Goodbye Vermont

August 6, 7
Thursday, Friday

These New England states are so small I thought I would whiz thru them in the blink of an eye, but I'm finding the smaller the state, the more there is to see.

Over breakfast at the Brass Lantern I am doing my favorite thing reading the local paper, the Stowe Reporter. Mary Ann told me the Police Blotter has been on the David Letterman show for the top ten. This one caught my eye "July 10, report of young people being rowdy at Emily's Bridge. Police were called and they were shooed away". So of course I had to check out Emily's Bridge. A beautiful covered bridge with a path that leads down to a stream that would be a perfect party place for kids.

Then back on Hwy 100 headed for Killington Ski area. Passed thru historic Wallingford on the way as well as many other villages filled with quaintness.

Killington Ski Resort

Again the parking lot is full of hikers and mountain bikers.

New Englanders must be some of the healthiest people in the country outside of California.  And Utah of course.

Came across a major horse show. It was a huge annual event with at least 100 tents set up, all English riders, jumpers.

Sat for awhile and watched the beautiful horsey set.  Why not?

Drove thru artsy Manchester to arrive at noon at Arlington where there is a small museum dedicated to Norman Rockwell who lived here from 1939 - 1953.

The museum is called the Sugar Shack and looks like a snack bar on the outside and inside.

  

 Inside the walls are covered with Rockwell memorabilia including stories of all the townspeople he used as models.

These were the years he did his most prolific work and he credits the locals for that success. "Right here are exactly the models I needed, the sincere, honest, homespun types that I love to paint."

The clerk gave me directions 5 miles out in the country to the Rockwell home which is now a B&B.

It's across a pretty covered bridge and next to a church.

The church is on the right, the Rockwell home straight ahead.

I can imagine the three Rockwell boys playing in this beautiful area, probably swimming in the small river that passes the home.

In 1954 they moved to Stockbridge, Mass for his wife's health.

This tiny area across the bridge had another home. The one on the left used to be a school and now has residents and what appeared to be an ongoing garage sale. I asked if they knew anything of how the Rockwells were as neighbors back in the day. Apparently the Rockwell home burnt down shortly after they moved in so the family lived in this abandoned school while it was being rebuilt. Wonder how the B&B feels about this property....

The next morning had breakfast at a DDD diner in Bennington, The Blue Ben Diner.  It's from the 1940's 

and had no less than four eggplant dishes on the menu. I had the Ratatouille Omelette. Yum!

Last night was the first GOP debate among their many Presidential candidates and since I didn't see it was wanting to hear some diner discussion of the event. But I happened to sit near Mr. Friendly (not) at the counter so got no conversation. So after eating I took my coffee down to the other end of the counter where by that time a lively conversation was going on.  It seems they thought Donald Trump "went too far" and Jeb Bush was not "presidential" material. When asked who I liked I said I was a Democrat from California, and they said they would forgive me for that.

Walked around town waiting for the Bennington Pottery Studio to open.

Scattered among the tourist places and coffee shops were barber shops and an old fashioned but authentic hardware store.

A flatiron bank building had been converted to an Art Gallery called Fiddlesticks owned by a couple who recently moved to Palo Alto for a teaching position.

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Many local artists were represented.  

These mosaics were made of the tiniest pieces of mirrored glass and were incredible up close. The mgr Joey said I could photograph but only from a distance. I should have cropped them close before putting on the blog so you could see the incredible workmanship.











The manager told me not to miss the only graffiti bank safe in the country so of course I had to go in and leave my mark.
    

At Bennington Pottery I wandered among beautiful ceramics trying to decide what I couldn't live without.

Had some items gift wrapped for Christmas and then thought how am I going to get all this stuff home on the plane when I fly home in December for a few weeks. May need to mail some of it. 

Beautiful imaginative table settings make me want to be home again to entertain.............









Finding a place in the Doodle for my purchases wasn't easy. What was I thinking?!

Onward to Townshend and Grafton.

Townshend is the classic New England village where white clapboard houses and a church are grouped around a large formal green. For some odd reason in this unusually rainy summer, the two acre common is mostly brown, not green.
The Congregational Church is from 1790 and still in use.

As you come into Grafton it looks like you have just stepped into a Currier & Ives lithograph. My first sighting of stone walls

The Old Tavern is a country inn that opened in 1801, once a stagecoach stop on the route from Boston to Montreal. US Grant stayed here while campaigning for President and more recently Paul Newman was a guest. I want to stay in the room with Paul's DNA.

A red brick building dating to around 1816 is the home of the US Post Office and the Town Hall where New Englanders are noted for those rowdy meetings.

The Grafton Public Library was once the home of soapstone magnate John L. Butterfield.  Soapstone was the biggest industry in the village back in the 1800's.

Today Grafton is noted mostly for their wonderful
Grafton cheddar cheese which has been produced just outside of town since 1892.

Julia Child said the only thing she wanted for her 90th birthday was a cheeseburger with a slice of Grafton cheddar.

So of course I went looking for one and the only place serving a cheeseburger was the Old Tavern which was closed to the public while they were getting ready for a wedding.

The Grafton town charter is from 1754.
 During the mid 1900's the village fell into disrepair until the Mathey family worked thru an endowment to restore the Inn and many of the buildings in town.
Today it thrives with a year round population of 600 or so.

Leaving Grafton, another surprise, the Vermont Country Store popped up alongside the highway.

I had been getting their catalog for years which sold everything from flannel nightgowns to Evening in Paris perfume. Remember that in the cobalt blue bottle?
Don't know how it was possible but there was more stuff in the store than in the catalog, along with every possible way maple syrup could be used as a food. Would you believe maple scented soap and salsa and barbeque sauce and taffy?  The maple taffy wasn't bad. I sampled 3 pieces before deciding.

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On to Woodstock, my last stop in Vermont, to visit the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historic Site.
 

    
These three families are credited with being the first to recognize the need for conservation among our natural resources as early as 1800. 

The mansion was built in 1805 by the Marsh family, owned by the Billings and inherited by the Rockefellers.

The mansion was full of antiques and valuable paintings and was left just as the last Rockefeller left it in the 1960s, including the 24" black and white TV in the Victorian parlor.

There is also a farm showing much of the conservation techniques developed.  Our country does owe a debt of gratitude to these wealthy men who gave something back. 

The grounds were beautifully landscaped reminding me of Filoli,  as well as 20 miles of trails for hiking, all within walking distance of downtown Woodstock. 

Back at the campground I met my neighbors who had just gotten back from picking up their friend, Buffy, from the Appalacian Trail.

She has been hiking it since March, alone on the trail but with help from her friends Teresa and Marcia , who pick her up every day from the trail and bring her back to camp for the evening. Her trail name is Iron Lady and she usually hikes between 15 and 20 miles a day. Only a few hundred miles remain before finishing the entire trail this summer. Most people take a lifetime to hike a segment on weekends or when time allows. 

Got so involved last night talking and blogging that I forgot to get a picture of the three women. So this morning at 7 a.m. I heard their car start up, threw on my clothes and ran out for a photo. They were already in the car but Buffy got out for this photo. Darn, should have had all 3 of them and her backpack.  I've finally met someone who has walked the entire trail.