road trip day 19: vermont

Being the healthy people that Brian and I are, we decided Ben and Jerry's was a brilliant place to grab breakfast. OK, we aren't that crazy, we ate it as brunch! The Ben and Jerry's original factory is located 30 minutes outside of Vermont in Waterbury. The factory occupies a huge piece of land and is perched upon a hill, overlooking the town. For a whole $4 we did a tour of the factory which included a delicious scoop of ice cream and was totally worth it! After eating way too much lactose, we wandered behind the factory to the flavor graveyard, where flavors of seasons past are buried. It was a time to reflect and place spoons on the headstones of the dearly departed. I was distraught to learn that chocolate peanut butter cookie dough died before I even got to savor the delicious peanut buttery flavor! To make matters worse, it was our last day in Vermont. While I laid on the ground pounding my fists and breaking into sobs, Brian tried to console me with the fact that we would be in Maine tomorrow and eating lobster. I stuttered, amid sobs, that I preferred ice cream to lobster any day.

road trip day 18: vermont

A motel has never felt so luxurious. After rolling out of bed, I was immediately thrilled that I didn't have to squeeze into a closet to go to the bathroom on a plastic bucket. I had the luxury of my own porcelain throne, in a room with a door. I will never take for granted having a bathroom with running water ever again! I proceeded to stand in the hot water for an hour and then I peeled my pruned skin out of the shower and onto the street (well I got dressed in between, but you get the picture). Conveniently, a car rental shop was a block from our motel, so Brian and I picked out the coolest looking car our $30 dollars could afford and we drove our mom-van out of the parking lot and into the wilds of Vermont. We started our drive south from Burlington, stoping at a flannel store in Shelburne, a chocolate shop in Vergennes, and a farm in Shoreham. We were following a route from our guidebook called "Leaf Peeps and Harvest Eats," and it did not disapoint. We gorged our eyes on the fall colors and then filled our stomaches with as much local Vermont food as we could get our hands on. From Shoreham we found ourselves winding East, driving our van through back country roads, crossing covered bridges and peaking at ancient cemeteries. As the miles turned into hours, we were lulled into a serene like state, high on the natural beauty of Vermont. After a while, we had to start north again towards Montpelier, the only US capital without a Mcdonalds (an impressive feat if you ask me). We stopped in Waterbury for a delicious meal at a place whose name I can't remember because it was that good (no, really it was good, we were just too hungry to pay attention to petty little details like names). Bleary eyed and slipping into a food coma, we plopped ourselves back into the van and headed to the glorious motel waiting for our return in Burlington. That night, as I tucked into the real bed and turned the TV on, I prayed that the nugget would be lost to us forever so we could go on living in Vermont.

 

road trip day 16-17: burlington, vermont

The day started off with one problem after another. We originally planned on driving from Niagara Falls through the top portion of New York and then possibly Montreal and then into Maine. But this time, we couldn't ignore the horrible noises that the Nugget was making. We drove as long as we could, but then decided to spend the night in Lake Placid, New York. We woke up the next morning hoping to find a mechanic but they were few and far between. Brian ended up calling every mechanic he could find within a 100 mile radius. There was only one in Burlington, Vermont who was willing to help us. So we started driving another hour into Burlington, where the mechanic told us it would take three days to fix our Nugget. We were stranded.


Once we started functioning again, we took our bikes and checked ourselves into the closest little motel that we could find. We then biked into Burlington and were thrilled with our good luck! Burlington was the cutest town we had seen since Michigan.

Burlington is a thriving college town, with a charming walking street, the original Ben and Jerry's and tons of great restaurants! Definitely not a bad place to be stranded.

Wander In: Berkshire, Vermont

Today's Wander In comes from Diana of the Down Home Traveler. Diana is a Canadian-Vermonter and current Texas transplant, who blogs about her adventures and life down south. Definitely head on over and check Down Home Traveler out!

Berkshire is a very small dairy farming town in Northern Vermont that borders Canada. It takes 5 minutes to drive to Canada from where I grew up.

1.Upon arrival, this is the first stop:

Well, on the way home from the airport, my actual first stop is at Devyn's Creemee Stand in Sheldon, Vermont. (Creemee's are just soft serve ice cream.) Delicious! Beware, the sizes are huge! You definitely get your money’s worth!

2. To get a taste of the local culture, this is essential: 

Drive around. The best part about home is the scenery and taking a drive. Drive around “town” and thru the country, take a tour of the covered bridges, swing by the local mom and pop stores for some great food from the deli's.

3.To ride in style like this locals, I recommend this form of transport: A Subaru. Subaru is pretty much the state car of Vermont! You’ll blend right in!

4.You will sleep like a baby here: At my parents, with the windows open a crack (not in the winter of course). The fresh, crisp air will let you sleep like a baby and you won't want to get out of bed in the morning!

5.Want a souvenir, take this home: Maple Syrup. A trip to Vermont isn’t really a trip to Vermont without taking Maple Syrup back with you. It’s just unheard of. I even have a jug in my freezer as back up in case I run out.

6.The locals and tourists like to get tipsy here:

The Dairy Center in Enosburg where there is sometimes live music on the weekends or you can bowl. The Abbey in Sheldon where you can dine and or take part in karaoke one night a week. Head to the nearest "big town" of St. Albans and stop by One Federal for dinner and drinks. During the winter if you happen to come to hit the slopes, stay at Jay Peak and check out some of the venues there or The Snowshoe or The Belfry in Montgomery where more locals will be. Wherever you go, be sure to try the microbrews. This is most important. Vermont has some of the best beer around! (My favorite is Switchback or Blackbeary Wheat by Longtrail.)

7. The culture here is unique because: We're country folk! We're simple, we love where we live and we just like to have a good time. You won't find corporate chains (sorry for the Starbucks addicts) but you’ll be in a place where "everybody knows your name".

8. If I had 24 hours here, I would spend it this way: Honestly, I would want to spend it with family and friends that I don’t get to see often but it also depends what time of the year I visit.

Summer: I would start off with a creemee at Devyn's. Take a canoe trip down the Mississquoi River, fishing with my brother or go for a morning hike on the Long Trail. For lunch I would swing by The Pinnacle Peddler in Richford for a sandwich or head over the border to Canada for a poutine (french fries, gravy and curd cheese - don't knock it until you've tried it!). The afternoon would be spent going for a four wheeler ride, picking berries or even going for a drive to take some photos. Dinner would either be at the Crossing in Richford or One Federal in St. Albans. The end of the night would spent having a few microbrews by a fire and camping out under the stars!

Winter is entirely different. Wake up early and head to Jay Peak to hit the slopes! For lunch, I would head back home, and grab a sandwich at Pinnacle Peddler (yes, the sandwiches are that good, the bread is homemade). As the sun starts to set, I would strap on some snowshoes or take snowmobile out for a ride. Dinner would be a good meal at the Crossing or One Federal (if I’m not too exhausted for a longer drive). The end of the night I would aim for finding a good warm fire and a hot chocolate.

Thanks Diana!