Log Off (Vermont & The Adirondacks)
A wooden sculpture at the pizza restaurant in Wilmington.
It was springtime, and the Best family had just sold their house. They were moving out of the suburbs, and into the walkable downtown area of a nearby town. It took them a little longer than they expected to find a new house, so they planned an epic road trip to help fill the time between homes.
The night before departing, they packed their bags with clothes, a couple books, and a few small toys for the journey. As they crawled into bed one final time in their old house, dad reminded them of the plan. The Best family reserved a log cabin in the Adirondack Mountains through Airbnb. Their plan was to stay for five nights and to explore the surrounging region.
It was 5:30 AM when they woke up and put their jackets on. The house was mostly empty because of the move, so they only needed to brush their teeth, get dressed, and file into the car. Their mom and dad were in the front seats, Hugo and Edith sat in the middle row, and Frederick sprawled out across the back with his art supplies and Rescue Bots. When the engine started, they rolled out of the driveway for one last time and waved goodbye to their old house in the suburbs. They were ready for a new place where they could be more connected to their neighbors.
The road to the Adirondacks had few stopovers. Because they were driving from Michigan and because the Great Lakes are so large, it was actually better for them to travel through Canada to get there. This worked out well for the Best kids because their Nana and Papa live in Ontario and they could stop in for a visit. When they arrived at Nana and Papa’s house, they discovered that they had taken their dad to the Adirondacks many times when he was a kid, and they were happy the tradition was being passed on.
After a two-night stay, the kids got back on the road. By the time the kids arrived in the Adirondack Mountains, it was already getting late. They passed through Saranac Lake, where they stopped for some groceries at the local Aldi. The sun disappeared from the horizon when they were loading groceries into the already-full trunk. As they got closer to their cabin in the Wilmington area, their mom (who was driving at the time) asked their dad about the details of their lodging arrangement.
“Do you have a key to get into the cabin?”
“Yes, of course!” Their dad replied. “The owner sent me a passcode to get in the front door. Let me find it.”
Dad picked up his phone, and opened the Airbnb app to find the message that contained the passcode.
“Uh oh...” A troubled look came over his face.
“What’s wrong?” Hollered Frederick from the backseat.
“I don’t have any reception on my phone. I can’t access the message that has the passcode!”
Instantly, their plan to get off the grid for a few days was beginning to fall apart. Even their remote mountain getaway required a connection.
Together, they scrambled to make a new plan. With only a few minutes until they reached their destination, they decided to hunt for a coffee shop or restaurant with free Wi-Fi, so they could get the internet working again. As they pulled into the village of Wilmington, there was one church, one post office, one gas station and thankfully, one restaurant.
Mom swerved into the parking lot and the kids’ dad jumped out of the car with his smartphone in hand. The next few minutes were quiet and tense. The kids were nervous they wouldn’t have a place to sleep and their mom was frustrated. The sky had turned a shade of dark turquoise.
It took a little longer than expected, but their dad arrived back at the car with the passcode. The family-owned restaurant let him use their private Wi-Fi network to access the internet.
From the restaurant’s location, it was only a few minutes up a steep side road and down a small laneway to the cabin. They parked the car in the driveway, and the team stretched, as they gathered their belongings. The kids lined up at the entrance with their bags, as their dad typed in the passcode, which unlocked the door.
The place was great – a perfect escape! It had a cozy living room with log walls of maple, a fireplace, and a large deck with Adirondack chairs overlooking the mountains. All of that was great, but there was one surprise feature that really excited them.
“Bunkbeds!” They cheered as they ran over to climb up on top. Frederick and Edith were thrilled to scale this impressive wooden structure, and instantly argued over who would sleep in the top bunk first. Hugo was too young to sleep on the bunkbed, but he was thrilled that he got to sleep in the same room as his brother and sister for the first time ever. Once in bed, he kept them up late into the night because he couldn’t stop talking.
The Best crew took it easy the next day. They cooked breakfast with supplies from the supermarket, they watched the movie Smallfoot together while snuggling on the couch, and their parents turned off their phones in exchange for reading books on the deck. In the evening, they stolled into the village for some grub.
Walking down the steep incline seemed challenging until the kids realized they would have to walk back up later, so they save the complaining for later. When the restaurant they visited the previous night was in view, they realized it was in a blue building with a small front porch made of wooden planks. On the porch, there was a statue of a bear that was carved out of wood and four metal letters that were installed on the outside wall. When they were still a couple hundred feet away, Frederick spelled out the word P-I-Z-Z-A.
About fifteen minutes later, they found themselves sitting quietly on the eatery’s patio, gobbling hot pizza and coloring on napkins with crayons that were provided. They had a beautiful view of the river and the mountains. Their journey had just begun, but they already learned one important lesson: It’s healthy to get away, but everyone needs connection. And sometimes, connection comes from the kindness of a hostess at a pizza place in the mountains.
They left a big tip.