Vermont (Part 1)

Of all the states we visited on our trip, Vermont just might have been our favorite. It was simply beautiful. The drives were never boring; there was always something scenic to look at. And the towns were friendly, walkable, and very homey.

We started out in the Lake Champlain Islands, which lie between Burlington, VT and Plattsburgh, NY, and which are just a bit south of Canada. We drove from South Hero to North Hero and over to Alburg. All are tiny little places and the entire set of islands is very popular with bikers. We hopped from place to place, with our first stop Allenholm Orchard. It wasn't quite apple season yet, but we enjoyed browsing the other goods--maple syrup, maple candy, farm fresh produce--and checking out the small petting zoo area.

From the orchard, we headed to the local winery, Snow Farm Vineyards, where we did a tasting and then picked up a bottle of red along with some cheddar, a tomato, and a cucumber. The tomato and cucumber were "pay what you want," which was cool.

Right by the vineyard is the field I mentioned below, where hundreds of bird houses adorned a field. As I was snapping pictures of the tree art, Jeff ran into the owner of the land out on a walk. Apparently, the houses are home to tree swallows, which eat mosquitoes, thus allowing the man and his wife to sit outside without getting eaten up. He put up his first houses fifteen years ago, starting with just 20. His wife is the one who convinced him to paint them in all the different bold colors. After the first year, he checked out the houses and realized that almost every one was occupied. He's continued to add new houses each year and now has over 400 houses with at least a 70% occupancy rate. Pretty cool. And pretty to look at too.

Moving on from South Hero to North Hero, our next stop was North Hero's Welcome, a general store that sells just about everything you can imagine, including the loaf of bread we purchased. Then it was on to Lakes End Cheeses to pick up some goat cheese. Jeff rang the bell as directed and was served by the goat below while I was admiring the geraniums growing in an old pair of boots. (Okay, not really, the goat was just looking for food, and we had to go inside to purchase the cheese from a human.)

With a full picnic now in hand, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at Alburg Dunes State Park, where Jeff also braved the cold water for a swim. I, unable to handle the cold, read in the sunshine instead.

Touring the islands took most of our day, but we rolled into Burlington in the evening and had a very delicious dinner at a place called Daily Planet. (I highly recommend the shrimp tempura appetizer.) Burlington has a very nice pedestrian downtown area that we enjoyed wandering as it got dark. We also tried the brew at the Vermont Pub & Brewery. I can't say I was all that impressed, but then again, beer doesn't really ever do much for me.