One of America's most beautiful states (Vermont)

Member Name: ScottishWestie

Product:	Vermont
Date:	29/06/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Scenery, prices, standards, friendly people

Disadvantages: Not a lot

It's been 10 days now since we started our trip around New England travelling by rental car through Maine & New Hampshire (see previous reviews) seeing some wonderful places & meeting some interesting people. We were now heading north to Stowe in Vermont for a couple of days & then south to Woodstock.

INFORMATION ON VERMONT

Vermont is French for Green Mountain & was named after the French explorer Samuel Champlain. The entire state has only a population of half a million & they are very nationalistic, very proud of their state & country. As you drive around Vermont just about very home has the stars & stripes U.S. flag hanging outside. There are no large advertising boards in Vermont; it would be too much to distract from the beauty of the place.
Holstein cattle are unique to Vermont & feature their trademark black & white markings & often seen grazing in the fields.
The biggest attraction for Vermont is the trees changing colour in late September, against the blue sky a blanket of flaming scarlet to pale mustard, it looks fantastic. Added to that the white coloured wooden homes & manicured gardens & you have one hell of beautiful place.
In winter it is just as beautiful covered in a blanket of snow which according to one local we spoke to can sometimes be up to 6' deep, pretty deep!!

INFORMATION ON STOWE

We are heading for Stowe after travelling through New Hampshire east side; we join the main Interstate highway 89 to make progress. Vermont isn't such a big place being only 150 miles long & 90 miles wide at its widest point.
Stowe is in the north of the state only a short distance from the Canadian border. The small town has a population of around 3500, it is surrounded by mountains, some are used in winter for skiing. You drive off the highway onto smaller roads & in no time at all are in Stowe.
It has been a major ski attraction since the 1930s & if you are prepared to travel up the mountain roads you will see the facilities that have been laid on for skiers.
We are heading for the Brass Lantern Guest House just off the main street west of the town centre.

BRASS LANTERN GUEST HOUSE

The guest house is just off the main road & has a large car park. We park up & walk in to the reception room. A message has been left on the table that the owner is out doing a message & will be back soon, help yourself to fresh coffee.
No sooner had we sat down with our coffee & the owner arrived. He apologised for not being there on our arrival & took us to our rooms.

He was a strange looking character, he looked a bit like Gene Wilder & his eyes swivelled around their sockets like a Thunderbirds puppet. He was pleasant enough but my wife said that he made her flesh creep!
This particular day was dull, no rain but just cloudy, the room he took us to looked dark & gloomy probably due to the lack of sunlight.
The décor was also dark which didn't help & the bulbs he provided were quite dull to. Still it was clean, well equipped & comfortable, for all the time we would spend in it, it would do us nicely.

Breakfast was served in the dining room with ample tables & chairs. However breakfast was limited to one choice of hot meal, take it or leave it. There was no buffet other than a selection of cereals.
Although it was a quiet location, clean & comfortable & at $80.00 a night (exchange rate was $1.80 at the time) it was reasonable value for money but its not a place I could recommend.

Notes: Brass Lantern Guest House, 717 Maple Street, Stowe, Vermont, 05672, Tel 802 253-2229.

BEAR POND BOOKSTORE

Wandering into Stowe the following morning we came across a small book shop featuring a very small coffee shop. Run by a couple of young lads & a young girl they provided fresh snacks & coffee. There were only about six tables & although they didn't provide newspapers to read from racks they did provide newspapers.
They would place the main pages on the tables each morning & then place a glass cover over them the same size as the table top. This meant you could read the papers from under the glass whilst drinking your coffee, although turning pages is something they need to work on!!

There was a right homely feel about the place, casual & comfortable; we visited the place every day. I would imagine in the depths of winter with snow on the ground this would be the place to have your hot drinks, just relax & watch the world go by.
The book store next door was a lot bigger than the outside appearance suggested & they had a great selection of books for all tastes.

Notes: Bear Pond Bookstore, 38 Main Street, Stowe, Vermont, 05672.

We spent one day driving up to the ski centre to see the lovely mountain range & countryside. The mountains look quite spectacular & rugged in sections, they look like they spill onto the road & at one point access on the road is limited to single file.
We stopped for lunch at the ski centre, obviously in September there is no snow & there are no skiers but it's business as usual for the local cafés & shops.
There is ample facilities up here, you wouldn't need to travel any distance as it looks like its all self contained. We had a real tasty snack in the café & just wandered around enjoying the lovely sunshine.

VON TRAPP FAMILY LODGE

The famous Von Trapp family that fled Austria during the Second World War settled here in Vermont & the famous lodge is situated on the mountain road that leads to the ski centre. It was said that the family inspired the film 'The Sound of Music'.
You can stay at the lodge as it features 116 rooms on 2700 acres of property & also has 100 guest houses. They provide nightly entertainment, recreational facilities & an impressive food menu.
We didn't go in but we walked around the impressive gardens & the family has a small memorial garden at the end of the garden close to the road.

Notes: Trapp Family Lodge, 700 Trapp Hill Road, Tel 800 253-8511. www.trappfamily.com

BLUE MOON CAFÉ

That night we visited the Blue Moon Café in Stowe, the name doesn't sound that interesting but it was a great place to spend an evening. The menu changes weekly but to give you an idea of prices the starters range between $6.75 - $15.00 & main course $18.00 - $33.00 at 2008 prices.
The food is beautifully presented & the service is via three smartly dressed young, tall, dark haired men, (easy now girls!).
We were dressed smart but casual & we did feel a little underdressed compare to the other diners but the place didn't feel pretentious.

Notes: Blue Moon Café, 35 School Street, Stowe, Tel 800 253-7006.
www.bluemoonstowe.com the latest menu is on the web site.

The following night we walked over the covered bridge to a small restaurant, its name escapes me. We were the only ones in the place at 6pm & were served by a rather beautiful looking woman in her 40s. She was a little drunk, but not drunk to cause a problem, just drunk enough to raise a smile to your face.
She laid our table & took our order & gently staggered to the kitchen, she came back minutes later & apologised for losing our order & we gave it to her again.
She managed (just) to serve our starters which included soup & staggered back to the kitchen. Every couple of minutes her head would pop round from the kitchen door to check on our progress & see if anyone else had come in.
She staggered back for our finished starters & was the last we saw of her, the chef completed the order & took our payment. We had visions of her being flat out in the kitchen floor completely out to the world!!

Sadly it was time to leave Stowe & head south to Woodstock, I would recommend this place summer or winter as it has a real friendly homely feel to it & the locals are just great.

We travelled own the Interstate highway 89 past White River Junction to Route 3 & headed west to a place called Woodstock.

This isn't the same Woodstock that held the famous rock concert in the late 1960s; it's just a small town in the middle of the most picturesque part of Vermont.
The road west of Woodstock is considered to be the most scenic in the whole of the U.S. it is scenic but I could list many places in the U.K. which are just as good if not better.

INFORMATION ON WOODSTOCK

Its situated east of the state close to the lower part & stands out more than any other part of Vermont for its beauty. Founded in 1761 the place has a mixture of brick & clapboard Georgian style homes. The Rockefeller family helped financially to restore the place & the railroad magnate Fredrick Billings financed the planting of 10.000 trees throughout the area.

QUECHEE GORGE

Often called Vermont's little Grand Canyon, is the mile long Quechee Gorge. To be honest its nothing like the Grand Canyon in Arizona but it is impressive all the same.
You can overlook the entire gorge from the Route 4 highway bridge. From the bridge, it is 165 feet to the river below. This provides quite a scenic and wild view of the shallow valley that the Ottauquechee River has cut its way through. The waterfall can only be seen with a pair of binoculars.
By following the South Trail as it parallels the river, you can get a closer look at the small cascades within the gorge. The biggest waterfalls can be seen as you hike to the top of the gorge where you will find an artificially-created waterfall flowing over a dam, called Mill Pond Falls.

Queechee Gorge close to Hartford is Vermont longest and most famous gorge & is a 'must see' in the area.

CHARLESTON GUEST HOUSE

Within walking distance of the town centre was our accommodation whilst in Woodstock. It was a Greek revival house built in 1835 & some of the rooms feature four poster beds. Ours didn't but the room we were given was pleasantly lit, very comfy & quiet.
It was run by a German man who runs the place in typical German manner! Breakfast would be at 9am, not 8.30am, not 9.15am, just 9am!

There was one large table where 16 of us sat down, the table wouldn't look out of place at Buckingham Palace & the silver set he used to serve the food was also very impressive.
I sat down with a large family form Tennessee, maw, paw, grandpaw, grandmaw & countless children who all came with one SUV!!

There was couple form Chicago & one couple form Detroit & everybody wanted to know where everyone came from!! When I told them I came from Scotland there was a large WOW! in unison.
An elderly lady sitting next to me whispered, "Scotland, isn't that where to Queen has her holiday home?"
I said "Yes it is, I visited it for an afternoon just months before".
After a little thought she replied "How is she?"
At this point I should have said "Well she popped it by to see me the other day for a gallon of petrol for her lawn mower & seamed okay" I think she would have believed me!!
Instead I just said "She doing good!"

The same lady looked about mid 70ish, in actual fact she was 95 & very astute for her age. She informed that she used to be the personal secretary of Henry Ford. At first I thought she meant Henry Ford the grandson of the pioneer who looked after the company from the late 1950s - 1990s, but she was the secretary of the original founder Henry Ford.

Apparently she got the job not because of her skills but because her parents lived in the same village as Henry's parents. She was his secretary from the 1930s until he died in the mid 1940s.
After that she left Ford to work for their arch rivals General Motors & became the personal secretary of the chairman Alfred P. Sloan. A very interesting woman indeed.
Her grand daughter asked at the table why I came all the way form Scotland to Vermont. I told her that I loved the place, loved the people & loved the Americans attitude to life.
As I was leaving the table minutes later she interrupted her breakfast & stood up, came to me & put one hand on my shoulder. She looked like she was about to embrace me when she said in a very patriot voice "Thank you for visiting our country" & returned to her table!
I was quite taken aback but wished them all a good holiday & safe journey home. The guest house is in a good location & although not cheap is highly recommended.

Notes: Charleston Guest House, 21 Pleasant Street, Woodstock, Vermont, 05091, Tel 802 457-3843.

Travelling back to the highway on Route 3 on the left hand side was a selection of shops which were all housed in what I can best describe as a large chalet type building. There was a large car park outside & small railroad the circled the whole place for children.

One of the shops sold Christmas goods all year round & had to be seen to believed. There were no store lights, all the lighting came from the Christmas decorations that were on display. This store would have been the size of a 'normal' Tesco store but full of Christmas stuff, you name it they had it, even Christmas clothes for pets!! Well, this is America!!

After a hour of wandering through a selection of small display rooms within the store & being totally disorientated I had to get out for daylight & some sanity.
I had to pull my wife out of the place reminding her she had no more room in her travel case for gifts. What a place!

Across the road was a small farm selling food & gifts, to attract your attention they had a selection of stuffed toy animals on the grass slope. It certainly pulled in the crowds to see the cows but they also has sheep, squirrels & bears plus a wooden life sized bear.

We left Route 3 just after seeing our first speed cop with the same hand held guns they use in the UK. Driving in rural America has been a real pleasure, they don't tailgate you, they let you out of junctions & they don't appear aggressive.
However, driving in the big cites is worse than in the UK, there they are more aggressive, less patient & tailgating appears the norm.

During a whole journey around New England we clocked up about 1000 miles & used under £40.00 of fuel including the full tank I left in the car before I handed it back!!
You drive mile after mile quite relaxed listening to FM radio stations, you don't have to search much to find them there are dozens of them. They all played the same artists almost every hour, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Rod Stewart & Elton John & little else, its little wonder these artists make so much money from their royalties as they are never off the radio!
My little plastic strip I was given with yellow arrows that stuck to the steering wheel really worked, it really did stop me driving on the working side of the road.

Would I recommend Vermont? Absolutely, but a car is essential if you want to see the most interesting parts. We spent 15 days travelling & still only saw small parts of this beautiful country.

Summary: Best time to visit is late September early October