lake Morey – hope we get another chance to skate on your next year!