In some ways our last day in Vermont was a good representative of the trip—Beautiful scenery with a bit of rain mixed in. We took a drive north, to Barton, VT. There is a pretty lake just outside of town. We relaxed by the water, watching the children play and some kayakers take to the water. In the distance we saw a wind farm, which produces enough energy to power 15,000 homes. We visited the bath houses, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. After a while it started to rain, so we headed back to the RV.

The day before we had lunch at a town park and went to a goat farm to buy goat cheese.

We visited Stowe the other day to ride on the bike trail. After driving an hour and setting up Cathie’s trike, she rode it for 20 feet and, it stopped. I tried everything to get it going, to no avail. If this sounds familiar, yes, this same thing happened to us in Durham! It was so frustrating. We decided to split up, with Cathie exploring the town while I rode the trail. Cathie found a nice restaurant with outdoor seating and had a delicious salad. I rode the trail and enjoyed the exercise, fresh air and the scenery. There were lots of people using the trail; it’s a real treasure for the town. After I finished my ride, I called Cathie. She told me the restaurant where she was staying and I rode to meet her. Then we drove on the Toll Road for Mount Mansfield, the highest mountain in Vermont. Once we reached the top, Cathie and I explored one of the walking trails. It was too rocky and uneven for Cathie, so I forged ahead alone and was rewarded with a stunning view of western Vermont with Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks in the distance. It’s hard to see the detail in the picture above because the day was a bit hazy. Back down the mountain before heading back to the RV.

We spent a lot of time driving in and around Vermont. It’s a beautiful state, with green mountains, winding rivers and the occasional covered bridge spotted around the state. Also, there are no straight roads in Vermont. Each road seems to follow one of the many meandering rivers. Nothing seems to be close, so we drove almost every day.

We’re back home now and expect to be here for a few weeks. Then we hope to take a trip to the Great Lakes!

Eating twice in 10 miles seems a bit decadent to me. On Friday we we’re definitely decadent.

We started the day in Montpelier, at the Vermont History Museum. We both commented on the great layout of the museum. There was a lot on display in a relatively small space. Vermont abolished slavery upon its founding, in 1777, earlier than any state. We learned about the tug of war between New York and New Hampshire regarding who had the right to sell deeds of land in the area that became Vermont. New York won in court, which caused a lot of unrest in the colony. Ethan Allen helped found the Green Mountain Boys, a militia that resisted New York’s attempt to control the territory. (And you probably thought he started a furniture store!)

After the museum, we went to The Skinny Pancake, a restaurant that offers crepe sandwiches and desserts. We each had a nice sandwich on the outdoor patio, watching the bustle of downtown Montpelier.

We then headed to Waterbury, a quaint village that is in a relatively touristy area. After touring the town, we drove a few miles to a cider mill, learned about the cider-making process and snacked on cider and cider donuts. Yum.

Waterbury is also home to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. We really couldn’t come this close to Ben & Jerry’s without stopping. Prior to the pandemic one could tour the factory. On Friday we instead got a chance to wait in line for half and hour before selecting our second snack of the afternoon. (I had the Butter Pecan, if you were wondering.)

I had “Change the Whirled”, a flavor honoring Colin Kaepernick’s activism and pursuit of racial justice. His portion of the proceeds go to Know Your Rights Camp…yummy and anti-racist. Cathie

At that point I felt like you could roll me down the hill. I managed to squeeze into the car for the drive home.

On Thursday we trekked across the state to Burlington. The 1.5 hour drive includes mostly secondary roads, with an interstate for the last part of the drive.

We started our day in the “People’s Republic of Burlington” by taking a bike ride along the banks of Lake Champlain. The 13 mile bike trail runs through Burlington and over a causeway onto Grand Isle, the largest island in Lake Champlain. We didn’t ride the entire trail but did manage to enjoy ourselves on the part of the trail we explored.

After the bike ride we headed downtown to Church Street for lunch. Part of Church Street has been converted to a pedestrian area, with many shops and restaurants. That’s where I snapped the picture at the top of the page.

St. Johnsbury is a typical Vermont town. It has a small downtown and a relaxed pace. With about 7,500 residents it’s the commercial center of Northeast Vermont. I believe there is one traffic light in the town. We walked through part of the town’s commercial district, going into a bookstore and a clothing store. I noticed how different the downtown traffic is here. The cars stop for pedestrians, even before they step into the street. At the many 4-way streets, no one rushes; it seems like everyone wants to wait for the other car to proceed through the intersection first.

One interesting tidbit I learned is that St. Johnsbury doesn’t have a high school. Instead, students go to St. Johnsbury Academy, a private boarding and day school. The town pays the school for each town student who attends this high school. Apparently this is not unique in New England. Many private schools were established in this area before there were public schools. Some towns chose to use the private schools instead of building a public school.

There is an incredible little museum in town. The Fairbanks Museum was founded in 1890 by Franklin Fairbanks and houses about 175,000 natural and historical objects. This museum is a gem in itself. Notice the detailed woodwork in the pictures below, including the detail in the risers of the spiral staircase and the curved ceiling of the building.

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The Fairbanks family included inventors, governors and other public figures. Franklin’s uncle invented the first platform scale; his father and brother were Governors of Vermont and his father was one of the founders of the Republican Party (Lincoln’s party). Franklin, along with his brother, father and uncles worked for Fairbanks Scales, the family business which made platform scales. Franklin was a collector and eventually decided to put his collections into a museum.

The museum includes a butterfly garden. While we visited the garden, one of the residents, a Tiger Swallowtail, decided to climb up my leg. It crawled up to my shoulder blades before flying off.

We spent the day exploring the byways of Vermont yesterday. We started by taking a lovely drive on US Highway 5, down the Connecticut River Valley. Some stretches of the road were empty of traffic, due to the nearby interstate road that most locals use to get anywhere. We stopped in Norwich, home of the King Arthur Baking Company, where we had a snack. If you are a baker, you probably have heard of them. If not, this company has been making flour and other baking goods since 1790. At the store we picked up some provisions. I bought some Rye flour, hoping to make Rye bread someday.

Back on the road we headed west and north, following another, smaller river through Vermont. It seemed that every road we take in Vermont (except interstates) follows a river. There is usually a beautiful view just a few miles down the road. We stopped at Quechee Gorge, a spectacular gorge right off the highway. The name, Quechee, comes from the Natick Indian tribe’s river name, Ottauquechee, meaning swift mountain stream. Well, it certainly is a swift stream!

We didn’t get back to the campsite until almost 8pm. Fortunately we had some leftovers in the fridge for dinner.

Montpelier prides itself on being small: “Montpelier has the distinction of being the smallest state capital in the United States, with a population of just over 8,000 people.” There are no McDonald’s restaurants in the city. The city park is a rugged park with gravel roads. It’s the quirky town that you would expect to be the capital of Vermont.

Cathie and I spent much of the day yesterday in Montpelier. We drove around the city to get a sense of it. We walked around the two streets that make up the downtown. We had lunch outside at a nice Mexican restaurant, watching people walk by. We drove into Hubbard Park. It was a nice day. We plan to go back to explore a bit further.

On Thursday we took a bike ride on the Lemoille Valley Rail Trail. This trail runs on the bed of the railroad that joined St. Johnsbury to Montpelier and Lake Ontario to Portland Maine. The trail is planned to eventually be the longest in New England, covering 93 miles. Currently 34 miles are finished. We didn’t go that far, though. We started in St. Johnsbury and rode about 6 miles, uphill, through the woods. There were very few signs of civilization, just an occasional house or two near the trail. Route 2 wasn’t too far away; we heard it at points on the ride. Otherwise it was a wonderful ride. Riding back was a breeze. I coasted almost the entire way, pedaling only once or twice until the end.

It’s our first night at Moose River Campground, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. We had an eventful few days but we arrived here without any major mishaps.

Over the past few days we’ve had a tire incident, a dental complication and missing keys. Last Saturday while taking some items to the RV, we ran over a pothole and punctured the tire. It took close to an hour for AAA to come and change it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to change the tire because the wrench that came with the car didn’t fit the lug nuts. Fun. Saturday was also the day that Cathie couldn’t find her set of keys for the RV. She looked everywhere in the house but no luck. On Monday I had a crown put on my tooth but found out that the night guard I wear didn’t fit over the crown. The only appointment I could get to replace it was 8:15am on Wednesday in Chepachet, about 40 minutes from the house. This was on the day we planned to leave for Vermont.

Slowly, things came together. On Monday, Cathie went to the locksmith and was able to get replacements for all three keys. On Tuesday, she dropped the car at the tire shop and they fixed the tire. And the appointment this morning went fine and I was back in Providence at a reasonable time.

The drive up was mostly boring, with some rain just as we were driving through Franconia Notch, making the drive more entertaining that I would like. By the time we arrived, the sun had come out and it was very pleasant. We set up the RV, unpacked and settled in. After dinner we took a walk around the campground. It’s a small park, with only 45 sites. The Moose River, more like a creek, runs alongside the park.

We are staying here for two weeks. This will give us a chance to do some exploring and time to just chill. We are looking forward to it.