fun stuff in Vermont

“I havent been in probably 20 years, but may be going back next summer at the end of july. If we make it out that way I would like to make a week trip or so out of it. Any suggestions for really fun family stuff? Our daughter will be 5 by then. Doesnt have to hiking, just worth the trip. We will be staying near Jay.”

“Jay moved to Vermont?”

“go visit lyra and the monkeys..that should be fun”

“Yeah the list just grew by 100%...

1)go play with lyra and her monkey kids
2)watch sap drip into a bucket all day”

“Birch - Are you driving? Route 100 that runs North/South in Vermont is a classic scenic route.

At around that age, my kids enjoyed the Ben and Jerry's factory tour and the Shelburne museum near Burlington. You could do a loop trip into the White Mountains and New Hampshire - going through Franconia Notch and the Kancamagus highway in one direction and Route 302 in the other. A great endpoint would be Story Land, an amusement park for younger kids. http://www.storylandnh.com/

Jay has a cable car to the peak, which is probably worth a family trip since you are right there.

BTW: Jay is 4 hours from Boston and 2 hours from Montreal (which is a wonderful 3 hour ride along the Saint Lawrence from Quebec City). I'm not sure what the border crossings are like now, but if there isn't some security alert or sniping between the US and Canada its worth considering a trip over border. I don't know what gas prices will be or how much you like road trips, but there are some great routes could take from Jay or getting to Jay.”

“Nigal, you are a crazy fool! LOL! :-D

yay, come visit ME!! i would love to meet you guys. or we could meet in the middle, you guys are going to be way up there. i found this cool website about "fun stuff to do in VT"...and soon i'll have more firsthand knowledge of fun stuff up yonder to tell you about!

http://www.3stallioninn.com/thingstodo.htm

(and Nigal will be happy to know that one of the events includes getting your pic taken w/the world's largest maple syrup jug!)”

“Hey, I'm all about the jugs!”

“In addition to what others have posted:

The Montshire Museum in Norwich is a great place ~ for kids and adults. Calvin Coolidge's birthplace in Plymouth Notch is fun (cheese factory! yum!) and educational.

If you end up going in late June, the Hot Air Balloon festival in Quechee is a great way to spend a day with the family.”

“Ben and Jerrys is a cool place to visit. The ferry ride across Lake Champlain is nice. If I remember correctly they tell you about the history of the lake.”

“Thanks for the input. Sounds like some fun stuff. I have family in Lexington Ma so a visit to them will happen if we go. Ben and Jerrys would be fun too. I will be running up Jay Peak so a cable ride would be fun...and yep we are driving.

Lyra and Ped, if we make it up we'd love to finally meet ya'll.
last edited: 10/12/05 2:53:51 PM”

“Birch, if you are going to Lexington, MA - then I definitely would like to meet up with you during that excursion. I bicycle out through Lexington (on the Minuteman trail) once in a while. Y'all are definitely welcome to dine and stay in Cambridge if your interested. You've got a tour guide for the area if you wish.”

“Let me know when you're coming up.

- Cable car to the top of Jay Peak
- Burlington is a cool city
- nice walking/bike trail on Lake Champlain
- Story Land in Glen (I think) pretty close to
- tons of trails
- Ben & Jerry's tour
- Stowe is a very nice place to visit
- Montshire is in Norwich, VT right across the Connecticut River from Hanover, home of Dartmouth College in Hanover. Hanover and the Dartmouth campus is a very picturesque place
- Woodstock is a nice town
- VINS Nature Center on route 5 in Quechee, VT is a cool place to see raptors. Quechee gorge is right near there. Simon Pearce glassblowing is right in the village of Quechee.
- Mount Washington in NH (you can either ride up on the Cog Railway or drive up the auto road or hike up, but it's a pretty tough hike for a 5 year old)
-Lyra's link to the Three Stallion Inn in Randolph, VT is good. If you go to the site, look at the weddings section and wedding photos. My wife and I got married there in May of 2001...in fact, those are pictures of us and our wedding on their site

Come visit us while you're here. We're about 15-20 miles from Lebanon, just across the VT/NH border.”

“Holy Moly! Is thatyou Ski?

http://www.3stallioninn.com/weddings.htm”

“thanks ski, we will look you up for sure!”

“Yup, that would be me.”

“Soooooo, Jay DIDN'T move to Vermont???”

“Vermont's not liberal enough for Jay Budder. LOL!”

“Jay is a mtn Buddur. Birch wants to do the Jay challenge next summer (cause he's soooo craa-zeey).

Thanks for the suggestions and offers of hospitality everyone. TTers are the best!”

“what's that little village with all the christmas shops in centralish(?) vermont?

sort of a quaint little tourist trap?”

“Manchester?”

“ya, i think that might be it.

thanks zac”

“Manchester is kinda southwest.”

“we went horsie ridin sunday an hour south of burlington.

iceland ponies- man they are friggin cute. 2 thumbs for this place:

http://www.icelandichorses.com/trailrides.php

t'was a beautiful day!”

“haha, i can see why you couldn't resist, with a description like this..."You won't believe how much action is possible underneath you while you feel the sensation..."

LOL! i guess they're pretty cute, for horses...”

“figures.
i talk about horses and lyra's mind goes right to the gutter.

little pervert.”

“hey i didn't write it!! ;-)

was it snowing?”

“light snow. very nice, peaceful-like.

we've got a lot more snow at my house right now. i've got close to a foot thanks to lake ontario.”

“Who ever said that visiting the Shelbourne Museum would be a fun thing to do with a five year old ought to be locked up in their little jail! Then all the bored out of their mind kids can take turns laughing at you. Take it from a kid who grew up in VT, the Shelbourne Museum is the last place we ever wanted to go.

Be the cool parent and drive a couple more miles down the road and take a tour of the VT teddy bear factory.

Stowe has a lot of offer: B&J's, hiking, fishing, mountain biking, a beautiful bike path, playing in the caves at Smuggler's Notch, and riding the alpine slide.”

“Go have a look at Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho.

Mucho neato stuff!!”

“we went to Vermont for Thanksgiving, I love it so much. So who knows maybe within three years we will move there :)

day 1 had turkey dinner and relaxed

day 2 went on a Art Craft self walking tour. very very cool. we went into peoples homes and workhops to talk and watch the artist then went to the local church and eat soup (profits go to the needy)

day 3 went to Billing Farms and I got to hang out wth a cow
then went into woodstock town. Very sweet place but prices are very very high :(

it was a great four day weekend.”

“Hey, did you stop in to visit Lyra in Woodstock??

Cows are kinda dumb, no?”

“lyra? no sorry it was a family trip

cows dumb?
I think you meat eaters are the dumb ones! eating such wonderful creatures!”

“Mmmmm, I just had chicken noodle soup with a side of fried puppies!

Hey well, Lyra is family.
Like.....................the Adams Family!”

“You were ***this*** close and didn't call?!?”