Vermont

Our schedule when we travel is fluid in many ways and became even more so when we woke up to heavy rain on race day. We had planned to attend the NASCAR race in New Hampshire. It was the catalyst for planning this trip. Dale made the call and decided that we shouldn't risk wasting a day at a rainy track when the forecast was for 70% rain and storms at race time. We changed our plans and headed to Vermont thinking we might be going to the race on Monday if it was delayed due to rain. The rain cleared and they had the race without us but we had a good day in Vermont anyway.

I've been interested in visiting Vermont for quite some time but I am not sure that I ever had an idea of what I wanted to see. We got some suggestions, did a little research and headed out to see what we could in one day. One of our stops just over the state border was the Quechee Gorge. Then the little town of Woodstock where I found some maple walnut ice cream with real Vermont maple syrup which was a perfect Vermont lunch for me.

 

 

We saw several covered bridges but not much fall foliage color. We knew we would be early for the leaves but still enjoyed the beauty of the state. The prettiest leaves we saw were near the Dunkin Donut for morning coffee. That photo is at the top of this post. The Old Red Mill in Jericho was beautiful if you stood at the right angle. It's actually a gift shop with a parking lot and signage on the other side.

The woman at the welcome center referred to the quintessential Vermont village and I was glad to get to see those. After a few stops we headed toward Burlington and Lake Champlain to see another part of the state. We could see the mountains of New York across the water and enjoyed exploring the waterfront area a bit.

The last planned stop for the day was Montpelier. Dale loves to visit the state houses to photograph them and go inside if possible. Since this was a Sunday, we were content to walk around, take photos and go downtown for a simple dinner. It is a beautiful setting for the capital. I was grateful for the opportunity to visit a state that I had never seen and explore a bit but the next day would be for exploring New Hampshire.