New England States Road Trip Part 7.....Vermont

Continuing my posts from our 30th anniversary trip. If you want to enjoy more photos and videos that I share here, you can visit my Facebook Page, Kirstin Bozich Troyer and search 30th anniversary trip. Also, my Instagram page (@kirsteemarie) has several highlights from our trip that are worth checking out. I also think I might be off on my days but it doesn't matter.

After another good nights sleep, our plan was to head out to northern Vermont. When you're on a vacation, you can't let weather get in the way of plans. You just have to make it work. Our first stop was going to be Montpelier. It was raining pretty heavy, so we decided to just stop there and get coffee (for me) and then keep going. We watched the hourly weather on our apps. We knew if we got to the next destination, the weather would be better. We'd hit Montpelier on the way back. We stopped at Capital Grounds. Then hit the road. Very good coffee, but I don't remember what I got. What was really neat, is while we were there, a young man came in, who must have been home from college. Everyone, workers and customers were so excited to see him and you could hear the conversations of people sitting at the tables after he left talking about what a great guy he was. 

We got to Stowe, and headed to Stowe Mountain Resort. The original plan was to ride one of their gondolas at the top of the mountain and catch the views of the leaves, however because of the weather, there was a heavy layer of fog, we weren't sure if it was worth it. We bought tickets hoping that the visibility would be better in a few hours. We were assured we could get a refund if it wasn't. With tickets in hand, we left to go hunt for covered bridges and possibly a hiking trail. I mentioned this in previous posts, but we used Road Trippers/Road Pass to plan our trip. We loved this app. You can view our trip here with all our stops. 

We found 2 bridges (Mt. Orne....which I couuldn't find a photo of, and Gold Brook).  Gold Creek Bridge, also known as Emily's bridge and was built in 1844 and is the oldest Howe Truss Bridge in Vermont. It is said to be haunted by  Emily’s ghost with reported sightings of ghostly apparitions under the moonlit sky.

We also stopped and hiked up to Moss Glen Falls.  This was a fun hike along a small creek. It was a bit "flooded" in a few spots on the trail and muddy but it was okay. The final part of the ascent was steep, but doable and it was well worth it. I made sure to bring hiking shoes each day since sometimes we didn't know what we'd be doing or what we'd find. These were definitely needed on this hike..there were some pretty wet spots, but it was worth it. The leaves in these areas were gorgeous! 

I just love the stream that ran through the area of the resort. I could've spent so much time just sitting here. 

We headed back to the resort and decided to get a refund. We explored the resort grounds for a bit before heading out.

These were what we were hoping to ride up to see the views. Below was clear, but just above was covered in fog.

Wild turkeys everywhere. 

We walked around the lodge for awhile before deciding to get a refund. It was a beautiful area.

We first made a "drive by" of the Von Trapp Family Lodge. If you are fans of the Sound of Music, this is worth stopping by. We didn't explore here much, just drove by, took a few pictures and headed out. The Von Trapp family came over from Switzerland in the 1940's and settled in this area, it reminded them of home. In the 1950's they began opening their home to visitors especially when they were on tour. There are many stories you can read, but what I love is that it is still owned by the family. I had also watched the Magnolia Network show Family Dinner with Andrew Zimmerman, and he featured them in one of the episodes. You can read more about their lodge and journey in the links above. 

Von Trapp Family Lodge. I would have loved to go inside, but you had to pay to park and walk around, so we opted out. 

After that we headed back to Montpelier, and walked around for awhile, browsing some shops, eating crepes at The Skinny Pancake. We had a crepe filled with nutella, strawberries and bananas. Oh my. So good. We also found a hole in the wall pizza place where you entered through the back door in an alley. There was a restaurant at the front, but you purchase by the slice, walk in, at the back. I believe it was called Positive Pie, but it shows it's temporarily closed. 

 We also visited a historical museum but couldn't take too long to browse as it was half an hour before they closed.

The old buildings are just fascinating to me. They were so stunning. The quality and craftsmenship in which they were built. 

I love murals!!!

So many old churches. 

What a cool spire, steeple, whatever it's called. 

Old museum we browsed quickly through. 

Capital building! 

What a fun street don't you think?

We headed back and ate dinner at the Public House and enjoyed some live music. This is definitely a must visit restaurant. We were back early enough and found a laundromat close by so we did some laundry. Then back to the B & B to pack up and get ready to head out the next day.  My hubby and I were thinking that this type of laundromat would be a good business to own.

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin