Beautiful Burlington

Burlington, Vermont is a beautiful, idyllic, forward-thinking sort of place.  There are hints of Boulder and Portland, Oregon in this small city that sits aside Lake Champlain.  Lake Champlain is a sparkling lake full of sail boats that borders Vermont on one side, New York state on the other, and at the very top, the lake runs into Canada near Montreal.  While the lake is not nearly as big as the great lakes not to far away, it is over seven times as large as my "home lake" of Lake Martin.  And, the lake also has a claim to fame that only one other lake in the world can claim... there is a sea monster that lives in the lake.  His name is Champ and he is a close cousin of Nessie, in fact some believe that there is some sort of portal between the two lakes and that it is in fact the same monster that swims between the two places.

Perhaps that is Champ!

Burlington is where Bernie Sanders got his start in politics.  He was the mayor of the town for eight years and is credited with helping to make it the place it is today.  He created a pedestrian street in the center of town that helped to drum up tourism and keep people visiting the downtown part of Burlington.  I'm not positive what other parts of Burlington he's responsible for, but you can feel Bernie's ideals throughout the city.  There are no real chains within the city limits, so the restaurants and shops are unique and full of charm.  Recycling in the city is easy and well-supported.  In fact, many residents leave their recycling outside their door days ahead of time so that those in need can stop by to collect items and turn them in for a small reward.  Galleries are full of Vermont artists, and farmers' markets are a frequent occurrence.

In Burlington, we were thrilled to be welcomed by one of Jessica's childhood friends, Lesley.  Lesley works for Burton who makes snowboards.  She was brought out here from Colorado several years ago and has fallen in love with the area.  She was an incredible hostess and full of amazing facts about the area, so I loved learning from her.

One of our first stops was to have a Maple Creemee.  It's a Vermont specialty, and to the rest of us, it may just appear as soft serve, but it is a delicacy that the locals claim, and one that I certainly enjoyed.  I devoured my maple and blackberry swirl while we watched the sparkles dance on the lake.  For dinner, we ate at a hip restaurant on the water with stunning views of the sunset over the lake.

Lesley took us touring around the lake to several small islands on the lake.  Our first stop was an antique shop.  The two women who owned the old building had it stuffed full with treasures from another time.  There were vases, fancy old hats, broaches, furniture and a chipmunk.  Yes, a chipmunk.  We were standing near an entry way when we first saw the little creature, and almost screamed assuming that it was a pest that had snuck in.  But after speaking to the ladies, we learned that in fact, it was their pet, Baby.  In our short visit, Baby ran in and out many times, coming in to fill her cheeks with almonds and peaches before scurrying back out.  Apparently several years ago, she started making her home inside their store and kept returning.  She's gotten friendly enough that they feed her by hand and now several others are starting to call the place home as well.

Lesley told us that our next destination was a surprise, so we didn't know what to expect.  We arrived at some modest homes near the water in a swampy area that was dotted, in fact on just about every tree with brightly-colored bird houses.  As far as the eye could see and on just about any tree wide enough, a bold colored bird house with a red roof surrounded the marshes.  As the story goes, the two neighbors had big bug problems (remember, the swamp?).  They put up a couple bird houses for the tree swallows in the area and realized that the birds were making a difference on the bug population.  So, wanting to encourage even more birds to help with the problem, they began the endeavor of filling the area to welcome as many tree swallows as possible.  Now, there isn't a bug problem in the area!  And for reasons unknown to me, the area is also scattered with a few dinosaurs.  Perhaps, they, too, help to keep bugs away.

Lesley had learned about this place through an interesting website called Atlas Obscura.  Go ahead and check out all of the interesting and bizarre things in your little part of the world: https://www.atlasobscura.com/

Driving around on the small, green island, we saw a sign for a winery, and well, when you haven't had breakfast, wine sounds like a great start to the day.  Snow Farm Vineyard is the oldest commercial winery in Vermont and it started in 1996.  Yes, those dates are correct.  Turns out that although homes and cities in the area are much older, the sweet wines are a fairly new thing.  We got to sit outside on the deck and sample a multitude of different wines paired with a selection of cheese, salami and crackers.  I do love a small family vineyard, especially when they are creative with their labels, even if most of the wines are a bit sweet for my taste.

There is a causeway out into Lake Champlain that was once a train track from the main land to the islands.  Now, it is a bike and pedestrian path on a narrow strip of land that goes out two and a half miles into the water.  The day was hot, but being on the water meant amazing breezes were present to keep us cool as we walked the causeway dodging cyclists along the way.  There were sailboats galore enjoying the weekend sunshine that made droplets on the lake sparkle.  Mountains in the not-too-far-distance and shore lines that still had plenty of trees helps to make this a truly stunning lake.

Burlington was an absolute treat!  The scenery was lovely, our hostess was incredible, food was delicious, forward-thinking ideas were appreciated and pace of life was perfect!