Reminiscing About My Adventure In Sharon, Vermont

I enjoy the Facebook memories that appear on my feed each day. Today’s memory was a lengthy post about an adventure I often think about.

This memory was an adventure I had before I started this blog and I think it’s worth sharing.

To make the original Facebook post more blog friendly, I’ve added a few tidbits along with headings and (hopefully) corrected my typos.

At the time of this adventure, I’d been living in my van for 9 months. I was still very much a noob. Mistakes may have been made but fun and adventure were certainly had!

Sadly, I only took a few pictures of this adventure (yet another noob mistake).

June 25, 2016 On An Interstate Somewhere In Vermont…

I travel the interstate here and there but, to spice it up, I take random exits to explore new areas and have a change of scenery.

This morning I decided to take an exit just because the name of the town was Sharon. It was as good a reason as any!

Sharon, Vermont, is a nice little town with old-time buildings and charm.

The welcome sign said the town of Sharon was chartered in 1761. As I drove down the street, I wondered what this town was like in it’s early days.

Reaching The End Of Town…

When I got to what I thought was the end of the town… I decided to turn around and head back to the interstate.

Up ahead, there was a road to my right but, due to the landscape, I couldn’t see where the road led.

The plan was simple.

Take the road, go around and head back to the interstate.

All Roads Are Not What They Appear…

I turned on to what I thought was a normal road.

As I rounded the first corner, the road suddenly turned to gravel and became narrow.

I was in an old cemetery with crooked, barely able to read, fragile looking headstones.

My choices were to turn around or keep moving forward.

I didn’t want to drive between the headstones and possibly get stuck or run one over.

But, I didn’t want to risk backing in to one either (I wasn’t too confident in my backing abilities back then!).

I was sure the narrow road would lead to an exit so I continued forward rather than risk damaging a headstone or getting stuck.

In Search Of The Exit…

The road appeared to narrow even more as it began to ascend up the side of a very steep hill.

I soon realize I’m driving up one of those Vermont mountains I’d been watching as I drove the Interstate this morning.

The narrow road encompassed the outer edge of the mountain. I was driving around the side of the mountain – not up or through it.

There were also no guard-rails.

I was in a bit of a pickle but I was NOT going to back down the side of a mountain and risk going over the edge.

I trusted my forward driving abilities more than I trusted my backing up abilities.

So… I kept going up… and up… and up.

Where The Heck Is The Exit?!…

Finally reaching the top of the mountain… the road just ends.

I was so exited to reach the top of the mountain and, when the road just ended, a huge sense of disappointment came over me.

Feverishly scanning the area for a hidden exit lead to no avail.

I get out of the van to continue my search on foot… but there… was… no… exit.

The only way out was to go back the way I came.

And I thought driving UP a steep mountain side with no guard-rails was scary – now I have to drive back DOWN!

After taking a few deep breaths, I said to myself “I can do this!”. Then, I somehow turned the van around without getting stuck or running over any headstones.

My journey back down the mountain side was about to begin.

On The Way Down…

Life truly is an adventure and I found myself smack in the middle of a doozy!

Part way down the mountain side, I figured I may as well savor the moment so… I stopped the van to see what I could see!

Sitting in the van on an incline, leaning forward, I looked out my driver-side window.

I could NOT see the side of the narrow road I was sitting on. But I could see the bottom of the mountain… way down below.

Gazing upward across the landscape, I saw an amazing view of the neighboring mountains.

It was breathtaking (my noob pictures didn’t turn out well).

My fear began to lessen and… then… I did the strangest thing…

I decided to sit there and post about it on Facebook before heading back down the mountain!

Back On Flat Land…

Reaching the bottom was a relief as the adrenaline rush began to subside.

It’s funny, though. I’d been trying to stop and get a good look at the Vermont mountains all morning but everywhere I was able to stop was obstructed by trees.

Who knew a simple, adventurous wrong turn in to an old cemetery, up and down a scary mountain side in a big van would get me the best view possible!

Parting Thoughts…

My Sharon VT adventure was a pivotal point in my Van Life lifestyle (which is probably why I think about it often).

I found myself in a sticky situation… by myself… and overcame the fears presented by my situation.

Overcoming one fear lead to overcoming another.

Soon, I found myself doing things I never thought I would do and accomplishing things I never thought I could do.