Northampton, MA
just another day in Vermont
Today, we explored the Green Mountain state, Vermont. We're gradually working our way back south and west, and wanted to be in western Mass. tonight, so we chose to get here by way of VT. There's a low pressure system that's pretty much stalled over all of New England, so the weather was pretty crummy all day. Make the most of it, though - that's what ya gotta do!
So, we started the day in Concord, NH, where we took a little detour out of town to see the airport (you knew that was coming, didn't you?). We then hit the interstate to scoot up to Lebanon/Hanover, NH, and the VT border. I was curious to see Dartmouth College, as we have some friends who went to school there. Also, we'd decided to spend most of the day in Vermont, so we took the 30-odd mile interstate route. That also gave us the opportunity to stop at a NH rest area, apparently sponsored by the state Dept. of Transportation - at least the vending machines!
(we did not avail ourselves of the opportunity)
It's gotta be one of the prettier drives on an Interstate highway, I-89. Straight through the woods, without a lot of anything else around. Once we drew nearer to Lebanon and Hanover, we discovered more hills, and of course, more people. But still, it's a wonderful setting for a college. We stopped by the campus to take it all in.
Then, onward to Vermont, and the back roads, yay! We exited I-89 for highway 4, and stopped at Quechee first. Besides having a kind of funny-sounding name, Quechee also offers up a beautiful gorge, in addition to a somewhat-kitchsy shopping village. We hit the shopping first - although, I confess, I'm not much of a shopper, there were a few Vermont things I wanted to take home, and might as well get it done early in the day. After that, we took a short hike in the Quechee State Park to view the bridge and beautiful, deep deep gorge.
Quechee Gorge - the Grand Canyon of Vermont
Something I like a lot about both Maine and Vermont: no billboards. I didn't realize before this trip that these states banned billboards, but I noticed once we got into these states. Prince Edward Island, too. There are just tasteful little signs directing you to various businesses in the towns. It makes it easier to enjoy the fantastic scenery.
And oh, does Vermont deliver on that front. It's aptly named: the Green Mountain state. And, I appreciated it most from the backroads. We wound along the Ottauquechee River, up and down and around the bends. Farms here and there, but mostly, just trees and water.
Saw a covered bridge being either replaced, or at least seriously overhauled:
We stopped for lunch in Woodstock, a charming town that's known for being one of the more "tony" spots to call home, or second home, or fourth, or whatever. It's very pretty, though. We ate in a little coffee shop on the main street, in a colonial building (well, they're all colonial, or look like it anyway!) Once inside, however, it showed itself to be a friendly, hometown joint, not a twee teahouse for tourists. That's nice.
Got a look at Woodstock's impressive library building, too. Here, inspected by Our Own Librarian:
From Woodstock, we continued on highway 4, driving through the heart of Calvin Coolidge country. Did you know Calvin Coolidge was from Vermont? I think I remember that bit. I also remember that he was Warren G Harding's vice president, and became President only when Harding succumbed to an early demise. What I didn't know was that when Harding died, Calvin was up in Vermont helping his father with the haying. As it was the middle of the night, and they were in rural Vermont, he was sworn in by his father, and then Calvin went back to bed for the night. We seem to be on an accidental Calvin tour today, too, because we're staying in Northampton, Mass, which has its share of Coolidge history. And, Henri, Le Chat Noir had a Coolidge quote today, too. Hmm....
Anyway, we didn't actually stop at the Coolidge farm, nor visit Silent Cal's grave nearby. We kept on through the gorgeous countryside, which the sun was actually visiting, finally. Lots of green, both as grass and as trees.
In the tiny town of Weston, we stopped at the Vermont Country Store. As "flagship" stores go, this has got to be one of the prettiest, and most low-key. We've been patronizing their Web store for years, as they have good merchandise, and lots of fun stuff, too. The store comprises a series of older buildings (or they look old, at least) to keep with the General Store vibe. Check out their web site - they do have good stuff!
We'd bypassed the turnoff for Killington, et al, earlier in the day, and we'd passed by several of Vermont's other ski areas, too. Near Dover, we started to pass Mt Snow, too, but we ended up swinging by anyway. Nancy's parents used to take a ski week there, and we wanted to check it out for ourselves. Looks lovely, although pretty quiet this time of year. (by the way, we skiied Killington with Nancy's parents several years ago. Were asked more than once on the chairlift: "Seattle, huh? Do you know you flew over the Rockies to get here?!")
Pretty soon, it was just us on the road, as we climbed up and wandered down the many hills. Our car, the Dodge Avenger, has served us very well on the trip, but it's clear - it's not a mountain car! It huffs and puffs up over the ridges, eventually making it
Our chariot
We finally said Goodbye (for now) to Vermont, and entered Massachusetts on highway 112. Nice and rural crossing, and we're back in the Commonwealth after two weeks away. By this time, it'd started to rain pretty heavily, and we high-tailed it over to I-91 to take the faster route to Northampton. I had the wipers going at full speed, and it still wasn't enough (almost.) It was a relief to get to our hotel for the night, which the GPS calls "Hampton Inn and Suites Hadley AmheRrRrRrRst"
Tomorrow - exploration of Smith College, my grandmother's alma mater (99 years ago!!). Then, off through western Mass., heading for NY and the Hudson Valley.
cheers,
--Kit and Nancy
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