Some more Vermont

Now that it is getting a lot colder, it is time to be moseying back south again. First stop is Manchester, a very colonial town with a strong British feel. We hit the Equinox Resort, an 1860’s era resort on 1,300 acres that appealed to Presidents from Taft to Eisenhower. The resort has hiking trails all over Mount  Equinox, so we set out on a hike – it was the Woman’s 60^th birthday and she wanted to do a nice hike – well it must have been planned this way because the trail we hiked was called Robin’s Roost. It was a nice trail with some exercise involved, and ended up at a spectacular overlook complete with a bench. Nice birthday bonus for the 60 year old!

After the hike, we retired to the pub inside the Equinox to have some hors d’oeuvres, a glass of wine, and some Peyton Manning. We split a nice burger plate, which they completely fixed up on two separate plates with all the fixings and sides and all. It was really nicely done, especially with the football kicker.

We visited the home offices and flagship store for Orvis. Turns out it was customer appreciation day at the Orvis offices, so they catered in pulled pork sandwiches, which we were happy to lift a couple off their hands. Orvis in some respects is a lot like Bass Pro Shops – they had a huge bass and trout pond where you could try out any of their fishing equipment. Everything was really top notch, and it was a pleasure to walk around and see all the innovative stuff.

Charles Orvis lived in Manchester when he founded the company in 1856. His home is now an exclusive high end inn – it is actually now part of the Equinox resort just a couple buildings down the street from their main resort facility. We would have loved to snoop around in it, but it was open to guests only, and I wasn’t willing to cough up the nightly rate just to get a peek.

Another famous nearby resident was Norman Rockwell. Where we parked Colectiva was actually in Arlington Vermont, which is where he lived. It turns out that all the pictures he illustrated he had locals pose for so that he could truly embody the rural American spirit. An Rockwell exhibit was just walking distance from our campground, and many of the folk who had posed when they were young were there to tell you about which Saturday Evening Post cover they were captured in, and what they’re experience was like posing for Norman Rockwell.

We got to see a really nice video on his life and work, and an amazing display of his work. We also scooted out to the edge of Arlington to catch a look at Rockwell’s home while he lived here. As a private residence, it is not open for tour, but it was fun to see nonetheless. It helped me remember that I had a copy of a Rockwell cover – the cover image from my Boy Scout Manual was created by Rockwell.

Since it wasn’t very far, we ventured into Bennington Vermont to take in the Bennington Battle Monument. The Battle of Bennington occurred on August 17, 1777 when American patriots defeated two detachments of British soldiers attempting to capture a store of weapons and food. Locally the battle is viewed as impressive and decisive at the battle at Bunker Hill in Boston due to the overwhelming advantage the British forces had.

The 306 foot tall limestone obelisk was completed in 1889. While it actually stands nearly 10 miles from the battlefield, it does stand at the site of the Catamount Tavern where Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys planned their attack on Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. From the observation deck which is where the slits are near the top of the obelisk, you can see Vermont, New York and Massachusetts.

We wanted to hike up to the observation deck, but due to issues with the stair system, they have installed an elevator – so we toughed it out and rode up. The views were spectacular in all directions. When we returned to the base, we were rewarded with  the actual kettle that the patriots capture from the British General Burgoyne from his camp in Saratoga as the battle raged on. We always enjoy seeing something that old.

On the way back to Colectiva for the night we stopped in historic Shaftsbury. We had visited the Robert Frost home in Franconia while there, but apparently as Frost aged and became more heavily published in the US, he desired both a warmer climate and easier access to his New York based publishers. So, he moved from New Hampshire to what he called Stone House in Shaftsbury Vermont. We toured the home and picked up some more tidbits on Frost. We are just having fun as we bum around and stumble across new things from time to time that connect with other people, places or things we have discovered on our Fall Colors trip!

With all our Vermont objectives met, it was time to move on into New York, and warmer climes.

Talk to you soon!