Over the long weekend, my friends and I decided to treat ourselves to a small weekend getaway. I’ve found that the East Coast is super convenient when it comes to traveling on a budget because the states are so small and there are quite a few bus companies with low rates to choose from (if you plan in advance).
We decided on Burlington, Vermont because my friend lives there and it made living arrangements easy. We started planning this trip a month in advance and bought our tickets well ahead of time. This was a popular weekend to travel so prices were not as low as they would have been on any other weekend. A roundtrip ticket ending up costing us around $70, which may seem like a lot but for three girls without access to a car, it was a pretty good option.
The bus ride was around four hours, but it was gorgeous. The weather wasn’t too cold, but it wasn’t uncomfortably warm either. It didn’t feel like the middle of February, and we have global warming to blame for that.
After we got to Burlington we decided to explore the city. We walked down Church Street, Burlington’s hub of local and global stores. There was a cute store called “Dear Lucy” that I liked (for obvious reasons) with shoes and bags, a Free People, a Lululemon, and several local restaurants that we tried to eat at with little success. Pro tip: make reservations ahead of time! We ended up eating at this cute little American-style restaurant with a great view of Church Street and the lights.
The next day we got up and went on a mini hike to Mount Philo State Park. It was practically just a hill but since it had just snowed the night before, we were met with the challenge of walking up an icy hill. It was a really pretty hike complete with beautiful, spacious views once we reached the top. The walk down was a lot easier than the walk up and we met a lot of cute dogs.
After this, we went sledding at my friend’s grandma’s house and it made us all feel like kids again. We drank hot chocolate and played cards until it was time for dinner. We went back home, made mac and cheese, and then raced back out afterward to catch a screening of the new movie, “Black Panther.” The theater was packed for a Sunday night and everyone really enjoyed the movie.
Monday was our last day as we had to take the bus back to Boston at 3 PM. We decided to visit the Champlain chocolate factory and get our hands on some factory seconds. These were drastically cheaper chocolates, not because they weren’t as tasty as the other chocolates, but because they weren’t wrapped to factory standards. So basically, we ate a lot of cheap, delicious, maple chocolate. After this, we went down to the waterfront and walked on Lake Champlain. This was my first time walking on a frozen lake and it freaked me out a little bit. We then went to a cute crepe place called the “Skinny Pancake” and got amazing savory crepes.
Finally, the time came to head home and we got on our bus back to Boston. It was a lot busier going back to Boston on Monday than it was on Saturday. I slept most of the ride so it seemed a lot faster to me.
This trip was so much fun because I got to explore a new city in a new state with amazing friends. If there is a long weekend coming up, I would definitely recommend traveling with friends and getting to know all the amazing opportunities that surround you!
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