"Memorable Week in the Green Mountain State" - Time Out #111

We have already established, fall has officially arrived; at least our Oklahoma calendar says it's so.

In honor of autumn with its changing weather and colorful, seasonal foliage, we are going to tour the small New England state of Vermont. My bride, Debbie, and I spent a week there several years ago, staying in the beautiful town (population 495) of Stowe. This picturesque community is in the northern part of the Green Mountain State, only a short distance from Mt. Mansfield, at 4,393' the highest point in the state. This area includes some of New England's best wintertime downhill ski runs, in addition to cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, sleighing and ice skating, all available during the colder months.

Ms. Debbie and I, however, had our 7-day experience there during a summer, but beautiful is beautiful , and I am certain any weeklong visit to Vermont would be a memorable vacation event.

We actually flew to Bradley International Airport, north of Hartford, CT, and rented a car, as we wanted to drive through the compact New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. This far northeastern area of our great US of A is so small when compared to what we are used to in our wide open Southwest. Instead of hundreds of miles to drive from state to state, those distances in New England are a small fraction of those many miles.

Once we became situated in our lovely Stowe home for a week, we began exploring, as is almost always the case during our frequent adventures all over planet Earth. To say we are curious to totally immerse ourselves into wherever we are visiting is a absolute fact every time we venture out!

First stop was only a few miles south down Vt. Hwy, #100 to the town of Waterbury (pop. 1,763). What a delicious experience there, readers of Our Town and beyond. Of what I speak, of course, is the famous Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory Tour, complete with generous samples of their wonderful products at the tour's conclusion. Nearby, we also enjoyed a local maple syrup informational tour, explaining all about their tree-tapping mechanisms to obtain the tasty liquid. Yes, samples of this product were enjoyed, too.

Lots of great restaurants and resorts are found in the Stowe area, including the Trapp Family Lodge. This colorful resort gained international fame in the 1940's when the Von Trapp family (the all-time favorite musical, "The Sound of Music") settled in this lovely area. Today, Von Trapp family descendants operate the alpine lodge, which also features classical concerts and sing-alongs for its guests. As we slowly drove by this icon resort, it appeared just like I thought it would, authentic and magical.

Another outing took us a little south, then east on I-89 to the state capital city, Montpelier. Several of the impressive state office buildings in this town of under 8,000 people, are constructed of nearby Barre granite and Vermont marble. During my lifetime travels, I always like to see the state capital cities, so was able to cross this impressive one off my list.

Small town Americana is displayed in just about every town in this little state. We drove through the heart of the state one day on our trip to the Wilson Castle, near tiny Proctor, northwest of Rutland. This dynamic structure, built in 1867, sits on a 115-acre estate in a very isolated, but spectacular area. The castle has 32 rooms, and features 84 stained glass windows and 13 fireplaces. Its outside appearance displays 19 arches and a towering turret. We took a wonderful guided tour of the elaborate castle interior that consists of European and Far Eastern antiques, including statues, Chinese scrolls and Oriental rugs. The surrounding grounds include stables, cattle barns and a carriage house.

Two other days of mention were visits to lovely Woodstock (pop. 900, and NOT the NY state city of the same name that was the site of the famous rock festival), and nearby Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (NPS). I have always been drawn to units of the NPS, and this 550-acre park, with its guided tour of the 1869 (modernized in the 1950's) built elegant, Queen Anne-style mansion, was a memorable experience. The final site we visited was the state's largest city, Burlington, located on the eastern shore of massive Lake Champlain, which also borders New York state on the west. Burlington's population is a mere 42,417, but is a hub for commerce in the area, and we enjoyed our day there, seeing the huge lake water traffic.

Isolated, small ( ranks 45th), and with only 625,741 citizens, Vermont is mostly a hidden secret to the American traveling public.

Discover this secret for yourself. If you do, the life experience will never leave your mind's eye.