Lumberjack Competition on Father's Day

Sunday, June 17, is the day after the wedding.  It's also Father's Day.  It's also the day of the Vermont Invitational Lumberjack Contest.  Sign-ups are open now, so if you're pretty sure you'll be walking by 11 AM on Sunday, you should see about getting your name on the list.  We'd love to see an entrant from our guest list, so if you have a nomination then feel free to nominate them here in the comments and we'll talk them into it.

 Information can be found by clicking here.

First nominees that come to mind:
Tory "Hold My Shoes" Amorello
Peter "Spleen Free" Amorello
Eddie "Open Heart" Damon
Chris "This is My Dream Come True" Gabrielli

Any others?

Recommended Activity: Sanderson's Wood Bowls and Mini Donkey Ranch

Tory with Reggie the mini donkey.

Another great stop is at Sanderson's Wood Bowls, just a few miles North of town on the right.  There's a big sign, it's right after Granby Rd. goes off to the right.  The bowl shop doubles as a MINI DONKEY RANCH.  Just to make sure you've read that right, they are MINIATURE DONKEYS at a regular size farm, not regular size donkeys at a miniature farm.  The owners, Sam and Weeza Sanderson, are great people and were some of our first friends when we moved here.  They live in the house that Sam was born in, and he has an unending lineup of stories about living here and growing up here.  Sam makes incredible wooden bowls by hand right there in his shop, as well as a few other products like pens, Christmas ornaments, and so on.  Sam is well known for his skill as a wood turner, and their shop is filled with incredible work.

The mini donkeys are very cuddly and cute, and very people-friendly.  There are almost always some baby donkeys around, and if you're lucky you might get to name one.  Tory named a donkey "Reggie," just a few days after he was born.  Reggie now lives with a judge over the mountain in Guildhall, VT.

There are also rabbits at the Sanderson farm, although be careful to not get too attached.  A few of them are bred to be pets, but most of them are bred for their meat, which you can get at Willy's Restaurant in town.  They are cute though, and there's something funny about hearing and saying the words "meat rabbit."

Sam gets a donkey hug from Ladybug, a very rare red mini donkey.

Rehearsal Dinner Information

If you meant to RSVP to the rehearsal dinner, you can still do it!  Send Claudia an email at damonrehearsal@gmail.com and let her know if you want to come, and whether you'd like to have veggie burgers or a clam boil!

The dinner will start at 6:00 PM and will take place near the Burke Mountain Academy dining hall.  Check out the map we have set up!  If you head to the BMA campus, you should have no trouble finding the dinner.


View Sam and Tory's Wedding (of the century) in a larger map

Registry Information

Sam found this great site where we can register for gifts from all sorts of places on the internet. You can find it by clicking here:



IMPORTANT! The password for our registry is "samandtory"

If you have any trouble, just search for Amorello or Damon wedding and then you'll need the password.

Please email us if things look weird!

We have also registered at:

Crate and Barrel - Search for Tory Amorello or Samuel Damon

And we would love gift cards to Company C, Tory's new favorite store (obsessed!). Company C doesn't do registries, but any gift cards would eventually go towards the purchase of an incredible piece of furniture.

Thank you for thinking of us!



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Mountain bike festival in our backyard

To all our mountain bike friends, a great coincidence and excellent excuse for turning our wedding into a bike happy vacation!

And here's the website with some more info - so fun!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles!

East Burke is not exactly the MOST convenient wedding destination you've probably ever considered, but there are some relatively easy airport options if you need to fly to see us. If you're driving, EB is not close to a major city or airport, but it is at least very direct from points south.



Airports: The easiest airport would be Manchester, NH (MHT). From Manchester, East Burke is a straight shot on Interstate 93 - about 2.5 hours. The drive brings you through beautiful Franconia Notch and we recommend it! Manchester has Southwest flights that are usually pretty inexpensive.

Other airport options would be:

• Burlington, VT (BTV) which is a shorter distance "as the crow flies" but actually takes a bit longer because driving to East Burke is mostly on a one-lane road. Burlington has Jetblue flights that primarily connect through New York City.
• Boston (Logan International). Once you're on 93 North from Boston, you basically just set the cruise control and point the wheels due north to get to our house. Boston is a bit further and we only really find it less expensive for international flights.  But there is also a really easy bus that runs from the airport to Franconia, NH or Littleton, NH, about 35 minutes south of where we live.
• Montreal, Quebec is about the same distance as Manchester (2.5 hours) but Montreal traffic can be legendary. However, if you happen to be flying from Canada, it would save you from having to purchase an international ticket! Don't forget your passport! 

Other Public Transportation: There are buses north from Boston and Manchester to Franconia (45 minutes from East Burke) and Littleton (35 minutes). There is a train (The Vermonter) from Washington DC and from New York City that heads to Burlington. Unfortunately, either option would still require you to probably rent a car or arrange for a pickup in order to travel the last bit. (Or you could pack a bike and take a beautiful 30 mile bike ride.)  Mostly I included all this so I could title the post "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"

Driving to East Burke is simple!

From points south (Boston, Manchester, Concord, Worcester), get to I-93 North and enjoy the lovely state of New Hampshire. Continue North until 93 ends, and merge onto I-91 towards St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Take Exit 23 in Lyndonville, then follow US-5 North to VT-114 North to East Burke. Don't blink when you get to East Burke, because you'll miss it! Turn right at the end of town toward Burke Mountain and follow Mountain Road about 2 miles up until you see Burke Mountain Academy on your right.

From the West (Burlington), Follow I-89 South to Montpelier, the follow US-2 to St. Johnsbury. In St Johnsbury, get on I-91 North, then take Exit 23 and follow US-5 North to VT-114 North to East Burke.  Then take the right turn onto Mountain Rd. towards Burke Mountain, and go all the way up until you see Burke Mountain Academy on your right.


Please email us if you might need to get picked up somewhere!  There are people coming from all over and there's a good chance we can get you a ride somewhere!


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Mountain Biking!

Mountain Biking is our favorite NEK activity - the Kingdom Trails of East Burke were recently rated the "Best Mountain Bike Trail Network in North America" by Bike Magazine and the "Best Mountain Biking in the US" by Dirt Rag. Our house is literally ON the trail system, and we ride the trails all the time. The trails - over 100 miles of singletrack - are maintained by a local organization and many of our friends are employed by the Kingdom Trails Association.  They publish a trails map annually and it's extremely comprehensive - even the most out of town visitor should be able to find their way on a great ride!

Rentals: Bikes can be rented at East Burke Sports or at the base area of Burke Mountain. Kids bikes can be rented for as little as $15/half day, and adult bikes start at $20/half day. Definitely get out on the trails!

One of our favorite quick loops is to ride Parr's Yard to the Toll Road, cut across on Camptown, ride up the access road past the Mid-Burke Lodge up to the Sherburne Chair and down Jester, Enchanted Forest or Knight Slayer. Then we can ride back up to our house on Mountain Road - the whole loop takes about 30-45 minutes and covers a bit of everything the Kingdom Trails have to offer! This photo was taken at the bottom of Jester on one of our after-work rides this summer.

UPDATE:
To all our mountain bike friends, a great coincidence and excellent excuse for turning our wedding into a bike happy vacation!

And here's the website with some more info - so fun!

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