Adventures In: Vermont

The road to Vermont was super pleasant. We were surrounded by pines and spruces, giving me the desire to see snow fall from the sky. We still have a few months until that happens though, but I can't wait to see New England change into a winter wonderland.

Mom, Ros, and I made it to the Great Vermont Corn Maze. We learned that it's the largest corn maze in New England. It was very affordable, and whether we wanted to try to solve it (2-3 hours), or take the scenic route (45 minutes), the price was the same. Mom naturally wanted the challenge so we took the full experience and tried to solve it. They gave us a small card and a pencil to take with us on your journey. Along the way, we were going to come across different letters of the alphabet, which would help us track if we went through the same place more than once. By writing it down, we could keep track of our progress.

When you enter the maze, you have four entrances for you to choose from to start your journey. They were named: eeny, meeny, miny, and moe. There was also a Minotaur statue protecting the entrance of the maze so that was really cool to take pictures with.

For those that are unfamiliar with Greek mythology in regards to the Minotaur, the story goes as follows. The minotaur was a creature born to a Cretan Queen and a majestic bull. He had the head of a bull and the body of a man. The King feared it and ordered a craftsman to build a labyrinth to house and contain it. Yearly offerings of youths and maidens were sent to be sacrificed to keep it content, until the Athenian hero Theseus killed it.

A popular theory for solving mazes is called the Right-hand method. It's where you keep your right hand on the wall of the labyrinth and follow it until you reach the exit. It's best to use this as a last resort but it seems effective unless the design of the maze was purposefully created to bust that method. Ros and mom really showed their competitive sides when we were surrounded by corn stalks.

I thought it would be scary to be surrounded by 8-foot tall corn stalks. I've seen my share of horror movies and I was extremely thankful that we were doing this in the middle of the day. We did really well, considering we only repeated one letter. We came across a couple of really cool photo ops and we posed with each of them. I'm sure we missed some since the maze was 24 acres in size.

At one landmark there were some raptors just like the ones I saw at Universal Studios. Another one was a tunnel above ground which was really spacious. At one point we came across a boat with steps to enter it, that allowed us to get a view over the corn stalks. It helped us located our position in the maze, but didn't really help with where to go next! If you ever get to visit I hope you see all the cool landmarks!

Right at the end, I twisted my ankle pretty bad. The maze is located on a slope, and lately, I've been tripping on thin air. I pushed myself for almost 30 minutes after the twist, but we crossed a bridge and noticed we were close to the entrance of the maze. Mom became concerned with the condition of my foot and suggested I sit out of the rest of the challenge. Part of me didn't want to; I knew in my gut that we were close to the end. Ros promised to finish it for us, and for the video. I agreed, and mom stayed with me at the entrance.

I checked my watch and saw that we were in there for over 3 and a half hours already. I'm proud of my progress and know that next time I come across a maze, I'll own it. We found the exit, which was located in a nice garden with a huge bell to ring when you succeed. There was also a nice "I did it!" sign to stand under for pictures. Every year, they design the corn maze in a shape or image. This year it was shaped like a Staff of Hermes in honor and support of first responders and medical staff. Mom and I explored the open space until we heard the bell ringing and Ros yelling that he did it. I felt so proud of him. In the end, it took a total of 4 hours for our group to complete the maze. We came across other families and employees in the maze, which made it interactive and fun.

This place really lends its self to being active. It's fun to do alone and with others, so whatever you prefer, it will be great either way. Although, I do recommend going with a group because teamwork makes it smoother to solve. If you are ever in Vermont, check this place out for sure! The employees were friendly and welcoming. They even had homemade jam, jelly, and pickled assortment. All the proceeds go to different charities. We bought a dandelion jelly, and it was delicious! Can't wait to see what our next adventure will be! Stay tuned!