Black Cap Coffee, Stowe
It's comforting to find a local coffee spot we can count on. Black Cap Coffee in Stowe becomes that place for us. I choose a maple latte with oat milk (because when in Vermont, ...).
What initially seems to be the back corner of the place is actually (in my opinion) the best seat in the house - turns out it offers a view of the back room where, today, butter croissants are being prepared.
Gondola Skyride, Stowe
As a former downhill skier, I'm curious about the skiing area when it's not winter. Stowe Mountain Resort is the sixth largest ski resort in Vermont (Stowe is 497 acres; Killington is the largest at 1507 acres). The gondolas at Mount Mansfield are a beautiful bright red. But we aren't planning to do any hiking at the top, so we decide to pass on taking the gondola ride - especially as it was $40 a ticket.
Elevation facts:
Base of Stowe Mountain Resort: 1559 ft
Top of Stowe Mountain Resort: 3719 ft
Top of Mount Mansfield: 4395 ft (tallest mountain peak in Vermont)
Wiessner Woods
79 acres donated in 1992 to the Stowe Land Trust by the Wiessner family in honor of Fritz Wiessner. We seek out Wiessner Woods because our AirBnB host Simone suggested this as a nice place to walk around, and it was not far from the gondolas. We meet lots of happy dogs and their owners on the trail here! (Sorry, no dogs included in the photos here..)
I try to remember to take signs of where we go, for easy reference later. Here's my reminder photo, but my favorite sign-within-a-sign here is "There is no poop fairy. Scoop the poop" - as any responsible dog owner knows to do.
A warming place
In search of a restroom and a cold beverage, we stop in at a place that looks like a casual restaurant. You order at the counter, find a seat, and they call your name when the food is ready. The current estimated wait time for food is 30 minutes, but luckily we just wanted beverages to go (so maybe it took only 15). But while waiting, there's this big reminder that Stowe is a ski town: a large round hearth with bench seating all around for people to enjoy the warmth while waiting for their food. And it turns out, this place is called The Round Hearth Cafe & Market.
Red Covered Bridge
We can't come to Vermont and not stop by a covered bridge, right? So that's our next stop. This red covered bridge near Morristown crosses over a deep gully.
Sage Farm Goat Dairy
Another recommendation from Simone is the Sage Farm Goat Dairy for their goat cheese. While I'm not a fan of goat cheese, Mike is, so it becomes a destination - and we drove right past it on our way to the covered bridge.
It's an unattended, honor-system farm stand, with several goats. One of the goats with a long black beard clearly takes it upon itself to be the greeter.
Of course we leave with some goat cheese in hand.
Burlington and Lake Champlain
Burlington and Lake Champlain was another recommendation from our AirBnB hosts.
Lake Champlain is (according to Wikipedia) the 13th largest lake in the US. It's long (107 miles) and narrow (14 miles), and about 490 square miles in area.
The long sides of the lake run north-south, with the eastern side being Vermont and the western side being the Adirondacks of New York. The northern part of the lake runs into Quebec. Because the lake is so narrow, it provides beautiful views from Vermont over the lake to the Adirondacks. But you can decide for yourself.
Burlington has a pleasant walking district on Church Street.
We have a casual dinner at The Farm House Tap & Grill, an award winning restaurant in downtown Burlington. We sit at the bar as there are no available tables. I choose the soup and a side of braised kale and mushroom - the food is excellent!
And because I enjoy signs a lot, I had to capture this clever set of signs: a Ben & Jerry ice cream shop (yum), Cherry Garcia (one of Ben & Jerry's popular flavors, and probably my favorite), located on Cherry Street.
The drive back to Stowe is hairy and horrifying, as it rains heavily on our drive and it's dark. Even though we are on a major-for-Vermont highway (89), there are no reflectors on the lane dividers. At one point a big rig passes us and I have no idea which way the lane goes due to the spray. It feels like minutes that I'm driving blind at 65 mph, hoping the lane is in the same direction as I'm driving. Thankfully, there is no incident and we arrive safely back to Stowe.
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