Learning about Vermont
Mar. 28th, 2006 08:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebMichael Hurley is touring in Vermont at the end of May, so Robin's decided we should try to pick up his shows in Montpelier, St. Albans, Bradford, and maybe Burlington. We'll fly in and rent a car and follow the band from town to town. Sounds like a hoot.
And also a vacation. We should go exploring during the day, and maybe spend a couple of extra days out there. So I've been thinking to myself, what do I know about Vermont? Virtually nothing. I lived in Boston for three years once, but I didn't have a car, so I didn't explore the area properly. I don't think I've ever been north of Massachusetts on the east coast. (My apologies in advance to any readers who know and love this area. Just try to be amused by what you are about to read. And feel free to correct me. In great detail.)
I knew that Vermont is one of those itty-bitty New England states. (Where I live, it's an eight-hour drive on straight flat freeways to get to Big Bend National Park, which is still inside my same state.) Since it's so far north, it must be cold, but by the end of May it should be merely cool. I confuse Vermont with New Hampshire--they're both about the same size and shape, but I forget which one is on the coast (New Hampshire).
So then I played around on the web and learned that all the cities on the music tour are in northern Vermont. And that Vermont is one of those maple syrup places. And they have skiing. And mountains. And dog sledding. And Ben and Jerry's ice cream. And Cabot cheese. And a lack of wi-fi connections. And it's just south of Montreal, Canada. And it borders Lake Champlain, which I've heard of. (Alright, so most of the details I "know" are from the Austin Lounge Lizard song "Acid Rain.")
So now I don't even know if the state is small enough that you could go anywhere in the state, and maybe several places in adjoining states and provinces in an easy day trip, or whether the mountains and maybe road conditions make traveling take much, much longer than I would ever guess.
Then yesterday I spent part of my lunch hour in the university library quickly looking through tour books that I couldn't check out because I don't have a library card. I decided the thing I most want to do with my extra time is to go hiking in the mountains somewhere. I might also like to tour some factories (ice cream? cheese? maple syrup? glass? marble?). And there's a village with marble sidewalks.
Robin might also be interested in some lake activities. They have ferries, cruise ships, with brunch cruises. You can bicycle or inline skate along the lake.
I also learned that the Berkshires are just south of where we will be, in western Massachusetts. I've heard of the Berkshires, but know nothing about this. They have a Shaker village and a model railroad museum that I thought might interest Robin and which it turns out he thinks he visited and loved as a child. So is that a close drive, or just craziness? I'm not a big fan of spending large amounts of vacation time driving.
Today I did a tiny bit more web surfing and learned that Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, has a population of 39,000. So all these towns are tiny!
I love this part of vacations, where you plan things and learn things (I don't think I'll ever get confused again about which state is Vermont and which is New Hampshire, for example). And afterwards, sometimes the actual vacation is pretty nice, too.
Site of the day - "Online Reading" by greenstreetbks. This is a review of The Diary of Samuel Pepys, which has been put online as if he's writing a LiveJournal. "We're in 1663 right now (correct day of March, too) and he's been keeping the journal for several years already. One thing we learn is Sam is a mad womanizer: he uses his position as a Navy clerk to score with chicks (they're trying to get their husbands out of conscription -- or in some cases INTO conscription), and he uses his position in society to score with the wives of his friends."
And also a vacation. We should go exploring during the day, and maybe spend a couple of extra days out there. So I've been thinking to myself, what do I know about Vermont? Virtually nothing. I lived in Boston for three years once, but I didn't have a car, so I didn't explore the area properly. I don't think I've ever been north of Massachusetts on the east coast. (My apologies in advance to any readers who know and love this area. Just try to be amused by what you are about to read. And feel free to correct me. In great detail.)
I knew that Vermont is one of those itty-bitty New England states. (Where I live, it's an eight-hour drive on straight flat freeways to get to Big Bend National Park, which is still inside my same state.) Since it's so far north, it must be cold, but by the end of May it should be merely cool. I confuse Vermont with New Hampshire--they're both about the same size and shape, but I forget which one is on the coast (New Hampshire).
So then I played around on the web and learned that all the cities on the music tour are in northern Vermont. And that Vermont is one of those maple syrup places. And they have skiing. And mountains. And dog sledding. And Ben and Jerry's ice cream. And Cabot cheese. And a lack of wi-fi connections. And it's just south of Montreal, Canada. And it borders Lake Champlain, which I've heard of. (Alright, so most of the details I "know" are from the Austin Lounge Lizard song "Acid Rain.")
So now I don't even know if the state is small enough that you could go anywhere in the state, and maybe several places in adjoining states and provinces in an easy day trip, or whether the mountains and maybe road conditions make traveling take much, much longer than I would ever guess.
Then yesterday I spent part of my lunch hour in the university library quickly looking through tour books that I couldn't check out because I don't have a library card. I decided the thing I most want to do with my extra time is to go hiking in the mountains somewhere. I might also like to tour some factories (ice cream? cheese? maple syrup? glass? marble?). And there's a village with marble sidewalks.
Robin might also be interested in some lake activities. They have ferries, cruise ships, with brunch cruises. You can bicycle or inline skate along the lake.
I also learned that the Berkshires are just south of where we will be, in western Massachusetts. I've heard of the Berkshires, but know nothing about this. They have a Shaker village and a model railroad museum that I thought might interest Robin and which it turns out he thinks he visited and loved as a child. So is that a close drive, or just craziness? I'm not a big fan of spending large amounts of vacation time driving.
Today I did a tiny bit more web surfing and learned that Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, has a population of 39,000. So all these towns are tiny!
I love this part of vacations, where you plan things and learn things (I don't think I'll ever get confused again about which state is Vermont and which is New Hampshire, for example). And afterwards, sometimes the actual vacation is pretty nice, too.
Site of the day - "Online Reading" by greenstreetbks. This is a review of The Diary of Samuel Pepys, which has been put online as if he's writing a LiveJournal. "We're in 1663 right now (correct day of March, too) and he's been keeping the journal for several years already. One thing we learn is Sam is a mad womanizer: he uses his position as a Navy clerk to score with chicks (they're trying to get their husbands out of conscription -- or in some cases INTO conscription), and he uses his position in society to score with the wives of his friends."
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Re: Lake Champlain Chocolates and other Vermont-y things
on 2006-03-28 11:05 pm (UTC)I don't think he really has any idea. It's just that a lot of things sound familiar. There's one in the Berkshires which is also where the familiar-sounding model railroad museum, so maybe he went to that one. But I think he was only eight years old. Or six. On a five-month long tour of the US with his family.
I think mostly we'll be a bit west of the coast area (Vermont, maybe western Massachusetts, maybe Montreal), although that's still highly subject to change. Indigo_rose reminded me today that L.L. Bean's big outlet is in southern Maine. Where you can actually try things on!
Thanks for the logistical and cultural hints, too.