I have a big, three-month long project starting soon at work, so I thought I'd take some time off before things get busy. So, I took a couple of days and went to Vermont.
It was snowing when I left my house, and snowed all the way up my route to my first stop, the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center/Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, located in Burlington's Waterfront. The ECHO, which is part of the University of Vermont System, is named for Vermont's former senator, Patrick Leahy, and his wife Marcelle. Its mission and focus is the ecology and conservation of Lake Champlain.
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| The ECHO Center, Burlington, VT |
The Center has over 100 exhibits and animals on display. It is a great place for kids and families to learn about the area, and ecology in general. As one who grew up in the 80's, one favorite interactive of mine is called "Rain Barrow". In this arcade style video game, found tucked in a corner, the player has to fill and empty a rain barrow, gaining points for every drop caught. It was fun.
I also learned about "Champ", Lake Champlain's answer to the Loch Ness Monster. I don't know if Champ really exists, but it sure is fun to think about.
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| The Champ display, ECHO Center |
The weather wasn't that great that day, but normally you could see all the way across the lake to New York's Adirondack Mountains. The ferry to Plattsburg, NY isn't far away.
At the end of the day, I left Burlington and headed back down I-89 to Waterbury, my base for the next few days. Staying at the Best Western Plus Waterbury-Stowe, I was in a perfect position to check out other points of interest.
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| The view from the top of Blush Hill, Waterbury, VT. My hotel was at the bottom of the hill. |
After grabbing some dinner, and going for a swim in the excellent indoor, heated pool, I settled in for the night.
The next morning, the weather was cold (as expected, it is winter in the mountains of Vermont, after all.) But it wasn't snowing. After taking complete advantage of the free breakfast, I read for a while, then headed off for my Ben and Jerry's tour.
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| Ben and Jerry's Factory, Waterbury, VT |
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| View of Ben and Jerry's from the parking lot. |
This half hour tour gives you a peek at operations at the ice cream maker. First there is a video explaining the history of the company (which is now owned by Unilever, but due to an unusual deal, Ben and Jerry's is able to keep its autonomy.) Next, the company tour---we see the inner workings of how the ice cream is made. This day, they were making Chocolate Brownie flavor. The brownies come from a bakery in New York. Finally, we eat! Free samples of the flavor of the day.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to the Flavor Graveyard as it was snowed in at the top of a hill, but I'll be back!
After the tour I head off down the street to the Cabot Annex Store (when you go to Vermont, you have to get some Cabot cheese.)
My final stop was the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, where you can watch apple cider being made right on the premises. I had lunch at Cold Hollow's Apple Core Lunchenette. The food is excellent there.
While you're at Cold Hollow, be sure to pick up some freshly made cinnamon donuts, and of course, some cider.
Since this was not meant to be a ski trip, and I had seen everything I was planning on, after lunch I returned to the hotel and hung out at the pool the rest of the day.
The next morning, another big breakfast, and hit the road back home. It was a great trip, which I will be making again--in summer.
