VERMONT - HOME AGAIN

The trip from Lake Placid to Burlington VT was beautiful as anticipated.  View after view after view passed us by as we headed down to Lake Champlain.  We chose the Essex NY – Charlotte (shar lot with emphasis on the lot) VT  ferry because it was the longer than the Plattsburg crossing and less expensive than the Port Kent to Burlington Ferry which was an hour long.  Our crossing was 25 minutes and I had high hopes of taking magnificent pictures.

We arrived at the Essex NY Ferry around noon  just as the Ferry arrived from Vermont and the cars unloaded.  Already the cars were lining up to get onto the Ferry.  It was a tight squeeze just to get up to the toll booth.  We didn’t move much forward from the toll booth and I could see a line of cars behind us out to the street and around the corner.  Our 60+ feet was taking up lots of room. 

Finally we were ready to board this ferry.  There were three rows across the ferry and we were on the inside row up against the pilot house.  The guys who were directing us on realized how wide we were and checked us on the side.  

We were so close to the cars next to us I could not get the MH door open.  The driver of the car beside us was not in her car when we pulled up.  When she came back she had to climb across the passenger seat to get to the driver’s seat.

JAMMED IN TIGHT.  LEAVING ESSEX NY

ESSEX NEW YORK

LEAVING NEW YORK - HEADING FOR VERMONT

VERMONT ... GREEN MOUNTAINS .. BEAUTIFUL

So….all my pictures had to be taken from the window in the MH.

It was a beautiful ride over.  The Adirondacks to the back and the Green Mountains to the front.  Sailboats dotted the water all around.  

SAILBOATS AND MOUNTAINS .... NO BETTER COMBINATION!!!!!

VERMONT OFF IN THE DISTANCE

MUST BE SAILBOAT RACES GOING ON!!!

Disembarked at Charlotte VT south of Shelburne and wound our way out to Route 7N to Colchester. 

SAILBOATS MOORED IN CHARLOTTE HARBOR

DRIVING OFF THE FERRY WAS NO SIMPLE TASK!

US 7 - BURLINGTON - RUTLAND .... ALL FAMILIAR PLACES FROM A LONG AGO PAST

                                  LOOKING DOWN ON CHARLOTTE VT HARBOR

It was a wonder to see these mountains again.  You’d think one mountain would begin to look like another, but it felt different being in Vermont.  We passed the Shelburne Museum and The Vermont Teddy Bear factory.  Picked up I89 and made our way north of Burlington to Colchester.

We’re staying at Lone Pine Campground.  At first glance it seemed crowded but once we got into our site we realized there is a lot of room between sites.  No privacy but big shady elm trees and wide open grass.  There is a section of the park that is seasonal with many park models and RV’s with wooden decks and beautiful gardens.  It is really well done here.  Some of these seasonals have gazebos and lawn furniture that is better than what I have (of course that wouldn’t be a stretch).  Anyway, it’s about $3460 for May 1 – October 15^th and if you want to store you RV it’s $175 for the rest of the year (not per month).  If you have a park model and leave it on the site, the city of Colchester will tax it. There are many Floridians here; some spend their time at the Villages and some down the west coast.  It’s a large park and very pretty.....

…and just a mile down the road is Lake Champlain with Mallett Bay to keep your boats.  Lots and lots and lots of sailboats.  We took a drive down that way and it was breathtaking.  Unfortunately the weather was settling in and I couldn’t get great pictures of the water and surrounding mountains.  

ACROSS MALLETT BAY TO THE ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS

Monday we woke to rain so we headed down to Burlington to pick up some coffee beans.  I identified a coffee roaster before we got here so knew where to go. 

Burlington is the home of University of Vermont (UVM), St Michaels College and Champlain College.  It has always been (when I was a child) and still is, an interesting, intriguing place.  In 2007 the city was named one of the top four “places to watch” in the US by AARP.  This was based on what is perceived as ideal for older residents; new urbanism, smart growth, mixed-use development and easy-living standards.  I’m sure it helps that it is surrounded by an academic atmosphere with lots of enrichment going on.

Burlington sits on Lake Champlain and we drove along the Burlington waterfront but couldn’t find decent parking so continued until we found a restaurant on the water to have lunch.  They had Ipswich Clams on the menu so I had no problem ordering my lunch.  Dave has to stay away from Ipswich clams as they make him deathly ill.  We watched the Ferry come into Burlington and were so glad we didn’t pick that one.  We would have had to drive the MH towing the car clear through downtown Burlington past UVM and St Michaels College to get to I-89.  It wouldn’t have been as pleasant as coming up Route 7.

From lunch we headed out of town to Walmart to replace our toaster and get some motor oil.  It was still drizzling and getting colder.  Went through the University of Vermont campus and by St Michaels College and Champlain College.  Got to Walmart and you would have thought they were giving something away!  It was packed.   What else to do on a rainy Monday!

Tuesday we woke to more rain, coming down harder, and temperatures a lot cooler.  We’re sitting near 60 degrees …. But don’t despair (altho I am) it’s going to be 90 by the weekend …. Oh joy! 

Today we drove over to Waterbury to the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory.  It was raining and cold all the way over and the clouds were hanging low on the mountains.  Got to Ben & Jerry’s and the parking lot was packed.   What else do you do on a rainy Tuesday!

The story of Ben & Jerry is quite interesting.  It is a Vermont story.  They opened their first ice cream shop in a renovated gas station in Burlington.  It was very popular.  They went on the road across the country in a van like the one above dishing out their ice cream across the states.  On their way home it caught fire in the mid-west.  They went public in a true Vermont way ... offering stock to Vermont residents.  Their dairy comes from a dairy co-op in St Albans and this co-op pledges not to use any hormones or other ugly stuff.  Other ingredients are from Fair Trade areas.  

You know why they only sell their ice cream in pints???  Their ice cream is very creamy and this determined that opening the container four times is enough to keep it fresh.  Ice cream in the larger containers tend to crystallize as they get partially thawed and refrozen.  I agree with this.  I have thrown out more ice cream because it was crystallized and crunchy.  Pints work for me.

We took the tour which was GREAT.  Had a sample of ice cream which was GREAT … and bought a bumper sticker for the MH “If it’s not fun why do it?”  Ain’t that the truth.

IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR HERE??

We headed up Rte 100 to Stowe Vermont and stopped at Champlain Chocolate Factory, and Cabot Creamery.  Vermont is a large dairy state.  Those Cabot cheeses in the grocery store ….. the ones that say Vermont Cheese … are made in Cabot Vt.  This was a Cabot outlet and the cheeses are GREAT.  Many, many more cheddars than you’ll ever see in Publix.  Picked up Adirondacks Cheddar and Private Stock which is very sharp and exceptionally good.  We’ll have a Cabot near us in Windsor VT so can restock before leaving.  


Another place I need to find is Crowley Cheese which will be in southern Vermont.  My father would stop on our way home to Connecticut at the Crowley Cheese store and buy pounds of this cheddar. He'd cut it up and freeze it because you could not buy it outside VT.  I remember it as being a very sharp Vermont cheddar.  

Kept driving up 100 and then swung around Rte 15 circling around Smugler’s Notch bringing back old skiing memories.  Of course you couldn’t see the tops of the mountains but just knowing they were there was enough! 

Smugler’s Notch has its own piece of history.  It got its name for…wait for it ….. smuggling!  The Embargo Act of 1807 prohibited Americans from trading with Great Britain and Canada to keep us from being dragged into the Napoleonic Wars.  The British bypassed the embargo by importing products to Canada and smuggling them down mountain trails through Smugglers Notch.  Many residents continued illegal trade with Canada carrying goods and livestock through the notch.

The geology of the notch is remote and dotted with caves used as hideaways.  The War of 1812 slowed the smuggling down. 

Speaking of War of 1812……we won't be seeing any bicentennial celebrations ..... it was unpopular in Vermont.  Apparently New England did not provide militia units or financial support.  Vermont voted for the Federalist party opposing the war.  However, 5000 troops were stationed in Burlington on Lake Champlain outnumbering the residents.  Some soldiers were quartered in the main building at the University of Vermont.

Smugglers Notch was later used as the Underground Railroad when fugitive slaves used the notch as an escape route to Canada.    I have a photograph of the house my mother grew up in.  Written on the back of the photograph is a statement that says  under that house was a tunnel used by the Underground Railroad during the Civil War.  I’ll be going by that house that I loved so much and spent so much time in with my Grandparents.  I never knew there was a tunnel under there anywhere!

The notch was improved to accommodate autos providing in 1922 a route for liquor to be brought in from Canada during prohibition.  The caves were perfect for storing alcohol at near room temperatures.

….and you wonder why I love history…….

We came through the town of Morrisville and saw Noyes House Museum.  

Noyes is my grandfather's name and they settled in Vermont in the 1600's.  I'll have to see if Carlos Noyes is a distant relative.  


Our last stop before getting back to the MH was the Vermont Maple Outlet to see if their maple syrup was less than the last three places we saw it.  Shooo enuf.....we got a half gallon of maple syrup for.....$29.99.  That is $5 less than anywhere else!   Also had a maple sundae ....maple creamee ice cream with maple syrup topping.    Of course I got a small box of maple sugar candy.   I'M IN PARADISE!!!!

LIQUID GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday is our last day in the Burlington VT area and it was another day of promised rain with laden skies.  However, we decided to explore the Lake Champlain island area of Grand Isle.  Grand Isle is a strip of land surrounded by Lake Champlain the goes to the top of Lake Champlain to Canada.    We could have taken the Ferry from NY to Grand Isle or driven to the top and over the Rouse Point Bridge down to Burlington.  The island is 14 miles long and 3 miles wide and about 45 mintues from Burlington and 1 1/2 hours from Montreal.

A LITTLE HISTORY...

NY gained this land in 1764 assigning it to Albany County.  March 1772 Albany County was partitioned to create Charlotte County and it remained this way until Vermont’s independence from New York and Britain. 

September 3, 1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the Revolutionary War.  Vermont’s border with Quebec province was established at 45 degrees north latitude explaining why Grand Isle has no dry-land connection to the rest of the US.

New York still unhappy about relinquishment of its land to Vermont asked US Congress to arbitrate.   March 1788 Congress ruled against NY.  Vermont petitioned for statehood and was admitted March 4, 1791.

Originally the towns of Grand Isle, North Hero and South Hero were granted to Ethan Allen, Samuel Herrick and 363 other Revolutionary War veterans as a single town known as Two Heros. 

In 1798 Two Heros was divided into North Hero (entire north island), Middle Hero and South Hero but in 1810 Middle Hero was given complete autonomy renamed Grand Isle which, ironically, was what the French originally called the whole island.

 GRAND ISLE STATE PARK

While heading north we saw Grand Island State Park and decided to take a look see.  I had seen this State Park when I was applying for host jobs but they already had their hosts for the summer.  

We drove in and explained that we were hosting at Mt Ascutney and wanted to take a look around and spent some time with the hosts to see what we were to expect.

Grand Isle State Park is the most visited campground in the state park system. (I love it’s not Mt Ascutney!)  It has 4,150’  of Lake Champlain shoreline.  Canadian border is just up the street and the Ferry from NY comes into Grand Isle.

This campground is fantastic.  It is dry camping as in all the State Parks, but you can get an MH or Trailer in here.  The campsites are mowed grass, very private as they keep the grass high with wildflowers between the sites and situate the sites at angles so you can’t see other sites.  

 The Vermont State Park has leantos.  It was thinking lean-to's like on the Appalachian Trail but these are great.  The sites are very large so you can add tents or screen rooms; extend tarp off the roof....it's your choice for a camping retreat.  

One whole loop of Leantos sits on a bluff overlooking Lake Champlain.  

This is the view looking from the leanto.  Islands dot this area which is probably why it's Champlain Island area.

These are the restrooms and they all have beautiful gardens.  Apparently a volunteer comes in once a week and maintains all the gardens throughout the campground.

The host area has a very large campsite area located near the restrooms.

You can play football in the host campsite....it goes from this garden past the 5th wheel.

The campground has a boat ramp and a swimming area.  I can see spending a summer here.

We headed back to Colchester to get laundry done and get ready for our summer move to Mt Ascutney State Park.  

Traveling around has been lots of fun but I'm looking forward to settling in one place for a while.  I'll probably get ansty in about a month but we can to anything for 60 days.

Apparently fall colors set in mid-September so we'll be here to see it all!!!!!!   I love being in Vermont and am looking forward to the rest of the summer.  I'll be dragging Dave to my childhood spots and hopefully finding some cousins I haven't seen for 15-20 years.  He's such a trooper.  Willing to go anywhere I think up.  Couldn't have a better companion!

This is home ..... where my ancestors come from.  Both my Father's family and my Mother's family settled in Vermont in the 1600's and 1700's so I'll be looking for that cemetery my mother took me to when I was 12 years old and traced my Grandfather's family back before the Revolutionary War by reading the gravestones.  Yes, I'm a DAR!

My heart is in the south.  It's where my family and friends are.  

The south is important to me .  

Vermont is where my history lies.  It is important to me.  

I think it's going to be a GREAT summer.