Outing to Bennington Vermont

 Hope you all are doing well and that you enjoyed a wonderful Valentines Day.  I've never really celebrated Valentine's very much.  I grew up in a family that didn't, and so I never have either.  When we first were dating/engaged/married, Dan would give me the obligatory bouquet of flowers or teddy bear and chocolates.  I convinced him a few years ago though to cease and desist.  haha.  

It's not that I'm a complete party pooper.  Really!

It's more that I've never really enjoyed getting flowers that die quickly, unless they are wildflowers picked alongside the road, or zinnias from our garden.  And I get annoyed when I think of the price gauging that happens around Valentine's for flowers and chocolates.  I'd much rather just get chocolates at random times of the year.  

So I have trained Dan well.  We said "Happy Valentine's Day" to each other and that was it.  

We took time after dinner that night to play some games with the girls.  Go fish, the raven game, and memory match.  They had a lovely time.  

A few days later, we had an outing day!  We drove to Bennington, Vermont which we have never visited in the almost 5 years we've lived here.  

We haven't had an outing like this since the fall.  

There was a battle fought at Bennington in the revolutionary War which was won and thus, helped the battle of Saratoga (a bit further south of us) to be won.  Saratoga is often referred to as the "turning point" of the Revolutionary war.  

There's a very large monument there in Bennington, dedicated to the battle that was fought there.  

There were also several covered bridges in that area which we enjoyed seeing.

We went out to eat at a diner there in Bennington.  As cute as the place was, I wasn't a huge fan of it because the waitresses were really super cranky, and made our experience there feel like we were cattle being herded in and out.  

Afterwards, we stopped at a roadside country store.  It was very cute.  Very overpriced, but cute. 

It was really a very lovely outing.  We look forward to these types of little trips.  Bennington is only about 40 minutes away, but the drive was beautiful and so scenic.  I loved seeing all of the old houses in the countryside. 

Hope you all are well and are enjoying February! I'm looking forward to Spring....and before that...FASTNACHT DAY!!! It's coming up!