Iris Richardson Fine Art 🇩🇪🇺🇸📷
Kathy Seiler@irisRichardson There are so many great places to go here in #Vermont. Most of the main roads are passable now. Smaller, more rural roads still await repairs. What sort of things interest you all?
@DoctorK I love art created by living artists. Active art communities etc.
@irisRichardson Lots of art here! Some places that have lots of good food and some art are St. Johnsbury, Stowe/Waterbury, Middlebury and points between Middlebury and Burlington. Burlington is the largest city and always a good place to start. Lots of amazing food all over the state, and late summer/early fall is a good time for local produce if you go to local restaurants.
@DoctorK Thank you Kathy
@irisRichardson My pleasure. Hope you can make it up to our fine little state! #Vermont
@DoctorK I always wanted to visit since I saw the Bob Hope show in my teens lol.
Joseph Andriano@irisRichardson I think you may be referring to the Bob Newhart show? If so, I’ve got a treat for you: the inn that was used for filming is a real life inn that you can stay at: https://www.wayburyinn.com/newhart-connection/
If you choose that route for your trip, you’ll be in the Middlebury area. Ultimately when you go will dictate what you do. Lodging is very difficult to find during the peak foliage season, so if you can’t find a place then, my trick for visitors is to make reservations… 1/
Newhart Connection - Waybury Inn
Bob Newhart Connection For nearly a decade Bob Newhart entertained audiences with his hit TV show, Newhart. In the show, Bob and his wife decide to leave their hectic life in New York City and buy a beautiful inn in Vermont. To our delight, Hollywood came knocking at the Waybury Inn’s door. They thought that
@JosephAndriano Oh yes that is the one lol
@irisRichardson …for November. Why? Well, hear me out here. November is what we call “stick season.” There may be no leaves on the trees but it’s an absolutely gorgeous time of year. It’s cold, but not too cold, there’s no bugs, hiking is still a possibility, and most importantly you really get that cozy Vermont B&B holiday vibe that many people love. The Middlebury area has lots of great stuff. Due to the college, Middlebury has great shopping and culture. Vergennes is lovely… 2/
@JosephAndriano Great tip, since I am still recovering from Lyme disease and need to stay out of the sun until end of September, November sounds good.
@irisRichardson …with shopping and the Opera House. There’s also good historical sites like the Mt. Independence Historical Site in Orwell (my town, officially closed in Nov. but you can still walk around and read the information), easy access to the mountains up to the Ripton area. It’s a great place to visit during that time of year. Enjoy your trip!
Aaron Warner@irisRichardson we've got both the Champlain Valley and Caledonia County fairs going. There's lots of hiking opportunities, for all levels and accessibility needs. Maybe pick one of the state routes (even-numbered routes go east-west, odd-numbered routes are north-south) and drive from one end to the other, stopping in each town. Food, wine, craft beer...
Pick one or two and build off the theme. 😀
@longrun_vt Off course food and wine is always a winner.
@irisRichardson break the state into five parts: southeast, southwest, central, northeast, northwest. That will make it easier to research opportunities. Rather than distance we tend to use travel time as our measure; I recommend checking the travel time between two points when planning a drive.
@longrun_vt Great tip thanks Aaron
Paul Southworth@irisRichardson Bread and Puppet is in the Northeast Kingdom. No issues with access post-flooding. I think their summer theater season is winding down at which point they switch to touring. I imagine the museum will remain open though. https://breadandpuppet.org/
@pws Thank you Paul I check that out
Annie@irisRichardson Is the visit to check out the state/scene for possible relocation, or is it just to vacation? What kind of stuff does your husband like to do/take in when he travels? (food/music/art/nature/camping/hiking/biking/nightlife/etc) Access shouldn't be a problem anywhere; 80% of access issues were addressed within the first several days. (It was pretty impressive!)
@anne Right now just for a short vacation.
@irisRichardson Well, as I asked, it depends on what kind of vaca he wants.
Weird giant outdoor sculpture parks: https://www.svac.org/ (southern VT) and https://www.coldhollowsculpturepark.com/ (northern VT) and https://www.lemonfairsculpturepark.com/ (eastern/central VT).
Dinner and a show at the comedy club: Eat at any number of restaurants on or near Church St in Burlington, then saunter on over to the Vermont Comedy Club on Main St https://www.vermontcomedyclub.com/ (one of the best rated comedy clubs in the country, especially if you talk to a working comic).
Hiking: Pick up a pocket-sized trail guide book published by The Green Mountain Club https://www.greenmountainclub.org/ (and while you're at it, become a club member and donate! They're awesome!) An easy weekend/tourist destination would be Mt Mansfield, of course (the highest point in the state), which is easily accessible by any number of trails as well as a steep toll road if your car's engine and brakes are up to the job. https://www.stowe.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/auto-toll-road.aspx Also on that side of the mountain is "Smuggler's Notch." Cool winding road through a mountain pass, with parking and trails in the middle. Hike up the steep backside of Mansfield on one side, or hike the other way up to Sterling Pond. Bring a fishing pole and/or a bathing suit!
Other nightlife and music: check out the listings in Seven Days VT https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/music/Section?oid=2164528 for what's happening and links.
Tour an eclectic collection of American art and architecture at The Shelburne Museum. You'll be amazed by what someone from the elite ruling class of the last century decided to do with her money! It's a big sprawling piece of land with many many buildings and can take an entire day (or more) to see everything. https://shelburnemuseum.org/about/
If you have any specific interests/questions, I can see what else I can dig up. :)
@anne Thank you! One thing is clear you guys love your state
Eh. I grew up here, moved away for 20+ years, ended up moving back. There's a lot of tiresome "Vermont branding." We have whole podcasts called "brave little state," and there's a lot of Vermont this and Vermont that. I know people who actually moved here and moved away because they couldn't stand the self-satisfied tone of it all. 😂
Vermont wasn't like this--so oriented toward tourism--when I was a kid. It was just a backwater place with pretty mountains and a lot of cows.
If I had my druthers, I'd'ruther have stayed in California. But that wasn't really feasible for a number of reasons. So here we are. It's fine. It's pretty, there's lots to do if you're an active, outdoorsy person or interested in agriculture or in working in the service industry for the tourists. But the weather can be tough at times if you're not used to it. This year has been incredibly challenging with a cold spring, unusually hot June, and constant rain since then.
@anne South Jerseys weather was like this this year. But we have been spared the floods. Winters are hit or miss here.
Brendan Kinney@irisRichardson We are definitely open for visitors! There's so much to do...what are you interested in? Any idea what region of the state you might visit? North/South, Burlington or more rural like the "Northeast Kingdom"? etc. etc.
@brendan We are coming from South Jersey and are pretty openminded but limited just for a long weekend for now. Art, food and wine are top on the list.
@irisRichardson There are so many great places in #VT to recommend, all across the state! I’m most familiar with the Burlington area so here you go:
Art - Shelburne Museum (https://shelburnemuseum.org/)
Food - Honey Road (https://www.honeyroadrestaurant.com/)
Wine - Boyden Valley Winery (https://www.boydenvalley.com/)
A nice place to stay is hotel Vermont in downtown Burlington…
(https://hotelvt.com/)
I hope these recommendations help!
@brendan Thank you so much Brendan
@irisRichardson 1 final recommendation: Sept 8-10 is the Art Hop in Burlington. Details: http://seaba.com
@brendan That sounds fun
Morgan Aldridge@irisRichardson Weekends are prime #FarmersMarket time in #Vermont (though many towns hold them on week days) through October, which are a great way to explore both #art and #food. I'm especially fond of the ones in #Brattleboro (south east), #Burlington, and #Shelburne (north west). Tons of galleries and studios accessible in the larger towns/cities, of course. (I'm most familiar with Brattleboro, #Putney, #BellowsFalls, #Waterbury, #Stowe, #Middlebury, Shelburne, Burlington, Winooski.)
@irisRichardson
To reiterate that most routes are open and check travel times, I also suggest considering that north-south travel is pretty easy (I-91 from the south-east to north-east; Rte 7 from south-west to north-west; I-89 from central-east to central to north-west). East-west travel is more difficult due to the mountain ranges, so are generally not interstate highways, only two lane paved roads. You can get there though!
To reiterate that most routes are open and check travel times, I also suggest considering that north-south travel is pretty easy (I-91 from the south-east to north-east; Rte 7 from south-west to north-west; I-89 from central-east to central to north-west). East-west travel is more difficult due to the mountain ranges, so are generally not interstate highways, only two lane paved roads. You can get there though!
@irisRichardson Also, if visiting #Burlington, #Vermont, the downtown area is very walkable with #ChurchStreetMarketplace restricted to pedestrian traffic only. There are galleries & shops on Church St and surrounding streets, but I'd also suggest checking out #PineSt as that is where many artists have their studio spaces and where one of the two #FarmersMarkets are held.