Road Trip to Vermont - Oct. 8th

Can you say, "Road Trip!" Yahooo!!! I needed a change of scene and my friends, Amanda and John, invited me along to Vermont!

Amanda and John next to Reflection Pond (part of the Androscoggin River near Gorham, New Hampshire.)

The purpose of the trip was to visit their son, Jonathan, at college, as well as to give me a bit of much needed excitement in life. I am such a homebody that it is difficult to drag me away from my beloved Caesar Pond;-)

Breathtaking scenery in New Hampshire

They also wanted to give me the opportunity of seeing New Hampshire and Vermont for the first time. Drew and I have lived in Maine for 17 years and have never traveled outside of it, with the exception of a few trips to New Brunswick.

Mount Washington shrouded in clouds

We passed by the Presidential Range of Mountains as we traveled on Rt. 2 (north of the mountains.)

Don't ask me which one is Mount Washington, because I have no clue;-) The roadway was gorgeous. Of course, all the rain and clouds gave it an air of mystery.

The clouds also added a huge amount of dramatic effect to the scenery.

We reached Vermont and saw lots of scenes like this one, with farmland interspersed with super colorful forests.

Upper Left:Trapp Family sign.   Upper Right: "The hills are alive with the sound of music!" 
Bottom: The Trapp Family Cemetery

Our first official stop was at the Trapp Family Lodge, in Stowe, VT. I absolutely adore the movie, "The Sound of Music", and wanted to visit their home. It was a bit disappointing as there were no tours, nor was there an exhibit room in the lodge. But, when we got to the upper field, we wanted to burst out in song, "The hills are alive with the Sound of Music!" Vermont is stunning...

Our next stop was at Ben and Jerry's (just down Main St. from the Trapp Family Lodge.) I was amazed at all the solar panels that they are using (which were located in the parking lot.)  Check out the big containers of sugar, milk, and cream! And, we were surprised by the line of people waiting for a tiny ice cream cone. Ummm...we all realized that it would be easier to buy a pint in a grocery store! Duh!

Upper Left: John, Jonathan, Amanda     Upper Right: Ice cream scoop from 1915.
Bottom Left: Old photograph of boys eating ice cream.   
Bottom Right: Johathan poses next to a Ben & Jerry's van.

We did go into the main entrance and poked around looking at old ice cream scoops and other ice cream related tools. I could totally relate to the photo of the boys eating ice cream. They look as serious as I do when scarfing down my favorite treat! Mind you, I cannot eat Ben & Jerry's due to the processing on a line with nuts, but I can dream about its yumminess!

Amanda and I did a cheesy pose! The sign was all too accurate. Ha!

We left Stowe and proceeded toward Burlington, via Montpelier (the capital city of Vermont.) Montpelier is the "smallest state capital city in the United States with a population of just over 8,000 people." By the way, the volunteer at the Vermont Historical Society's Visitor Center was incredibly well informed. We were truly impressed.

We finally arrived at Burlington, Vermont (which is about a 5 hour drive from home.) Our first stop was an off the beaten path tourist attraction that was my first pick. The World's Tallest Filing Cabinet! 

And yes, I did have to lay on the concrete to snap this shot;-)

Yup, you are reading this correctly. My top pick for things to do was to pose next to the filing cabinet.

Can you say, "Nerdy Girly!" Other people had the same idea, so we didn't stay too long as to let other filing cabinet nerds take their photo ops as well! Ha!

We rounded out the day by visiting the shore of Lake Champlain. There were lots of sailboats cruising back and forth as people congregated on the docks in anticipation for sunset.

Wow, what a beautiful lake. I am always up for a pretty sunset, and the mountains of New York State, across the lake, added to the scenic beauty.

This is one of my favorite photos looking out over the dock area. As the sun started to set, its light had to traverse down through one layer of cloud after the next.

We were all taken with the beauty of the night. What a perfect end to a perfect day...