Vermont Route 100 Scenic Tour
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Route 100 is a two lane highway that runs north-south almost the entire length of the state of Vermont - 217 miles. While it is a necessary road for many to get from here to there, it's also quite popular with tourists because it winds through beautiful farm land, quaint little New England towns, and our beautiful Green Mountains.
Loving a good car trip, my wife and I spent one full day of our staycation driving the 80 miles of Route 100 from Waterbury, VT to Ludlow, VT. Though we've both traveled the portions of the road closest to the Burlington area, neither of us had been this far south in that part of the state. We made our way slowly down, spending not more than 15 or 20 minutes in the car on any given stretch. There were so many things to see and do (and photograph). We were constantly pulling over to check out a general store (we stopped at every one), walk around the town green of an adorable community (I fell in love with Rochester, VT), take in a waterfall, or visit an interesting shop. And of course I'm a huge lover of barns, so I pulled us over on the side of the road many a time to hop out and snap a few shots of one of the many beautiful structures.
We stayed over night at a historic inn on Echo Lake right outside Ludlow, VT, an area that used to be a popular vacation destination for fancy folks (perhaps still is). I made a vow to come back to Echo Lake for a relaxing week one day - there were tons of people out on the Camp Plymouth State Park beach and kayaking around, and it looked like the most fun. The next day we visited President Calvin Coolidge's birthplace and family homestead. Neither of us knew much about him, and it was an enjoyable introduction to his life as well as an opportunity to walk through an area preserved (and sometimes replicated) as a super tiny 1920s village. I love that kind of thing. I was especially pumped to see the quilt that Coolidge made for his own bed as a boy and the short-term exhibit of Grace Coolidge's clothes (spoiler alert: they're gorgeous). And of course Navah spent some of the time on our trip home (not on Route 100) on Wikipedia sharing other interesting facts about him and his presidency with me.
If you decide to travel this stretch of Route 100 (which I recommend), here are some things I would suggest: stopping to snap some pictures of Moss Glen Falls, grabbing a sandwich at the Warren Store or the Pittsfield General Store, veering off the road just a bit to take the very short hike to Thundering Falls, pulling over to admire beautiful old barns and homes, getting out of the car in Rochester to take a walk around and get some coffee and a baked treat from Sandy's Books & Bakery, spending an hour or two at the Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, and (if you can) strapping a kayak or a canoe to the top of your car and checking out Echo Lake.
We'll have to save that last bit for next time (when we'll own a kayak?).
Now that we've done that gorgeous trip, I'm super motivated to drive the rest of Route 100 - north of us and also the last southern bits that we didn't get to. In fact, I'm ready for another staycation, but it will probably have to wait until next year!
p.s. I'll be back with my regular Thursday garden posts next week. This post was delayed a bit because of technical difficulties yesterday!
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