We started out in New Hampshire but quickly made out way into and across the state of Vermont, sightseeing along the way and ending up in Burlington, right on the NY border:
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| First stop |
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| They had tons of cheese out to sample, but when the cashier saw us eyeing the spreads, she offered to bring us this cool tasting plate |
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| Stop #2 - Bragg Farm sugar house to see how maple syrup is made |
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| And to sample Maple Cremees |
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| The drive through the mountains was beautiful, looking mostly like this |
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| Vermont state house |
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| Inside the Vermont State House: the tiles came from an island quarry and have neat fossils in them |
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| Stained glass window with the Vermont crest |
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| Senate chambers |
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| 3D version of the crest |
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| We got a chuckle out of this portrait of Howard Dean in the lobby |
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| Statue of Ethan Allen, whom we would learn a lot more about on this trip |
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| Next stop: Ben and Jerry's factory |
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| Our tour was an hour out, so we explored the grounds, including the Flavor Graveyard |
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| Benji really, really liked this one |
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| Cows in the field -- they look like the logo! |
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| At the end of the tour, there is a free sample. The guide first told us it would be this, before amending it to Chocolate Fudge Brownie |
By the end of the drive, we made it to Burlington. That first night, we just got settled and had a great meal at a close-by restaurant. We got up the next day ready to explore. We started out just walking a bit along the waterfront:
When we'd seen enough, we decided to head to the Ethan Allen homestead, where we got an interesting tour. This house had been "lost" until about 20 years ago, when someone found it, preserved in its entirety, inside another more modern house. It's been returned to the way it looked when the Allens lived there:
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| The guide had Benji demonstrate fetching water |
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| The gardens outside the house were lovely (and practical -- they grow the plants the Allens would have grown) |
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| Outside the house |
When we were done with the tour, we headed back to downtown Burlington and the Church Street Marketplace, which is a pedestrian mall similar to our Downtown Mall. By recommendation, we tried Dobra Tea Room for lunch.It was ... interesting.
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| The tea choices came in a 3 inch thick binder and all had descriptions like this |
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| This was the bell we were given to ring for our server, who then ignored it when she heard it |
We did amuse ourselves at the tea house because it was so ludicrous. After paying next door (they like to keep their coins separate from their leaves), we drove to Lake Champlain chocolates. It was too late for a guided tour, but we took the self tour and tried some chocolate:
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| My dark chocolate marzipan fish |
We made a quick drive by the world's tallest filing cabinet:
And then on to Red Rocks State Park for a hike with great views of Lake Champlain:
We had dinner back close to our lodgings again and prepared for an early morning and the last day or our vacation.
