Ingo

Hello fellow Fodorites!

The other thread about my first trip to the U.S. this fall got a little too long and covered too many regions and questions, so I thought I better start threads on specific areas of the road trip. This one is about our two nights stay in Vermont. General info first: I'll travel with my parents (age 62 and 67). We'll rent a car in Hartford and after staying there with friends we'll drive up to Woodstock, VT, where we have reservations at the Deer Brook Inn for two nights (2 - 4 Oct). Keep you fingers crossed for beautiful foliage season this year, please

I already received some good advice on this portion of the trip. I think we'll take the advice to stop for lunch and walking around in Brattleboro. Any particular places of interest there? The Vermont Country Deli was mentioned for wonderful sandwiches, cookies and pastries. Can you give me an address or directions?

I noticed the Quechee Gorge is listed as an attraction in the Woodstock area and so is Simon Pearce Glass. I thought we would maybe have enough time to see them both on the drive to Woodstock. Is it worth to stop there? How time for the visit to calculate? If you don't recommend to see Quechee Gorge we'd probably leave I 91 at Hartland and take S 12 from there to Woodstock.

I am still pretty clueless about what to do and see on the full day in Woodstock. So far I'm considering Billings Farm Museum, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, Sugarbush Cheese and Maple Syrup Farm. We'll explore the green and neighbouring galleries, public library in Woodstock. Given the weather co-operates I am sure we'd enjoy a short hike in the countryside, maybe to a small lake/pond or mountain. Any recommendations?

For that night we'd like to have a nice meal somewhere. Our inn sent us a long list of places they recommend and asked to pick one, let them know and they'll make reservations for us. Very nice! The problem is, I have no idea which one is good. Or better said, I guess most of them are, but I'd like to know if you have personal experiences and can suggest one. 3 Oct is a national holiday in Germany (Re-unification day) and we'd like to celebrate that a bit.

On 4 Oct we'll have to leave Woodstock and drive up to Bartlett, NH, the White Mountains. My original plan was to pay a short visit to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory and to see Montpelier (I'd like to tour the capitol) before heading to Bartlett. I know it's a detour - do you think it's worth it? Or should we drive directly to NH?

Quite many questions on such a short portion of our trip, I know. Sounds like overplanning, but I'd like to know what to expect.

Thanks for any replies,

Ingo

PS: I am going to be away for business reasons from Sunday to Wednesday, so don't think I'm ignoring the replies. Please keep them coming, I will respond when I'm back in case I don't have time till then.

J62

Sorry, I'm not an expert on VT/NH. Best wishes on this trip, 1st time to US.

You've given so many of us great Dresden tips I hope we can reciprocate in kind.

Unfortunately my September business trip to Dresden has been canceled, so it'll be another 4-6mo till I get back.

dfrostnh

Simon Pearce also has a wonderful restaurant. The building is fascinating since they generate their own hydro-electric power. We have never stopped to look at the gorge. I think Montpelier is a lovely town and you should enjoy the smallness of it compared to other places in New England. Ben & Jerry's can be fun or just a tour with a tiny ice cream sample at the end. It depends. It can be very crowded. You might have fun just ordered ice cream at one of their stores. We tend to like factory tours. It's done well but if you are short on time you might do something else. My husband loved Billings Farm Museum. I didn't go on that trip.
Woodstock is a beautiful town but it's so full of tourists that it hardly feels like VT. I think you'll like Montpelier better. We've only made a brief visit to Brandon VT which may be too far out of your way but it's home to quite a few artists including Warren Kimble http://www.brandon.org/
Expect a lot of traffic on the road Ben & Jerry's is on because of all the shops and route to Stowe. You can find locally made ice cream other places and avoid the traffic.

Vttraveler

A few ideas for your time in Vermont:

A few miles after the Massachusetts/Vermont border on interstate 91 you will see signs for the Vermont welcome Center. IT is worth a stop there to get a good state map and information about various tourist attractions. The staff there should be able to give you information about what the foliage is like when you arrive. The state has a "foliage hotline" you can call to get tips on where the color is best. You might want to have a few ideas of places to go based on where the foliage has "peaked."

There will probably be foliage festival events during that first week in October. I know there is one farther north in the Northeast Kingdom of the state with different events in different towns:
http://www.nekchamber.com/pages/3952...tival_2007.htm
This area is about an hour and a half north of Woodstock so might be farther than you want to go
As you can see from this schedule lots of towns have breakfasts and dinners at this time of year. Chicken pie suppers are especially common.

closer to Woodstock, I think you could do a brief stop at Quechee gorge but you would do better to drive around to some of the smaller villages if it is a nice day and the foliage is good. The route from Hartland north on Rte 12 is pretty.

About 15 to 20 miles southwest of Woodstock you could visit Plymouth Notch with the Calvin coolidge state Historic Site and a cheese factory (coolidge was the 30th US president and was born in Vt)
http://www.historicvermont.org/coolidge/

Another interesting historic spot in a scenic location not too far from Woodstock is the Enfield Shaker museum in New Hampshire.
http://www.shakermuseum.org/

I think I may have recommended the Billings Farm museum and Marsh-Billings- Rockefeller National Park in an earlier post. They are both interesting and right outside Woodstock. they would take longer to tour than somewhere like Plymouth Notch.

I will look for some ideas for short hikes in south central Vt in books we have. You can check out the hiking trails at Gifford Woods State Park near Killington (west of Woodstock) at this link to see if there is anything there that looks appropriate:
http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/gifford.cfm

As for your question about detouring to see Montpelier and Ben and Jerry's, I wouldn't do this. It's a very nice area with plenty to see but pretty far out of your way. You could take some secondary roads in Vt and/or New Hampshire for more scenery instead.

Michael

From Brattleboro take route 30 and 35 to go through some of the picturesque southern Vermont villages. Stop in Grafton and try the 5 year old cheddar at the cheese company.

Michael

Another route to take is 100 and 100A north of udlow for the Fall colors. It should be done in the late afternoon.

Michael

I don't know why the face came up. It should read Ludlow.

thurstonbb

I agree with the Simon Pearce restaurant idea. The food is fabulous! Check out the glass making area too. Queechee and Woodstock are right next to each other (at least within a few miles). Sugarbush Farms is a great cheese place in Woodstock. They have a farm and samples of cheese to try. We have been buying from them for years.

suze

I used to live in Brattleboro. Walking along the main street is fun. My favorite restaurant is www.vermontmarina.com which is a casual place, right on the Connecticut River, also offers boat rides.

glaird

just returned from a visit to beautiful Vermont. In Brattleboro, make sure to stop in to the restored movie theater. It is beautiful. What a great job they have done.
Just a caution about route 100 in foliage season. Almost every guide book recommends it and it will be heavily used. All of the towns will be beautiful, so take your pick. If you are going to be near the gorge, it really is beautiful, but I agree that I would not make it a destination. Plymoutn Notch is a very lovely place. You will be glad you stopped there.
Have a great trip. There is no place more beautiful in the autumn than Vermont.

canyonjane

Hi Ingo,
Regarding Vermont:
I agree with the advice to stop at the Vermont Welcome Center on I-91. In addition to everything you ever wanted to know about Vermont, it also has reliably clean bathrooms.

In general, Vermont is known for its picture postcard villages, and in general, New Hampshire is known for the grandeur of its mountains so while you are in Vermont, I would suggest that you concentrate on spending time in the little towns and villages. There are so many! When you stop at the Welcome Center, ask them where the foliage is at its peak because it can vary somewhat from year to year. You might also consult with them as to which secondary roads you should take to drive through quaint villages with the least amount of traffic at the time you are there.

I would definitely skip Ben & Jerry's (most appropriate for families with kids) and also skip Montpelier on this trip.

Regarding New Hampshire:
If you make the day hike from the Mt. Washington summit to Lakes of the Clouds hut, I just wanted to mention that although you can buy a cup of hot water and instant coffee or a cup of hot water and a tea bag there, the AMC huts in the White Mountains do not have the espresso and cocoa that the refugios have in Italy, for instance, so it would be wise for you and your parents to take with you what you want to have for lunch, including any drinks. There is water at the hut -- and bathrooms. On a day with good visibility, the views can extend to the Canadian border and with the fall foliage, it should be fantastic!

Regarding the Litchfield hills:
Your itinerary may already be planned, but in case you go to Kent, I thought I would mention the Belgique Patisserie. It's worth stopping there even to look at the creations. Expensive but world class. If you wind up in Woodbury, Ovens of France for pastry and coffee, New Morning for the deli counter and Carole Peck's Good News Cafe for meals are all clustered together close to the intersection of Route 6 and Route 64. All three are fabulous.

Regarding Boston:
For the night you have free, I highly recommend going to the Prudential Center and having dinner at the restaurant, Legal Seafood. Skip dessert. Instead, take the elevator down the hall inside the Prudential Center and go up to "Top of the Hub" for dessert. This restaurant has a panoramic view of Boston and great jazz performed by faculty members from Berklee College of Music. The jazz is not random, free form jazz, but really sophisticated music played by exceptional musicians. Your parents will love it!

Jane from Connecticut

canyonjane

Hi Ingo,
I just found out that "Top of the Hub" in the Prudential Center in Boston has been renovated and now has a $25 minimum for food and drink for patrons so if you decide to spend the evening there, I would suggest that you skip Legal Seafood and have dinner at "Top of the Hub." The panoramic views and the live jazz are so American in a wonderful way. For a different meal be sure to have clam chowder at Legal Seafood. We think it's the best in New England (and we have sampled a lot of clam chowders).
Hope you have a great trip,
Jane from Connecticut

ggreen

Hi Ingo, glad you started a new thread!

I just wanted to mention my favorite stop in Brattleboro: Mocha Joe's! It's "just" a coffee shop, but the drinks are yummy (in a very American but yet not Starbucks kind of way) and the space is low-key and very New England. www.mochajoes.com - the link for The Cafe shows a bit of what the place looks like.

Also in Brattleboro, there's a good Korean/Japanese restaurant, across Main Street and down a bit from Mocha Joe's. You may have gotten your fill of Asian food on your NYC leg, and you may well just want to get sandwiches! But for a casual sit-down meal in town, I recommend Shin-La.

IMO, the Vermont Country Deli is a bit over the top. And it's not in the main downtown area. But it sure is an authentic slice of Americana! (The picture in the middle of their homepage is exactly what the store interior looks like: add the smell of roasted coffee and sharp cheese, and you're all set!) www.vermontcountrydeli.com

Ooh, just now in trying to find some info on Shin-La, I came across this great thread on chowhound: "Brattleboro Suggestions?" www.chowhound.com/topics/426084

Ingo

Hi all!

Thanks for the many helpful replies so far. I'm just back from the business trip and have some other things to get done, but I'll check out the websites you gave and discuss the plan with my parents. Seems like Ben & Jerry's is out. Mocha Joe's looks very good, I especially like 'fair trade and organic'.

Later, Ingo

zootsi

Woodstock IS touristy, but still a very nice place to visit, I'm sure you will enjoy the area. Your list of places to see in the area is a good one - Billings Farm is lots of fun, and across the road at the Rockefeller Estate there are some very nice walking trails - one that goes to the top of Mt. Tom for some great views. You can also walk up Mt. Tom from downtown Woodstock.
Brattleboro is Vermont's little counter culture city. Fun to walk around for a few hours. There is a Thai restaurant right on the main street on the North end of town that's very good.
If you are interested in hiking in the White Mountains (NH), you should pick up a copy of the Delorme map of hiking trails for the White Mountains. It can be found at most local stores in the area.
Quechee Gorge is a pretty spot, rte 4 that winds thru Vermont & NH passes right over it. Close by is the Farmer's Diner, which serves very good, locally grown foods. You might also want to drive over to Hanover, NH, which is a nice small college town with a very scenic campus and lots of good places to eat.
If you are in the Hartland area, you might want to drive up the Mt. Ascutney auto road, for a very spectacular view of both states.

Ingo

Ok, guys and gals, I thought about your recommendations. Vttraveler and Jane, thanks for the very detailed responses and the excellent advice. Ggreen, glad you found this thread, too Also thanks to the others who took the time to respond. J62 - that's too bad your next Dresden trip is postponed! September is such a wonderful time in Dresden.

However, here is what we'll do: Litchfield hills and Kent are out - except for visiting a friend near New Milford (afternoon + dinner). We'll stop at the Vermont Welcome Centre at I 91soon after the border MA/VT and get information there. Brattleboro will be our next stop - walking around a bit and lunch. It's either Mocha Joe's or Vermont Marina right on the river. Or any other place we might come across that looks appealing, lol. Depending on weather and foliage 'peak' we'll either drive I 91 to exit 9 or leave the I 91at exit 6 to follow the backroads (103 to Ludlow, then 100 to Plymouth Notch) to Woodstock.

For our full day in Woodstock we'll tour what I mentioned above and you fellows agreed upon: Billings Farm and Rockefeller Estate. We'll see how much time is left (want to walk around in Woostock, too, as mentioned in my original post).

Any recommendations on restaurants in Woodstock for dinner? Noone came up with personal recommendations so far.

I plan to (most likely) pay a short visit to Simon Pearce and the Quechee gorge the morning of departure from Woodstock, before heading to the White Mountains. Don't want to spend too much time there, would rather stop along the way. For the route to Bartlett, here is what I thought: From White River Junction on I 91 to exit 16, drive via Piermont and Warren to to Lincoln, then the Kancamagus Highway and Bear Notch Road to Bartlett. I hope the weather co-operates and we can stop here or there for a while, take photos and enjoy the scenery.

As for the White Mountains, hikes etc. - I'll start another thread on that. Ditto for Boston (although I have so much help for this leg from my friend Bob that it seems silly to ask for more).

Cheers, Ingo

djkbooks

October 4 is usually a bit early for foliage in the White Mountains. The farther north you drive, the more color you're likely to see.

I would recommmend going north on I-91 to Route 302 over to Bartlett. Route 2 would be even better. The drive through the notches is amazing.

Here's another recommendation for skipping Ben & Jerry's.