Winooski? More like WinOWWWWWski! (Part I)

 It was the best of times....then it was the absolute freaking WORST of times. 

Two words. Kidney. Stones.

If you just want the Kidney Stone Saga, skip to Part II.

We got TWO nights in a hotel room this week! This is extremely rare on our days off because we usually arrive at the hotel early Monday morning, go back to bed, spend the day off however we want, get one night in a real bed, then back on the bus early Tuesday. But this time, we left Lowell, MA at 8pm on Sunday so we were checking in by midnight and got a full night's sleep before our day off!

I got up around 9:30 am to grab complimentary breakfast downstairs which I brought back to my room to enjoy while I caught up on House of Dragons. I stayed in bed until about noon and then decided I wanted to get out and explore before it started raining. I packed up a bag with snacks, a rain coat and an umbrella, popped in my earbuds and started on the 45 minute walk to Winooiski Falls. 

It was a gorgeous walk through the neighborhoods to downtown Winooski and the Falls Park area. I listened to an Easy Autumn playlist on Spotify and smiled as I breathed in the fresh fall air. I stopped along the way to take pictures of cool trees or houses, and even popped into the Greenmount Cemetery. When I finally made it to the falls, I admired the view from the Riverwalk, ate some snacks, then found a hiking trail. I followed the path through the colorful trees and took note of how every gust of wind created a soft flurry of leaves that gracefully feathered down from the sky. It was magical. 

As I exited the hiking trail, it started to rain. I made it up a little row of shops before it got too heavy, and I stopped into a little souvenir shop to buy a sticker and some bath salts to use later in the hotel. It was still raining pretty hard after I checked out, so I ducked into a coffee shop on the corner of the block called, Stout. I ordered a drink called a Maple Steamer and it was sweet, and delicious, and warm. I enjoyed my drink and watched the rain through the window until it eased up enough to get back to exploring. Winooski Falls was in full affect from the rain, so I ventured out on the cliffs to get a better look. It was a gorgeous view.

The 2 mile trek walk back took me through the University of Vermont campus which was lovely and historic. I took pictures of some of the old buildings and came across some beautiful sculptures. It rained for a bit of the walk and I was so glad to have my umbrella. My feet were starting to ache, and I couldn't wait to take a hot bath, eat a cup of noodles, then curl up in my bed. I checked my steps count when I got back to the hotel. I had walked 16,544 steps and 7.4 miles...on my day off...