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My flight landed around 8pm last night at Burlington, Vermont. This is my first visit to Vermont, and my company will have me here until the 31st. So in my free time, I'm looking for places to see and things to do...
Background: I've been to Southern New England before, Connecticut and Rhode Island, so I'm mostly planning to spend time in areas I haven't been yet. One of my biggest regrets is that I'm about an hour and a half from Montreal and won't be able to grab that passport/make that trip on this visit. But I absolutely plan on seeing Boston, Manchester, Portland, and I may ride through the Berkshires. If I have time I'll head back to Albany, where I briefly lived for 4 months in 2012...
I'll use this thread to update my happenings and opinions, and I encourage anyone to give suggestions or feedback to me based off of my commentary. My opinions of Burlington so far:
Burlington is now the 16th city I've been to within its weight class (cities between 100-250k metros). I'm a former resident of one (Gainesville, Ga), so I have a strong comparison base. While I believe I've already been profiled (at a Barnes&Noble, of all places), I am quite pleased with the appearance of the city so far. It's reaffirmed that while I'm a southerner, I'm definitely a northern-inclined person. The scenery is outstanding...
Anyway, open to all responses and I'll keep this thread afloat for at least two weeks!
Do you ski, or have you ever wanted to learn? If you get a great powder day, your local clients may cancel meetings and close up shop to hit the slopes.
For me, northern New England isn't so much about the cities, but about nature. Sure, Burlington is charming as heck, but it's really a great base for getting into the mountains. Here are a few ideas:
Skiing: It's peak ski season, so getting to any of VT's mountains would be great. My personal favorite for atmosphere is Stowe. The skiing is great and the village is out of a postcard. But VT has lots of great ski mountains, and you really can't go wrong. In addition to skiing, any winter sport is available--skating, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, etc. Even if you don't think you'd be into it, there's something about being out in the silent, snowy woods that wakes your mind.
White Mountains of NH. More skiing, but you can also visit Mt Washington, which towers over northern New England. The Franconia Notch area has a few scenic attractions, and North Conway is a charming town to visit. Great places to hike as well, but that would be challenging this time of year, even with proper winter hiking gear. A scenic drive along the Kancamagus Highway is always a nice treat.
Vermont Route 100 runs north-south through the center of the state, and we call it the "Trail of Treats" because along its path are places like Ben & Jerrys factory, Cabot cheese, Green Mountain coffee, a few cider mills, among others.
Maine: Maine is pretty tough to get to from Burlington as there are not many great east-west routes. Portland is a really cool little city. Lots of attractions along the coast are best seen in summer, but on a bluebird winter day, I bet it's also beautiful to drive along the coast. Inland, there's more skiing and snowmobiling.
Adirondacks of NY: Take a ferry across Lake Champlain into the Adirondack Province of NY. More skiing, winter hiking opportunities. Visiting the olympic venues in Lake Placid is fun. If you go to the ski jump facility, you can go all the way to the top, look down at the jump, and pee yourself.
Cities: In Vermont, Burlington is king, but Middlebury, Bennington, and Brattleboro are also nice to stop by and visit. In New Hampshire, Portsmouth is the best city to spend time in, IMO. Haven't spent any time in Manchester, but have visited Concord, Keene, Lebanon, and Berlin. Each is charming, but small. Boston and Portland are great too, but quite a drive from Burlington. It's a shame you don't have your passport, because Montreal would be more of a fun getaway than all of the above, and it's very close to Burlington.
Nothing against the Berkshires, there are plenty of cute towns and villages, and it's a great getaway for New Yorkers and Bostoners, but for beautiful, majestic mountains, they've got nothing on the high peaks of the Greens, Whites, and Adirondacks.
Do you ski, or have you ever wanted to learn? If you get a great powder day, your local clients may cancel meetings and close up shop to hit the slopes.
For me, northern New England isn't so much about the cities, but about nature. Sure, Burlington is charming as heck, but it's really a great base for getting into the mountains. Here are a few ideas:
Skiing: It's peak ski season, so getting to any of VT's mountains would be great. My personal favorite for atmosphere is Stowe. The skiing is great and the village is out of a postcard. But VT has lots of great ski mountains, and you really can't go wrong. In addition to skiing, any winter sport is available--skating, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, etc. Even if you don't think you'd be into it, there's something about being out in the silent, snowy woods that wakes your mind.
White Mountains of NH. More skiing, but you can also visit Mt Washington, which towers over northern New England. The Franconia Notch area has a few scenic attractions, and North Conway is a charming town to visit. Great places to hike as well, but that would be challenging this time of year, even with proper winter hiking gear. A scenic drive along the Kancamagus Highway is always a nice treat.
Vermont Route 100 runs north-south through the center of the state, and we call it the "Trail of Treats" because along its path are places like Ben & Jerrys factory, Cabot cheese, Green Mountain coffee, a few cider mills, among others.
Maine: Maine is pretty tough to get to from Burlington as there are not many great east-west routes. Portland is a really cool little city. Lots of attractions along the coast are best seen in summer, but on a bluebird winter day, I bet it's also beautiful to drive along the coast. Inland, there's more skiing and snowmobiling.
Adirondacks of NY: Take a ferry across Lake Champlain into the Adirondack Province of NY. More skiing, winter hiking opportunities. Visiting the olympic venues in Lake Placid is fun. If you go to the ski jump facility, you can go all the way to the top, look down at the jump, and pee yourself.
Cities: In Vermont, Burlington is king, but Middlebury, Bennington, and Brattleboro are also nice to stop by and visit. In New Hampshire, Portsmouth is the best city to spend time in, IMO. Haven't spent any time in Manchester, but have visited Concord, Keene, Lebanon, and Berlin. Each is charming, but small. Boston and Portland are great too, but quite a drive from Burlington. It's a shame you don't have your passport, because Montreal would be more of a fun getaway than all of the above, and it's very close to Burlington.
Nothing against the Berkshires, there are plenty of cute towns and villages, and it's a great getaway for New Yorkers and Bostoners, but for beautiful, majestic mountains, they've got nothing on the high peaks of the Greens, Whites, and Adirondacks.
All of this. Coastal Maine might be my first recommendation if it was summer, but I'd stay towards VT/NH in the winter. Definitely swing through Stow, VT, which is often referred to as the most quintessential New England town. And if you're a beer aficionado, you've likely heard the hype around Vermont beer. Ask around, and maybe try and swing through a few of the countryside brewers on your journey.
P.S While in Burlington, grab a New England IPA/Pale Ale at Foam Brewers. Honestly, up there with the best beers on the planet (I mean that very literally)
You know, I was asked to get my passport quite a while ago, and I just stalled on it. I'll admit it wasn't a priority, and in the meantime I've missed out on assignments North of the border. It just wasn't a big deal to me until now, when I realized how close to Montreal I was. I now have an unbelievable desire to go there, so you can bet I'll get that passport when I get back to Virginia! I guarantee Montreal will be my first visit to Canada...
I don't ski, and I'm not into winter sports. I an an admirer of beautiful winter landscape, though. More than anything, I'm a lover of urbanity, so I always want to see the city(ies), feel the vibe, walk, eat, ride transit, see parks, all of that jazz. So if it seems I'm more city-centric, it's because I probably am...
I do like ferries, but I'm not sure they're even doing that now. I've already seen signs advertised around town, but every river or lake I've seen thus far is frozen...
I've been through the Adirondacks before, and I have developed an appreciation for mountain views as I inch closer to 30. Maybe I'll go see them again!
All of this. Coastal Maine might be my first recommendation if it was summer, but I'd stay towards VT/NH in the winter. Definitely swing through Stow, VT, which is often referred to as the most quintessential New England town. And if you're a beer aficionado, you've likely heard the hype around Vermont beer. Ask around, and maybe try and swing through a few of the countryside brewers on your journey.
P.S While in Burlington, grab a New England IPA/Pale Ale at Foam Brewers. Honestly, up there with the best beers on the planet (I mean that very literally)
Just googled Foam Brewers, it's not far from me at all, I'll definitely check it out!
Just googled Foam Brewers, it's not far from me at all, I'll definitely check it out!
Right on. If you're an urban explorer at heart, with a flair for the views, the area cities I love:
-Portland, Maine (like an expansive, foodie Burlington with ocean views)
-Portsmouth, NH (very much like Portland but on a smaller scale)
-Newburyport, MA (classic New England town.. very very beautiful, a bit high brow in recent years)
Brrrr. Not for me. I'd like to visit......in August.
It's not that bad! Lol it's cold, but it's bearable. I really think living in Upstate New York for a few years desensitized me. I mean, don't get me wrong--I do not "like" it, I get sick and I'd much rather prefer warm weather over the cold. But I can tolerate it, it's not the worst thing that could happen...
One of my big worries about living back up north again (it would either be New York State, PA, or Ohio) is, would I be willing to live through long winters again? And I'm honestly not sure that I could, year-over-year for the long term. At least not the long winters that Buffalo and Syracuse get. My girlfriend, who never lived north of North Carolina until moving to Virginia with me, swears that she's cut out for extreme winters, because she enjoys winter weather, but she's never experienced one. I believe the human body has the ability to adapt to climate, but I don't think she'd want to live through them long term. I may be second guessing her, because she's very taken with Cleveland and wants to try out living there, but living through these winters change your perspective quickly...
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