Vermont and all the hippies, ice cream, sharp cheddar, and beer you could ever need

Vermont, at least in the summer does provide most of life’s great pleasures in one manageable state…well maybe minus the hippies.

After a rather blurred stint in Montreal, we decided to wrap up our Labor Day mini road trip by heading down through Vermont. We left around 1:00pm on Sunday and headed towards the border, after which we quickly realized we had a mere 1.5 hours to get to Magic Hat brewery to fill the growlers we’d brought for just this occasion. We put 90 on cruise and got there with a half to spare. The bartenders were friendly and generous in their never-ending sample giving and we got to taste a number of brews not easily found elsewhere, such as the Brown Rice Lager, the Single Chair Ale, and my favorite, the Belgium Chocolate Stout.

We explored Burlington for about an hour; a town I’ve been to several times before and am always eager to return. It has that small town feel with a lively personality, enriched by the University of Vermont students, restaurants and taverns that cover it. A reminder of the most true beauty of Burlington, however, is seen by looking beyond the street signs and to the enormous Lake Champlain and mountains surrounding it. These are the types of things that typify why Vermont is great if you have even the slightest interest in the great outdoors. This is a place I could spend a few years.

We cruised through the mountains and valleys on an awe inspiring drive south to our home for the night at my Aunt and Uncle’s house in Granville. We stopped along the way to pick up some lobster and ribeye’s to prepare a surf and turf feast, as eating is always top of mind for me. By the time we arrived into the small town my extended family calls home, my uncle had a fire going in the backyard with some monstrous ears of corn roasting in a wet burlap bag. An interesting method that produces an incredible smoky flavor to corn on the cob. We feasted and indulged in our new beer supply, ending the day far less action packed than the night before.

The next day we had an early departure up to Waterbury. We had an agenda. After dining on some Breakfast Burritos (eggs, chorizo, black beans, chilis, guacamole, cheddar in a tortilla) and bloody mary’s at Maxi’s Diner, we moved onto Ben & Jerry’s for their famed creamery tour. And yes folks…it was 10:00am. We took the tour and dined on some Hubby Hubby Sundaes which apparently supported gay rights? Either way it was a bowl of vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, pretzels, and chocolate which suits any true Central Pennsylvanian.

Next we moved to the Cabot’s Annex tasting room, featuring a wide variety of cheddar cheeses of the area. We indulged, and then we indulged some more. One might question our ability to consume such a wide variety of heavy foods all before noon but somehow it all worked…and well for that matter.

After draining the East Coasts supply of dairy products turned unhealthy, we decided it was time to start back on our 8 hour journey to Philadelphia. The drive again was gorgeous and set us off in good spirits, ending around 1,200 miles more traveled than we’d been 3 days earlier.