Learning about Vermont

[livingdeb]

Michael 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."

Comments

[sheenaqotj.livejournal.com]

Vermont is Erik's favorite state. He did a 300 mile hike there (the Long Trail, which joins up with the Appalachian (sp?) Trail for a while). He liked it enough that he took a year and some off school to live there for a while.

We visited it last fall with my parents to see the fall colors, but it was extremely wet. We did see some gorgeous rainbows on the drive, and some amazing colors, but there was gray sky all around, unfortunately.

It's a _very_ pretty place, and deliberately pretty rustic. Apparently their zoning laws don't allow for ugly bilboards.

By the way, the Von Trapp family lodge is in Northern Vermont. If you're as big a fan of Sound of Music as I am, you might consider visiting it. It's on the pricy side, for sure ($200/night, at least when we were there), but I will probably stay there at some point. At any rate, you're going to be there on week nights and in the off-season, so you should look at the bed-and-breakfasts for more of a quaint experience.

You could consider visiting the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory and going to a wine tasting. The maple syrup there is obviously pretty yummy, also. I don't have too many suggestions since I was there for a short time, but we did some of these things and Erik suggested the ice cream factory tour.

As far as driving goes, it does take a little longer. Ours took forever because the highways were flooded and we ended up taking the scenic tours everywhere. I would say multiple the time you would expect to take here by at least 1.5. You already know the dimensions of the state, by now, so I won't talk about them. If you're there for a week, you should easily be able to visit all the places on your list.

Hope that helps!

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Wow, you seem to have connections to everything and everyone!

Yes, very helpful! Lots of ideas to sort through!

Robin is not a fan of sugary things, and he's already seen how maple syrup is made anyway, so he has no interest in those things, though he has already agreed to join me on a tour of Ben and Jerry's because I like ice cream. It looks convenient, short, and fun, and now also recommended, so that might actually happen.

I bet it also rains a lot in the spring. It just may pay to bring a little container of Rain-X for the rental car. I love that stuff in a downpour.

Mmm, scenic routes.

Lots of interesting ideas and information. I'll definitely use some of it to direct more research. Thanks for all the tips!

[sheenaqotj.livejournal.com]

heh... I would generally recommend putting an asterisk-shaped heap of salt next to my suggestions. Glad San Antonio worked out well for you. :)

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

I've been on the Ben and Jerry's tour and I remember it as pretty neat. I bought a B&J ice cream scoop, and of course got to sample some of their stuff. It was when cookie dough was a new flavor/concept, so I got to sample that. Yum!

Burlington is a cool, kind of flaky town. sarcasticah (also at http://knitho.radicalmirrors.com/ ) is from Vermont, so she'd probably have some good advice. Also Jessamyn West lives in Vermont now and is a huge Vermont fan, so you could read through her site or write to her for some suggestions, too. She's very friendly and is a librarian.

Despite its proximity, I've only been to Vermont a handful of times. Perhaps while you're on this side of the country we could meet up! I'm sure p_j_cleary would like to, too!

Lake Champlain Chocolates and other Vermont-y things

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

Just read _Candyfreak_ by Steve Almond, in which he sings the praises of the Five Star Bar, a candy bar made in Burlington, VT. He writes of his visit to the factory; I expect they welcome even those who are not writing books about candy. BTW, they sell the bars at the Whole Foods downtown.

Is the place Robin remembers visiting possibly Old Sturbridge Village, in Sturbridge, Massachusetts? That's in south central Massachusetts, about 1.5 hours south of the VT border. One major difference between driving in Texas versus driving in the northeast is that things are busier there. The long distances which separate towns/cities here are unknown there. Thus one must allow more time for getting from place to place. The speed limit is slower, and there are more on and off ramps where highways connect to others (especially in a place like eastern Mass/Boston area). I'm sure that the Ben & Jerry's tour will be fun! I toured Stonyfield Farm Yogurt Factory outside of Manchester, NH, back in January; it's not worth a long drive out of your way, but if you wanted to see NH, it's worth it for the free samples alone :)

In case you'd forgotten, I am a New Englander, transplanted to Austin 3.5 years ago. I went to high school in Manchester, NH, and my parents and younger brother still live outside of that city. New Hampshire is growing quickly but is still a very nice place to live, less hustle-bustle than Mass and southern New England. Vermont has maintained a more rustic feel even in its southern parts, is home to many artists, and is a much more liberal state (whereas I think of NH as more libertarian; remember NH's motto, "Live Free or Die"?).

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

More good ideas. Jessamyn West's site is fun reading. Thanks!

Asking strangers for advice? I would never do that. Except, you know, indirectly, on a totally public journal site.

As for meeting up, sounds kind of fun and kind of scary and maybe not so easy to organize. Let's talk more via e-mails. p j cleary knows my address.

Re: Lake Champlain Chocolates and other Vermont-y things

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

So many reasons to read that book.

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.

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

But of course. You never really know if something's going to work out until it's too late!

Still, it's always nice to hear from people who whose incomes remain unaffected by what I choose as opposed to rah-rah tour guides and web sites where they try to make everything sound good.