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Vermonty Python

Posted on November 25, 2020November 25, 2020 by Analise Zocher

It’s still July, right? Just kidding–I can’t believe Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I’m catching the blog up on the last four months in pieces–just because the last ~3,200 miles were a fun blur for us doesn’t mean they should be for you. First up: Vermont. After a 2-week quarantine, we tooled around the Green Mountain State to see as much as we could during their brief yet brilliant summer season.

Summer wonderland

The train scene from White Christmas is what I think of when I hear Vermont, and that would be accurate if we visited there today–they’re expecting a high of 30F. But back in yester-summer, Burlington VT experienced record-breaking heat with daily highs in the 80s and 90s. So, actually, it was a lot like White Christmas when Bing and Danny get to Vermont and it’s sunny with no snow.

With a population of 214k, Burlington is the biggest metro in the state of Vermont. Bernie Sanders was mayor in the 80s, and the city is the birthplace of the band Phish (formed at the University of Vermont) and ice cream colossus Ben & Jerry’s.

Everyone we know from the northeast has told us we should check out Burlington. It feels like a west coast city: there’s a huge waterfront courtesy of the gorgeous Lake Champlain, a beachy vibe comes out through the warm summer sun, and the abundance and diversity of locally owned shops and restaurants reminds me of my favorite San Diego and Seattle neighborhoods.

Also it’s weird, and we are here for it. It has the world’s tallest filing cabinet, a lakefront sundial, a local water-loving cryptid (move over Nessie, make way for Champ!). There’s a beautiful drive that takes you across some islands near the Canadian border across to Plattsburgh in New York state, and the most adorable car ferry brings you back across Lake Champlain to Vermont. Big thanks to my friend and coworker John being our guide to local favorites like Citizen Cider and the earth clock on Blanchard Beach.

World's tallest filing cabinet
Mark for scale
Burlington City Hall with social justice posters
Church Street, a pedestrian shopping and dining area
Burlington art
Grabbing late night maple creamies
Lake Champlain at sunset
Me and my coworker John. We're smiling--can't you tell?
Stargazing for Comet Neowise  over Malletts Bay
Plattsburgh ferry on Lake Champlain
First time on a ferry in almost a year
Winooski Block historic building near our park in Colchester
Metal fish art that says "Optimism can save the world"
Part of the old repurposed Winooski wool mill
Grilling corn and chops at the campsite

We all scream for ice cream

The icy dessert of Burlington may be the maple creamie (don’t call it soft serve, for the love of all that is holy), but Vermont is synonymous with Ben & Jerry’s. The frozen treat titans have been producing highly textured and punny flavors since their start in a renovated Burlington gas station in 1978.

While the factory tour was closed because of COVID-19, the scoop shop and Flavor Graveyard were open. The Flavor Graveyard is incredible–not all of Ben & Jerry’s flavors stand the test of time, so those fallen flavors are memorialized with headstone and a poem commemorating their contributions to creamery culture.

Greetings from Ben & Jerry's
Newest flavor: Justice ReMix'd
Justice ReMix'd & Sweet Like Sugar
Posing with the frozen treat founders
Branding is everything
The Flavor Graveyard
Take a moment for the fallen flavors
Fossil Fuel
Dave Matthews Band's Magic Brownies
Economic Crunch
Sugar Plum
Vermonty Python
Neapolitan Dynamite
Schweddy Balls
Phish Food

Capital, my good sir

Montpelier was less than an hour from Burlington. The capital city has a couple of cute downtown streets, but between COVID and Sunday hours we didn’t get to see much of it. But the nearby area has some unusual sights. A hike into Hubbard Park took us to one of the best vantage points in town: the top of the observation tower that dates back to 1915. And just south of the city is the only floating bridge east of the Mississippi on Sunset Lake; it spans 318 feet and has sunk/been replaced 8 times–one car at a time, please.

The mountains are full of granite which has been mined as a resource in Vermont since the 1800s. There’s so much of it that it’s used for everything–buildings, signage, parking posts. But one of the most creative displays of local granite masonry is Hope Cemetery where every other grave features an elaborate and expertly carved granite headstone. Some of the most inventive designs aren’t even occupied yet but instead markers for locals who plan ahead.

Montpelier skyline
Hubbard Park observation tower
Mark for scale
My old nemesis: STAIRS
View from the top
Sunset Lake floating bridge, the only floating bridge eats of the Mississippi
This is the 9th bridge--the other 8 sunk
Hope Cemetery in Barre, the granite capital of the world
Spanish Flu memorial
Headstone of a soccer lover
Life-size fresco with palm frond
Headboard headstone
Put a smile on that headstone
Racecar 61
"I want a ray of sunshine...on my flatbed truck."

RV checkup

Rexy is still chugging like a champ. We had a few bumps along the way but also made some good repairs.

  • The adhesive on the entry door window wore away and the glass started to fall out mid-drive in New Hampshire. Our packing tape road-side fix worked in a pinch, but a handy dandy mobile RV glass guy was able to glue it back into place.
  • The RV fridge gave up the ghost in south Jersey–we woke to the charming smell of ammonia as it dispersed through the broken condenser. Mark sourced a residential replacement and it was installed a few days later. Big thanks to our buddy Heather for lending us one of the ice chests that we lived out of for a week.
  • A rusted front jack spring snapped–if only we had a homemade jig to prep new springs for install. Oh wait!
  • While in Kansas City, Mark found a hose leaking engine coolant and repaired it, and so far our coolant levels have remained constant. This may have been the source of our slow leak all along.
  • The water hose and spigot froze in New Mexico–I won’t spoil it but a foot of snow was involved.
  • We got Rexy into a Freightliner garage in Albuquerque for some preventative care that was too involved for our DIY skills: replaced a hose that threatened the air compressor, replaced a bearing in one of the tire wells, and repaired a leak in the exhaust system.

Lilly’s watch has ended

We always knew this day would come, but we were still surprised when it finally happened. Our Methuselah-like cat, aged 26, was put to sleep after a sharp decline in her health. We miss her lots.

Lilly Ann Zocher, 1994-2020

What’s next

Tucson, Arizona. I want to see a saguaro cactus. We’re making our way westward so that we can quarantine in California before the holidays. Hope everyone has a happy, healthy Thanksgiving.

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Posted in DestinationTagged Burlington, Food, RV life, Vermont

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