I’m back! I realise that I haven’t posted in two months and I’d like to say that it’s because I’ve been really busy doing important things but the truth is that I just couldn’t think of anything to talk about and I’m really good at procrastinating. Like gold medal good. But I’m back and you’re stuck with me (unless I don’t get round to posting for another two months).
It was my birthday this week and my wife decided to take me to a mystery destination as my present to distract me from the fact that I’m getting old. As I sat in the car looking at the road signs pass by it became apparent that we were heading north and we were either heading towards New Hampshire or Vermont. I was pretty excited when we crossed over the state border into Vermont because it was one of the 22 US states that I hadn’t been to and my goal is to visit them all. I was heading into the unknown a bit because the only things that I knew about Vermont were Bernie Sanders and Ben & Jerry’s which are pretty good things to have representing your state if you ask me.
By the time we reached Montpelier and stopped for lunch it was as cold as fuck (in fact it had been as cold as fuck since we had left Boston but it was getting colder as fucker the further north we got). It was actively snowing in this part of Vermont and with a strong wind and icicles literally hanging off the car as we drove through the sylvan landscape I felt a little like I was in Narnia albeit with better transport options than Narnian’s have and less talking animals. My weather app said it was -15C (5F) and far colder with wind-chill. It was plain this was going to be a mainly indoor weekend unless I wanted hypothermia and believe me with the way healthcare works here I don’t.
Two interesting facts about Montpelier; it isn’t pronounced like the French would pronounce it which mildly irritated me and it is the only US state capital which doesn’t have a McDonald’s which meant that I forgave the town its dodgy pronunciation. We ate lunch there and got back on the road to our destination, Burlington. This city is situated on the shores of Lake Champlain which I can only describe as bloody huge and bloody icy. The lake is beautiful and fringed by mountains on the far side and at the north end is Canada, looking more like a potential refuge every day.
We did a lot of touristy things over the weekend, visiting Lake Champlain Chocolates and Citizen Cider and had a little walk on one of the islands in the middle of the lake. The walk wasn’t the best idea as I had forgotten a scarf or any kind of face covering and I really like having ears so I couldn’t be outside for that long but it was incredibly beautiful. Some parts of the lake were covered with thick white ice, some parts were covered in thin but beautifully clear ice and other parts were open water. We stopped off at Ben and Jerry’s on the way home (who wouldn’t). I’d like to return to Vermont one day when the weather is a little bit more hospitable but I had a great trip despite the cold! I hope you like the photos, the two below are my favourites.
Old England to New England 
You got Lake Champlain chocolates???! They have a tour? Jealous doesn’t even begin to cover it.Their Five Star Bars are fantastic. Plus the dark chocolates with maple sugar.
If you’d done the Cold Hollow Cider tour, too, well, I’d have flounced.
They have a tour indeed! They also have a little tasting bar set up. Really nice place. I discovered them in a book called Candy Freak so i wanted to check the factory out and eat some chocolate. 🙂
Happy belated birthday! Your photos are fantastic and (not trying to be creepy here) I’m delighted you’re back. I’ve missed your posts and I mentioned to my family recently that I hoped you were okay. I really enjoy your blog – even when you have “nothing” to say which, IMHO, never happens as I find your posts informative and entertaining. 🙂 I’m semi-jealous about your visit to Ben and Jerry’s – I’d be completely jealous if they still made my favorite flavor (Carrot Cake Passion) but they stopped years ago. (sigh) Glad you and your wife had a great time despite the frigid temperatures!
Which of the US states do you have yet to visit? (Maybe a topic for another blog post?) 🙂
Thank you so much! It’s really nice to be back, I realised how much I had missed everyone and how much I missed posting! I’ll try and be better at writing regularly going forward. 🙂
In regards to states I have yet to visit basically the whole north west, Hawaii, Alaska, Florida and some of the Midwest and a couple of closer ones like Pennsylvania.
What a stunningly beautiful place! Glad to have you back, I love your photos and vicariously discovering the quirks of American life. 🙂
Thank you! It’s great to be part of the community again and getting back into the habit of checking my reader every morning. 🙂
So that’s what Vermont looks like with blue sky! When we visited it rained and rained and rained. Ben and Jerry’s was our indoor escape as were the shops of Burlington. Despite the weather I also had a great time.
Oh no! Lucky there’s so much to do in Burlington. It was mostly indoors for us too as it was hard enough just to take my gloves off to take a photo in the cold haha.
I came stalking your blog over the weekend as I noticed you’d not been around. Glad to hear you’re ok – Vermont looks beautiful. The colours are so vibrant! Jealous of visiting Ben and Jerry’s though. I used to have an official Cookie Dough lip balm and I wanted to eat it whole. So having the entire headquarters to indulge in sounds like a super birthday treat! (Happy belated wishes btw)
Thanks Haylee! It was kinda nice to have a break from everything for a bit but I missed writing and reading everyone’s posts so it’s good to be back.
Ben and Jerry’s was definitely worth a visit, the tour was only $4 and you get a decent sized sample plus there’s an ice cream shop where you can buy pretty much any flavour. 🙂