It’s true.
Adults also have fun at Smuggs’!
TT Dad did a lot of skiing, mostly on the harder trails that I’m not really ready for yet. On our last trip, he convinced me (it took a LOT of convincing) that I could totally handle a blue square. So we went up the harder mountain, and found ourselves a blue square. It took me so long to get a quarter of the way down that he ended up flagging a member of ski patrol, who called in reinforcements, strapped me into their sled, and helped us finish before nightfall. Embarrassing, yes… Necessary? Yes. Safe to say, I learned my lesson.
I now take a lesson to begin every ski trip, and I stick to the green circles.
At Smuggs’, I signed myself up for a private lesson on our first morning. It was priceless. My instructor was wonderful, and really helped me find my ski legs after a long ‘off-season’. It quickly became clear that I needed to find some confidence. I came away from those lessons in much better shape than when I started, and I enjoyed the process so much that I signed myself up for a group lesson the following morning.
I ended up taking two group lessons, one private lesson, and I participated in the ‘Women’s Clinic’ during our stay. Hands down, the Women’s Clinic was the most enjoyable. This was most likely partially because of the clinic itself, but also partly because I was really starting to feel comfortable on skis by the fourth day.
The beauty of the Women’s Clinic is that it is designed by, run by, and filled with women. We had a group of four women, plus our instructor, and we were all roughly at the same level. There was a second group that met and skied on the more difficult terrain, as well. What a wonderful way to finish out my ski days. The clinic also included lunch, and an apres-ski beverage with your instructor and fellow participants.
The size of the group meant we were really able to get some decent tips from the instructor, and there was more skiing during the clinic than the group lessons. It was so very valuable.
Besides the clinic day, I met TT Dad for lunch each day after my lessons, and then we would ski down an easy slope together to finish out our day. We’d finish in time to pick up the kids together, and head off to our chosen evening activity.
By Thursday, the weather had hit a new low- it was beyond cold. Cold enough that there were warnings about skiing in those temperatures.
So, we took the day off. The kids weren’t very happy with the idea of skipping a day of Smuggs’ School, so we brought them to play, and headed out on our own.
First up- I had scheduled myself a massage- and oh, my… it was lovely. After four days of skiing, my muscles were aching! I was really glad to end my trip with a massage.
TT Dad and I headed out on the town. At first, we thought we’d check out a winery, but it didn’t seem to be open. There was a little brew pup that looked interesting, but it, too, wasn’t open yet. Then, we discussed heading to Stowe. We eventually decided Stowe would be too much of a hike, and found ourselves at the Smugglers’ Notch Distillery.
TT Dad enjoyed a tasting, while I checked out all the merchandise. They finished up the tasting with a shot of their bourbon maple syrup- YUM. We brought some home for our families, because it was very delicious.
After that, the brew pup was open, so we stopped in there for a quick bite to eat.
Once again, we were able to carve out a number of TT Mom and TT Dad moments throughout our stay, and we had zero worries that our kids missed us. They were clearly having the time of their lives- evidenced by the fact that they did not want to come with us at pick up- ever.
To this day, they will ask us if they can go back to Smuggs’ School, almost daily. They loved skiing, and they loved Treasures.
We all loved our second trip to Smuggs’!!