Vermont Travel Notes

Stowe Alpine Slide

This Saturday, June 19, Stowe opens its summer attractions including my favorite, the Alpine Slide.

This adventure starts with a chair lift ride to the top of Spruce Peak Mountain. At the top, you are given a plastic sled on wheels and directed to one of the two parallel fiberglass tracks. The starter, one of the many young people from all over the world who serve as summer interns, holds the people going down and lets them go about every minute or so to allow plenty of separation from other people on the same track. You're not supposed to race the person in the track next to you but the starter sends you both at the same time so who's to say you can't get a little competitive?

The track has curved sides to help hold the cart in. You would have to be going crazy fast to fly off a corner but, of course, a few people have found a way to do that. The ride is very safe if you don't take wild chances. You control the sled with a stick between your legs: push forward to go faster, pull back to slow down and stop at the bottom. The ride down is two or three minutes long.

I recommend you get at least two tickets because when you come down the first time, you will almost certainly want to do do it again.

In addition to the Alpine Slide, Stowe has a gondola ride to the Cliff House restaurant near the top of Mount Mansfield (great views), bungee trampolines, inflated obstacle course, and climbing wall . . . great times for young people and fun watching for the older folks who bring the kids.

Note: the Toll Road to the top of Mount Mansfield is under repair and will open in early July.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

The Inn at the Round Barn is one of my favorite places in Vermont. It's in a beautiful valley a few minutes drive from the village of Waitsfield. It's not only a great place to stay but also the perfect venue for a Vermont country wedding if you're in the market for such a dream event.



Dave Hartshorn, shown in the video, owns a farm and farm stand nearby on Route 100 - - about half way between my inn and the Inn at the Round Barn. He has vegetables, maple syrup, honey, and other goodies on hand most of the summer and early fall. It's worth a stop just to see rural Vermont at work.

I have had the good fortune to sample some of chef Charlie Menard's creations and I am happy to confirm that his work is outstanding.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus

Shelburne Farms is hosting its 31st Annual Harvest Festival and Energy Fair Saturday, September 19 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. This is a very large event and a great place to take the kids.

There will be about 15 bands performing throughout the day, Spanish Horse demonstration, antique tractors, hands-on cow milking, llamas, wagon rides, wood furniture building demonstrations, puppet making, "bubble magic," cider pressing, face painting, grape vine wreath making, wheat braiding (where else can you learn that?), post and beam demonstration, giant pumpkins, wood bowl making, decoy carving, cheese making and sampling, rug hooking, pellet stove demonstration, solar and wind energy displays, and much, much more. You will have more things to choose than you have time.

Whenever our guests ask us for the best places to visit in Vermont, we always mention Shelburne Farms. It is an amazing facility that Vermont is fortunate to have.

Shelburne Farms is located a few miles south of Burlington VT on Harbor Road.

I highly recommend a visit there anytime.

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn

MSN has an online video series hosted by Andrew Zimmern in which he travels around the country recording interesting places to visit, usually focused on food. Zimmern was host of the Travel Channel show, "Bizarre Foods" and now hosts Travel Channel's "Bizarre World" in addition to being a chef, writer, and teacher.

Zimmern was recently in my area of Vermont to visit Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Little River Hotglass Studio, and Cold Hollow Cider Mill. He doesn't just visit though - he gets right into production, creating his own Ben & Jerry's flavor in the test room, blowing a glass jar at Little River Hotglass, and making cider doughnuts at Cold Hollow.

These Appetite for Life. episodes are a good way to get some behind-the-scenes views of popular attractions in Vermont and elsewhere.

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn

American Museum of Fly fishing, Manchester VT

I enjoy fly fishing even though I'm not good at it. And I'll probably never get good because I go so infrequently. Over the years though, it has been the motivation to put me in some beautiful places and that's what I enjoy most about fishing for trout. The fly rod is just so I don't look like some idiot standing alone in a river. Now I look like a harmless old fool flogging the water with a stick. That's much better don't you think?

Early last fall, instead of going fishing as I should have, I visited the American Museum of Fly Fishing. It is a very impressive facility located next to the Orvis headquarters in Manchester VT. The building itself is a beautifully restored home on Route 7A a few minutes south of the town. If you enjoy fly fishing and all its traditions, you'll enjoy spending some time there. When I visited, admission was free to the main part of the museum but the art gallery had a small charge.

I was able to visit the library, reading room, museum store, and other rooms - there is enough there to hold your interest for an hour or more. And if you bring your fishing gear, you can fish the nearby Battenkill, one of the most famous trout streams in the world.

This Saturday, August 15, the museum is holding a fly fishing festival with displays and vendors of antique tackle, rod builders, artwork, fly tyers, fish carvers, and more. New to the festival this year is a great opportunity to "Cast with the Legends" where you can test famous antique rods to see how they feel. It's a rare opportunity to not only hold but also cast rods that would cost a lot of money to buy.

While you are in the area, I also suggest a visit to Hildene , the estate of Robert Todd Lincoln, some of President Abraham. It's a beautiful home with impressive gardens and grounds.

Manchester is known for its outlet stores, many of them very upscale brands. If you are a shopper, brace yourself to see many compelling bargains. Also, as mentioned above, the Orvis flagship store is located next to the museum and is a must stop too. Be sure to see the huge trout swimming in the pond that is half outdoors and half in the store. Just up Route 7A going north toward town, the Orvis outlet store has some incredibly low prices.


Orvis Flagship Store

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor (except the American Fly Fishing Museum and Orvis photos which are owned by those respective organizations )

Nobody loves you as much as mom. You can give her a Mother's Day she will cherish with the gift of Vermont. Take her to a Vermont inn, restaurant, attraction, or simply a drive in the country.

If that's not possible this year, you can send Vermont to her with a Vermont Teddy Bear. They are very good at online orders and ship quickly. If you are going to travel to Vermont next weekend (Mother's Day is May 10), a tour of the Vermont Teddy Bear factory in Shelburne VT would be fun.

Vermont Teddy Bear has several pages of Mother's Day bears on its website, plus a grandmother bear too.

Make reservations soon and enjoy your day with mom.

(c) 2009 Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus