15 Jun 2024 - "The Hills Are Alive..." and Sirens in the Campground!

Doreen and Kristine von Trapp

 Quite a day here!  A bucket list item for Doreen, I think, who knows every word and every song in the musical "The Sound of Music"!  We drove about an hour east to the Stowe VT area to visit the von Trapp family lodge, which is an Austrian-inspired resort and the American home of the von Trapp family after they fled Nazi-Austria. It was a beautiful drive in the Vermont countryside.

We arrived early for the 1100 hrs "von Trapp Family History Tour and Trail Pass" which we purchased in advance.  We checked in at the Outdoor Center which contains a bike repair shop, a cross country ski shop and a gift shop.  

Doreen picked out a souvenir shirt with a Sound of Music theme of course!  Plus it was a bit chilly so she wore it right away!  Can you name the song represented here??  Let me drop a hint:  "High on the hill...."

 Soon the presentation was to start so they moved the 30 of us into a nearby yurt and for the next 45 minutes we heard all about the family, the movie and them escaping to Vermont.  Not knowing much about the movie I still found it interesting especially the things that they got wrong in the movie!

The yurt which is a place for cross country skiers and show shoers to warm in the winter.

Our presenter was not part of the family, but very knowledgeable.

Following the presentation we walked over to the cemetery where Maria, Captain von Trapp and six of the von Trapp children are buried.  The flags on two of the graves are for the von Trapp boys who served in World War II.  

The family cemetery which was only opened for our tour.

After visiting the cemetery we passed a tree that was planted by the cast of the Sound of Music during one of their visits to the family lodge.

Just past the tree is the lodge.  It is a massive and beautiful building full of rooms that you can rent.  When Maria was still alive she lived in one of the rooms and nightly she would visit the dining room and greet the guests!

The von Trapp Lodge

Guest reception at the Lodge

We made our way to the lower level and entered St George's Hall to watch a BBC-produced documentary on the von Trapp family and the Sound of Music.  The BBC followed as Maria made her last trip back to  Salzburg Austria.

Maria von Trapp visiting the Abbey where she started the process to become a nun.

Maria von Trapp, what Julie Andrews character was based on. 

She passed away 28 March 1987

After the documentary we were greeted by Kristina von Trapp, and member of the family.  Kristina is a grandchild of Geor and Maria von Trapp.  It was nice that they had a family tree on the wall for us to refer.

Kristina von Trapp

Kristina gave us a short presentation including answers to a list of commonly asked questions, and then she opened it up to questions from the group.  Later, she was at the gift shop to sign books that were purchased and greet everyone on our tour.  

Kristina and Doreen

Our trip back to the campground was uneventful but very enjoyable. We took a back road back to the highway.

Once back in Colchester we stopped for fuel before returning to the campground.  $3.879 is a whole lot better than the highway robbery we experienced in New York.  Liberty was glad to see us and we spent some time walking about the campground with her and checking out all the campers that arrived to spend the weekend.  The campground appears to be nearly full!  Lots of kids riding pedal cars, swimming, Frisbees, campfires, bags competitions and even a band this evening in the community building. This is really a nice family campground.  Later we heard sirens and were a bit concerned but the campground has their own fire truck and give rides to the kids on weekends!

It seemed only appropriate to run the Sound of Music movie here on Prime Video this evening and see some of the things that were pointed out to us earlier today!  Yes, I enjoyed it!  There, I said it!  Doreen sang most every song, so Doreen had her day today and I had my day at CMP back at Camp Perry OH!  Life is good!

So, a shout out to all the fathers out there.  Happy Father's Day to y'all!  On Father's Day we will join Hammy and Lorie on a drive to Smuggler's Notch north of Stowe VT - not far from where we were today.  We might have to stop at the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream headquarters on the way back for a little treat!