Saturday, September 25, 2010

Vermont!

We went to Vermont today. Why? Because we can...

We went to the birthplace of Joseph Smith in South Royalton/Sharon. It was such a pretty day. With the kids we didn't get a chance to hear all of the history stuff from the tour guide but we got the gist. There is an obelisk monument (one foot for every year in his life). I loved that it had James 1:5 printed around it. There was also the door step and a marker for the hearthstone (the actual hearthstone is in the visitor's center) where the Smith's lived and bore Joseph. Pretty touching. Sterling is standing between the front door and hearth. Joseph was born right there. A little ways away on the property you could go see remnants of other family members' homes and the old Turnpike dating back to colonial America which ran through the 100 acre property. There was a stone bridge still standing since before 1804 that I thought was so cool.

We took a scenic road down to Woodstock. Gorgeous. I think there is another week or two before this part of the state peaks as far as foliage but I couldn't stop taking pictures and saying "This is so pretty!"


Next on our Vermont to do list was to see a covered bridge. The inside was the coolest. It was kinda dark for pictures plus there was a line of cars waiting to go across (you can only fit one car so you have to wait if someone is crossing in the opposite direction as you). But cool none the less.

Lastly we went to Sugarbush Farm. They make cheese and maple syrup. They had a room where you could sample them all (smart idea because once you taste it you want to BUY it!). They had a baby cow, two goats, a rabbit, and a handful of chickens to see too. Mesha and Griffin were in heaven. When I asked Mesha later if she liked Vermont and what her favorite part was she told me the chickens and the cow. They had a sugar house you could go look at. Very cool. Mesha touched an electric fence when we were not looking. She later told us about it but didn't cry or freak out when it happened so I am hoping it wasn't a very high voltage. The last thing we did on the farm was a "Maple Walk". It was a little trail through a part of the maple trees with little visual aids to show you how they tap the trees and stuff. Did you know that it takes 40-50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup? Crazy!

We had a lot of fun. I am so happy that we can go do things like this on a day trip. The world is a smaller place over here on the east coast (and speaking of a small world, we met a couple where the guy was from Spokane and the girl from Bellevue and they now live in Connecticut...small world...). Good day, good times.

3 comments:

Kara said...

Wow, that all looks like so much fun. I am jealous of all the historical sites that you can visit. You will have your weekends booked for a very long time around there. Have fun.

the Smith's said...

Looks like a fun trip! Nice pics too!! xoxo

Mindy said...

Okay...so I am SO jealous! I wish I could have been with you. It looks awesome!!