An old boyfriend of mine went on and on about Vermont all the while we went out. He was going to graduate from college and get a great job in beautiful Vermont. Although a lot of what he said I should not have believed, he grew up in PA so I assumed he knew what he was talking about when it came to Vermont. I’ve always wanted to go there, just to see what all the hubbub was about.

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To start at the beginning of this series, visit New England at Last 2012

Day Trip!

My current boyfriend and I decided we’d visit some antique shops on this day trip to Vermont. We figured out another circle drive, heading up 93 to St. Johnsbury, and then took 2 to 15. We discovered while chatting with the shop owner in Morrisville, that there’s a “circuit” of antique shops in this area and that we should visit some of them and end at a market near Waterbury for some apple cider donuts and lunch at his favorite restaurant. Of course we always do what we’re told (especially when donuts are involved) so off we went.

At Jefferson we headed south on 108 on a beautiful drive to Stowe. Stowe lies in a valley between Mount Mansfield and other peaks of the Green Mountains to the west and the Worcester Range to the east. Mount Mansfield is the highest peak in Vermont at 4,393 feet. The summit is in Underhill and was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, for as beautiful as I was saying that Vermont is, I didn’t get any pictures. I guess that settles that. I HAVE to come back, so I can finish this blog!

The antique shops were wonderful as Mr. Shopman promised, but my obsession with antiques is mostly in the form of window shopping, because there’s just not a lot of shelf space left in our house (nor suitcase space for the trip home). I had one spot left on my tray of perfume bottles for this little beauty. After speaking with my antique guru friend, she suggested that rather than give up my search for beautiful perfume bottles, I should start the search for another tray. I love the way she thinks!

We made our way to Cold Hollow Cedar Mill in Waterbury Center for the infamous apple cider donuts and to have lunch as suggested. We never found the restaurant he was raving about, but I’ll have to say the donuts were delicious. And I’m OK with having dessert first.

All the while we were in New England, we were on the lookout for moose. We looked high and low, even thought about one of those tours where they guarantee you see one by going out at night and “shining” them. That is not the way I want to see my first moose, so I was thrilled when we finally got to see one in the wide open! Oh no, this one is metal? Dammit!

We can’t really go anywhere near the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in Waterbury without taking a tour, now can we? Of course we liked the free samples at the end, but the tour was very informative and fun. This company’s mission makes it a pretty impressive business example to follow, unlike a lot of companies out there these days. It makes the higher prices for their ice cream a little more justified. If more companies were run like this, this world would be a better place. It was a beautiful day and a great tour. That’s enough about ice cream – I’m starting to get hungry!

We turned east on 89 to 302 and Montpelier (the capital) and past Woodville, NH, where we picked up 112 back to Lincoln. Along the way, we stopped at a small park along the road, with a beautiful reservoir and a small dam. The banks of trees and the gleaming water made this a gorgeous stop. Jim twisted his ankle a bit, which could have put a damper on things, but he was a trooper and suffered through it.

I’ll have to say, I can see a whole week or maybe even two on a future vacation to explore more of Beautiful Vermont.

Next up: Mount Washington Hotel

Happy trails,
Barb