Last week, my family went skiing in Killington, Vermont--or to be more specific, my husband and daughter went skiing, my son went snow-boarding, and I went off in search of things to do in Vermont as a non-skier who has absolutely ZERO interest in careening down a mountain!
I did, in fact, find lots of non-skiing things to do in the Green Mountain State--towns and landmarks to explore with my camera. Granted, they were all about an hour's drive away from where we were staying in Killington! But I learned that's just how it is in Vermont: towns are sparse and spread out. You can drive for ages and see only a couple of other cars on the road. It was very peaceful, though--lots of time for quiet reflection, plus Bach's Cello Suites (perfect soundtrack for the picturesque landscape).
Here's what else I learned about Vermont during my week up north:
1. NO BILLBOARDS! Vermont banned billboards in 1968. It's so refreshing to drive around a state that's advertising-free and just admire the natural beauty. Mountains and forests, unblemished by splashy slogans and sales pitches.
View from Hildene, Manchester
2. The unofficial colors for houses and barns seem to be white, brick-red, and rustic wood. Occasionally, you might see a yellow house, but any other color is rare. It sort of feels like a private school with uniforms--very neat and buttoned-up!
3. "New England Manners" are in full effect. Staff members at restaurants and hotels are super-friendly, gracious, and helpful, but otherwise, Vermonters pleasantly keep to themselves. If you happen to pass a person on the street, he or she might smile a little, but rarely are "hellos" exchanged. (I'm from Connecticut, so it wasn't that odd for me.)
The Old Tavern, Grafton
4. The winter weather is NOT fooling around! You don't know what "cold" is until you're checking into a hotel in the mountains at night when it's -12 degrees F and a gale wind is hitting you in the face with ice crystals. Toughens you right up!
5. The Northshire Bookstore in Manchester is a must-visit stop! It's now my second favorite bookstore in the whole wide world (right after Strand Books in New York City). Ten thousand square feet of books (some secondhand--very green!), handcrafted gifts, frequent author events, a cafe, artsy parents reading to their precocious children on big, comfy couches... heavenly!
6. Main Streets are mainly deserted. You can walk right down the middle of Main Street in quiet towns like Grafton (pictured below) and hear yourself breathing. Little to no traffic!
7. The Ben & Jerry's Factory in Burlington doesn't make ice cream on holidays or weekends (we were there on President's Day), but you can still take the factory tour and get a free ice cream sample at the end. (We sampled triple caramel chunk--triple YUM!!!)
8. Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, had a very grand summer home in Manchester, called Hildene. (That's an upcoming post--just too many gorgeous photographs of Hildene to squeeze in here!)
9. President Calvin Coolidge's grave (in Plymouth Notch) is in a cemetery across the road from the house where he was born. (How many people, famous or not, can you say that about?)
10. The icicles in Vermont can run from the roof to the ground!
11. You'll see signs in Vermont that you just won't see further south, such as "Moose Crossing" and this one:
12. Sub-zero temperatures don't stop Vermont residents. Snow plow crews seem to be perpetually out on the roads, and Vermonters just bundle up and go on their merry way. I adapted to that mindset during our stay. Although I had no burning desire to go outdoors in -8 degree weather on one of our vacation days, I pushed myself to do it and found three quaint covered bridges in Bennington. (Worth fighting the fear of frostbite!)
Henry Bridge, Bennington
Here are a few more fun things to do in Vermont if you don't ski--all of which I did this past week while my family was on the slopes:
- Visit the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. (See where "The Sound of Music" kids ended up in real life, after their time in Austria.)
- Explore the quaint town of Wallingford.
- See Robert Frost's house in Shaftsbury. (It's closed for the winter season, but I still wanted to see where one of my favorite poets lived. He wrote "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" at this house...in the summer!)
- Tour the campus of Bennington College. (A mix of colonial and super-slick modern architecture in a rural setting.)
- Bring a big tote bag full of books! (But I didn't need to tell you that one, now did I?)
All in all, it was a fun (but freezing!) week in the mountains--even though I was driving around them instead of skiing down them!
How 'bout you? Have you ever been to Vermont? What did you enjoy doing there? I'd love to hear about it!
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