Vacation 2013: Burlington



Sunset over Lake Champlain

Not having really planned this vacation, I've pretty much resorted to making it up as I go along, on a night ahead basis by this point. Some of you third grade class presidents out there no doubt spend weeks meticulously planning every minute of your vacation: what you'll see and do, what you'll wear, whom you'll bring presents to. Me? At this point I'm resorting to asking breakfast waitresses what they think I should see that day. Luckily I haven't wound up at Costco or picking up kids from daycare. In fact, I've seen some pretty interesting stuff.

And because I haven't booked ahead, all the affordable hotels that aren't crack houses have long since sold out. I'm forced to loosen the iron grip I keep on my money and stay in nicer hotels.  Quel horror! Burlington represents just the latest example, where I could stay only in the Hotel Vermont, located on the downtown waterfront. This hotel strives to follow "green" policies: motion sensitive lights, recycling, natural materials, etc. It displays locally produced art, and uses only locally sourced food and beverages (except for the booze, natch). It maintains several bicycles for guests to use, and even provides a mineral water dispenser on every floor. Rather than an ice machine, it stocked pre-measured bagged ice in a hallway freezer.  Even the staff all wear flannel shirts. I half expected Paul Bunyon to come walking through the door.

Burlington is Vermont's largest city. In most other states it would be a fairly unremarkable mid-sized town. Like, Lubbock maybe. Here its the largest town in the state. It sits on the east shore of Lake Champlain, on the New York state border. The Lake stretches into Quebec as well. Historically, Lake Champlain was important during the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars, with Fort Ticonderoga lying on the western shore.

I arrived at the Hotel after the long day of driving I described in the preceding post, and walked a few blocks to the Church Street pedestrian way for dinner. Mainly I wanted to find a place that would show the Cowboys-Giants game, which the Cowboys unexpectedly won. I guess hiring Monte Kiffin was a good move after all. Along the way I almost wiped out twice. Like, falling down in the street. Once I tripped on a crack in the sidewalk, and once I tripped over a "road work" sign. And I wasn't even drinking. Or chewing gum. Basically, I was doing a Brian Griese impression. In fact, by all rights I should have wiped out or blown out an ankle or knee. But thanks to superior training by Kirby Sams, I constantly manage to stave off klutz-driven joint surgery. Check him out. More on that in a couple of days.

Sidebar: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts? Well that's totally believable. Signed, Miss Congeniality 2 and O Brother Where Art Thou.

Anyway. The next day was Explore Burlington Day. I woke up early (by "early" I mean 8 a.m.; hey, vacation time) and ran a little more than an hour on the Burlington Bike Path. This paved trail follows an old railway line and runs under some power lines. It runs just alongside Lake Champlain, which you'd think would mean awesome lake views the whole time. But not so much. Trees line most of the trail, butting of the lake views. Every now and then you can get a peek, but when you're actually on the trail, its like you could be in Pasadena for all you could prove. Except that you're not choking to death and its not 95 degrees.

The hotel stopped serving breakfast before I finished, so I cleaned up a little and went to the Skinny Pancake just up the street for some egg and crepe action. No I haven't become French, though I'm perilously close to Quebec. They make a buckwheat (i.e. gluten free) crepe, so fill it with eggs, spinach, mushroom, and cheese and its like an omelet with pancakes. Homer likes it.

The Inn at Shelburne Farms

Then after further clean up and recovery, I headed to Shelburne Farms just a few miles south of town. A client had recommended that I visit, and it proved a great idea. The story here is that one of the Vanderbilt daughters married a local doctor, around the late 1800s. They bought a bunch of small local area farms, consolidated the properties and built a sizeable estate (though not another Breakers). The guide called it "Italianate/Queen Anne/shingle." Unlike other Victorian society families, they didn't just sit on their money pile and spend their time grooving, but actively worked the property. Taxes, and the usual factors conspired to force the descendants to convert the property into a non-profit educational and research institution. The controlling foundation operates a profitable cheese and dairy operation that helps defer operating expenses, runs extensive educational programs for local school kids, and operates the elegant Inn at Shelburne Farms in the old mansion. The Inn features an accomplished restaurant, which serves food grown or produced on the farm. Its an exceptionally beautiful property, with maple and poplar trees and newly restored gardens. And they literally take you around the property in a covered wagon pulled by a pickup truck, while you wear a blanket because its too cold otherwise. Not good for the look. But at the end you can sample all their cheese varieties. Its all "Vermont cheddar," but various blends and ages. It was all quite good. Buy it if you see it in your store.

Sunset over Lake Champlain

After returning to the hotel, I borrowed one of the yuppie bikes and headed out to the bike path. Later I rode through the city. Burlington, like any other town, has nicer and not as nice areas. I went through many of each. It also is home to Champlain College and the University of Vermont. I rode through both. At Champlain College, some "sk8ter" dude who looked like Screech, or Shaggy from Scooby Doo, went flying down Main Street near the college. These three coeds (modern term) on the sidewalk nearby started "woo hoo"ing. There's your difference between Vermont and the South--that wouldn't fly with Southern women. At any age. There's all you need to know about Vermont. I saw bicycle riders ("cyclists") everywhere. Maybe not as many as cars, but let's just say Austin would totally get a tingly feeling all over seeing all these cyclists riding around Burlington. Of course, its much more practical to ride your bike everywhere when the town is only a few miles across, when anything over 75 degrees is considered a "scorcher," and when there's no jobs where you have to dress up. I did, however, see a guy on a bicycle delivering loaves of bread. That's weird. Even by Austin standards. Oh, I forgot to say, I didn't see many executive types around town. Probably just bankers, a few lawyers, and surgeons on their way to or from the country club. That's about it. I did, however, see the most incredible sunset. It had been cloudy most of the day, but the clouds didn't cover the Adirondacks just the other side of the Lake, so the sun shone through brilliantly against the cloud cover. With amazingly beautiful results.

Exhausted, I rolled back to the hotel. I found the bar hosting a trivia contest on the bar patio. That's great. They probably do that at the Fontainebleau too. Jay Z and Beyoncé probably co-host trivia contests with Justin Timberlake every Friday. Veeeerry exciting. What's next? Bingo? So I bypassed. More importantly, it was Game Night. The Texans were playing the Chargers, so that pushed everything else off my social calendar. I watched the game in some fake Irish pub. Where a bunch of college girls came in because one of them just turned 21 and they were ready to cut loose. She wore a tiara for some reason. I figure it was because around here, this is like a debutante ball. Or a graduation ceremony.

The next morning, as the rains set in, I Skinny Pancaked it, then headed off to Isle La Motte, then east to Stowe for a couple of days. Which is where we'll pick up next time.