[carolinajack]

chaz, the only thing better is having a sixer of long trail afterwards, 2 awesome good pizza pies, or a steak and frites, and a swim back at the condo

[pucabear]

Originally Posted by NEKWoodchuck

Gosh....and I was trying to keep politics outta this! Leeds, I don't know where you live in Vt but I think you can probably figure out where I was bred,born, and raised. I moved my family from Vt 21 yrs ago for many of the reasons you've mentioned and have never regretted it!

HOWEVER......if you think Vermont's or the whole country's problems are tax n' spend LIBERALS, I think you should spend some time in other places. If you look at when the sales tax was enacted in Vt......ummmm Republican sponsored.....Act 250....ummmm Darn Repubs again!

My feelings are "if you don't like it, try somewhere else".....you might find that every state has it's own unique set of problems and the grass isn't always greener....many problems don't stem from a 'Party Label", but from the fact we as citizens don't hold our elected officials accountable!

OK.I'm off the political rant......gonna look at snow pics bro sent from Newport!!

It is true that "the grass isn't always greener" in other places, but isn't it nice when the majority of the grass is greener, and you just have to deal with a few bad areas? And in Vermont the grass is literally only green for a very short time....how ironic.

[Pidgett]

Leedspaddy:

Since you are a far-right, ultra neo-Con-Job conservative who thinks very highly of the worst president EVER who is coming close to destroying this country beyond hope, why even bother considering posting in these Vermont forums? After all, you won't find many sympathizers here because most of the conservative residents of Vermont are not nearly, not even remotely, as far-right as you are. This is not the land of Trent Lott, Ken Lay, Scooter Libby, George Dubbya Bush, George Wallace--yes, THAT George Wallace, Tom DeLay, the Ku Klux Klan, Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, David Duke, Jesse Helms, Pat Buchanan and every other near- Fascist politcian and whacko Bible-thumpers that are too numerous to mention.

I think Alabama, Mississippi, inland Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and perhaps South Carolina are calling you. They'd love to have you.

[Yac]

This is VT, not Politics. Remember about it and stay on topic.

[arel]

Thank you, Yac. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And if people want to discuss political or sensitive issues, it is possible to do so without insulting people or trashing other's views. I now rarely, if ever, post on threads that get nasty. I just don't bother. And that is a loss for me and for any others who might have benefitted from my posts. From some bad experiences on the New York City forum, I know what it feels like to have my views trashed, expecially when they are misunderstood. I don't mind being challenged with new views and new information, but insulting someone only alienates. Of course, offensive posts can be reported, and they often get deleted.

I considered posting something on the Politics forum, but because of the nastiness, I didn't bother.

[chaz longue]

mmmkay -

Here (finally) are a few of my favorite things: (in no order whatsoever - and with a focus on Burlington / Chittenden County...I'm not equipped to do the rural version justice, I'm afraid)

The Shelburne Museum. This collection of American objects is said to be second only to The Smithsonian. Dozens of buildings, hundreds of acres...even a steamship up on blocks.

The Vermont Syphony Orchestra.
Vermont is the first State in the nation to found a Symphony Orchestra through an act of the state legislature. New Hampshire had one, but I'm told it is going under - Vermont's plays all over the State. The VSO even plays in the well of the VT House of Representatives on Farmers Night.

Lake Champlain. Geologically, it's a Great Lake.

Ben and Jerry's. Actually - Ben and Jerry themselves, but that's another thread...

The Ethan Allen Homestead and The Intervale.

The Church Street Marketplace. At the start, it was an attempt to fend off the feared impact of the suburban shopping malls. It's been a success and has won many awards over the years. Sidewalk cafes, street performers, and the site of dozens of special events every year, this Burlington landmark always offers something to do.

The Burlington Bike Path. Seemingly endless, this connects several municipalities, and in fact makes bicycle commuting possible. Provides the opportunity to see Lake Champlain from many angles. Heck, you can even ride out ONTO the lake for a mile or more in The Colchester Causeway.

Town Meeting. Vermont has a tradition of civic participation, and a part time "citizen legislature". I'd wager a greater proportion of Vermonters KNOW or at least have met, thier elected officials than do the citizens of almost any other state.

When I got here, there were more cows than people in Vermont. The supermarkets were a bit dissapointing. Now the dairy farmers are finding it harder and harder to stay in business. That's a crying shame. But the market for milk isn't merely for fluid milk anymore - it's for Ice Cream (One of the reasons Ben and Jerry initially expanded the company was to help expand the market for dairy products), Yogurt, and Cheese. And the markets for other foods have expanded too. That means local restaurants pride themselves on using local food. And it's not just Cheddar, "Maypo" and Apples any more. It's organic baby arugula, and it's cider jelly, and it's wine. There are so many artisanal bakers here I can't keep track any more. Dozens of towns now have regular farmers markets. "Local is the new organic" as Bill McKibben says. Vermont now has a vast and thriving food culture and it's growing by leaps and bounds.

Skiing. Both the high tech expensive sort, and the backyard rope tow/backcountry xc loop kind. Snowboarding was invented here.

The Burlington Discover Jazz Festival.

Radio Vermont/WDEV.

The Flynn Center For The Performing Arts.

The 3 & 1/2 drive to Boston. That means Red Sox games.

Burlington's Waterfront Park.

Vermont's constitution was among the first written constitutions in North America - circa July 1777. This constitution outlawed slavery. Vermont's participation in The Underground Railroad, and the abolition movement was robust.

The Bread and Puppet Theatre.

John Deere, John Dewey and David Dellinger are (or were) all Vermonters. And that's just the D's.

Mt Mansfield (and the rest of The Green Mountains, for that matter)

The Tunbridge World's Fair.

Middlebury, VT.

The Champlain Valley (Folk) Festival

Burton Snowboards

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

The hour and 3/4 drive (through the gorgeous Champlain Islands) to Montreal Canada.

The Long Trail

The "North East Kingdom"

The nation's smallest city - Vergennes VT.

The only state capitol in the nation without a McDonalds.

The silliest named professional sports team in the nation: The Vermont Lake Monsters. Ummmm... "Go Monsters!". This single A baseball club was started largely through the advocacy of Bernie Sanders. At that time it was a farm team of The Cincinnati Reds. Thus it was The Vermont Reds (!) ...ya gotta love that...rotfl...

The Burlington Boathouse (photo in the front page on the VT section)

Shelburne Farms

Fletcher Allen Health Care

Mt Philo State Park

Hero's Welcome General Store in North Hero VT

Leunigs Bistro

Boves

The Winooski River Walk

Steven Huneck's Dog Chapel at Dog Mountain, near St Johnsbury VT

[harry chickpea]

Leaving out the political drift, I remember going down Pine Street in Burlington and tolerating the smell of the gas plant and then suddenly coming across the smell of the cereal factory with the maple and malt smells. Smells in general were a lot more prevalent in old Vermont. Now they tend to congregate around Washington politicians of both parties, and they don't smell like Maypo or Maltex.

The bike trail was so much more interesting when sitting in Malletts Bay fishing and watching a train go over it. <sigh>

[chaz longue]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Leaving out the political drift, I remember going down Pine Street in Burlington and tolerating the smell of the gas plant and then suddenly coming across the smell of the cereal factory with the maple and malt smells. Smells in general were a lot more prevalent in old Vermont. Now they tend to congregate around Washington politicians of both parties, and they don't smell like Maypo or Maltex.

The bike trail was so much more interesting when sitting in Malletts Bay fishing and watching a train go over it. <sigh>

Great post harry

That just brought me back! When I was a kid The Maltex plant was giving off the smell of Maypo every afternoon. Now it's undergoing quite a change down in that area - loads of cool little furniture makers, artisans, bakeries and funky little places for lunch.

And I'd love to have seen a train on The Colchester Causeway. How cool! But I'll bet it was trickier to walk on then. Have you walked/biked out there? It's breathtaking...

Cheers,
DB

[arel]

What is Maypo? I have a vague memory of the word from, I think, TV commercials when I was little.

[chaz longue]

Maypo was a nationally distributed hot breakfast cereal. I think It's not made any more - or at least the smell is gone

Now I eat "Vermont Morning" hot breakfast cereal...