Montpelier, Burlington, Stowe
Vermont is a small state, so we were only a short drive away from some well-known cities and towns. During our first weekend, we explored Montpelier, the state capital.
(Come to think of it, we have visited five state capitals on this Epic Road Trip: Jackson, Austin, Santa Fe, Boise, now Montpelier, VT. We also drove through Columbia, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and Olympia. Cool, right?)
Montpelier's charming little downtown had a nice variety of shops and restaurants. And there seemed to be a different church steeple visible in each direction. It was fun to see the variety.
During our second weekend, we decided to check out Burlington, Vermont's biggest city (population 42,545), and the country's least-populous most-populous city. When driving from Montreal to Vermont, we had planned to visit Burlington, but rain foiled that plan. We were glad to have a sunny day for a do-over.
Burlington's Church Street Marketplace is a open-air mall where the restaurants and shops are in historic buildings. It was a beautiful day for strolling, window-shopping, and people-watching.
There were dozens of interesting buildings and murals (and a few more steeples!)
After exploring Church Street, we wandered downhill to the Burlington Waterfront. We walked along the shores of beautiful Lake Champlain and watched the boats and kayakers. It was a clear, sunny day, and we could see the Adirondack Mountains across the sparkling blue lake. Gorgeous!
During our third weekend, we decided to explore Stowe. We knew it was a famous ski resort, and were curious to see what the town was like without snow. We decided to walk along the Stowe Recreation Trail, which winds alongside the West Branch of Little River. It was a perfect day to be outside. We shared the path with friendly families on bicycles and chatted with a young woman about chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms. We could see the green ski slopes on Mount Mansfield in the distance, and wondered if we had correctly identified the forehead, nose, and chin.
Stowe also had a Main Street with shops and restaurants in quaint historic buildings. Not far from downtown was an unusual church called Blessed Sacrament. It didn't have a steeple, but it was remarkable. Its wooden walls were covered with hand-painted murals depicting the life of Brother Joseph Dutton, who, like Saint Damian, devoted his life to caring for the lepers in Molokai, Hawaii. The murals were done by a French artist named André Girard. And the church itself was built at the suggestion of Maria Von Trapp. (The Von Trapp family settled in Stowe in 1942, after leaving Austria, and the family ski lodge still operates.) The verdict? There is plenty to discover in Stowe outside of ski season!
