Vermont

Out son Ben, recently graduated from the University of Vermont, in Burlington, Vermont.  It was a great to drive up north to see Ben and attend his graduation, and visit this beautiful area of the country again. If you've never been to Vermont, THIS is why it's called the Green Mountain State. Doesn't it look like a picture postcard?

Ben is an avid skier, mountain biker and all around outdoorsy guy, so living in Vermont suited him just fine. Commencement was so exciting for all of us!

After the graduation ceremony we spent part of the afternoon walking along the shoreline of Lake Champlain which borders the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Adirondack Mountains of New York. This is one of Ben's favorites spots since he swims and bikes there.

The next morning we had coffee in Warren, Vermont on a deck in the woods overlooking a rushing stream.

If you read this blog, you know how I love Starbucks coffee, but in Warren, Vermont there's not a Starbucks to be found! Almost all the coffee sold around here is the locally made Green Mountain coffee and it's really good. After breakfast we ducked into The Warren Store.

The Warren Store is one of my favorite shops in Vermont. They sell many locally made items along with great clothing and children's goods. And of course, we couldn't leave Vermont without buying some local maple syrup.

We took route 100, "the scenic route" home and stopped along the way to take in the beauty of Vermont.

Our final stop before leaving Vermont was the Simon Pearce store and glass factory in Windsor.

Not only is the store filled with THE most beautiful handmade glassware and pottery, you can watch the glassblowers create the wonderful glassware.  Check out this video to see...

We watched for a little while but soon retreated since the temperature in the shop can reach up to 100 degrees!

Although Vermont is famous for it's skiing, it also has many craftsman and artists who sell wonderful handmade goods, gourmet food products--there's much to do and see anytime of the year.