Chrysa and I are currently in Georgia visiting my mother before moving to our next location. While at the Elks Lodge we were describing our lifestyle to some of my moms friends, where we were referred to as, “responsible hippies.” I’m fully on board with that description, but for the purposes of this post, I’m going to call us hipsters. I think that’s a better description of what we have going on and what we represent. The reason I recount this story is because we have visited Vermont – the land of the hipster.
When we moved to Saranac Lake I was very excited about the prospect of checking out the Green Mountain state. With the exception of our trip to Boston for Chrysa’s brothers wedding, I don’t have a lot of experience with New England. I was very excited to check out the land of hipsters, hippies, Bernie Sanders, and independent everything. So, on a beautiful September afternoon, I hopped in our hipster van and headed to Burlington.
Actually, I first did some research. I was only going for the afternoon. I needed to maximize my time. Interestingly the first thing my search brought up was The Worlds Tallest Filing Cabinet. I can only surmise that The Matrix knew I used to work in the office supply and office furniture business and as a result it suggested this as a starting point for my visit. Well, I hate to admit it but I took the machines advice and headed for this major monument. As it turns out – not so major – but I’m glad I went. The cabinet is humorously underwhelming. It’s an old stack of cabinets, on a sort of plinth, in a nondescript parking lot. It was actually kinda awesome. It’s close to a park so I took a walk and checked out a park and the funky neighborhood around it.
After the filing cabinet it was time to head into the big city. Actually, Burlington isn’t that big, in fact it’s the least-populous city to be the most-populous city in any state. I fired up the internet once more and headed into town. My first challenge was to park the van on a busy Saturday. I ended up finding a parking lot by the water. Burlington is right on the shores of Lake Champlain (my favorite non Great Lake) and I was thrilled at the waterfront. I knew immediately that I was going to have to come back down after checking out the city.
As I mentioned, it was a perfect day, and the streets were bustling. It was a Saturday and there were a ton of events going on. My goal was to do some recon for a future visit while enjoying my day out. I passed a cider bar, a couple drum circles, and checked out a couple art galleries. It felt great seeing so many people of differing backgrounds enjoying themselves together. There was no judgement, no side eye glances, just acceptance. I was great to be in such a friendly city. I knew immediately that I could live there, at least on a temporary basis (during the summer…it gets pretty cold up there in the winter).
After checking out the surface streets I headed onto the Church Street Marketplace. This is the main drag through town. It has most of the bars and shops and restaurants and is the number one listed attraction on the internet. I loved it! I was hungry and ready for a snack and some people watching. I accomplished both and even engaged in some retail therapy.
The main event for me was the waterfront. I mean…check out these pictures. Burlington has a wonderful boardwalk along the waterfront that interfaces with the city’s running path. I stuck to the water and checked out the area (I was even mistaken for a local). Along the way I got to see boats and gardens, as well as rock sculptures and a skatepark. I absorbed the sun and admired the early phases of sundown. Honestly, I couldn’t stop smiling.
Thankfully, I got to go back! As I said, I was doing some recon. Chrysa wanted to see Burlington as well and it’s handy to know where the highlights are. In late October we hit the road once more for the land of Sanders. This time Chrysa hit the internet hard. This trip was hers and I was happy to branch out.
Our first destination was The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. We had a really nice time! We did the tour and bought a bear. We learned the process they go through to sew and repair each teddy bear. It was great. Additionally, the cats got a toy as well!
After the factory Chrysa and I did some shopping at The Vermont Flannel Co. Now…I’m not a flannel kind of guy. I’m a warm weather sort who doesn’t really feel the need for cozy items of clothing. But, Chrysa is all in. I have to admit that I was almost brought around. Although I didn’t end up buying a full set of jammies, or a flannel chef coat, we did end up getting scarves and a fantastic blanket.
By the time we finished flanneling we were hungry. Thankfully I had a plan. We parked in the same lot as before and hit the cider bar. Both the cider and the food were great and we were fortified for a trip to Church Street and the waterfront.
After our trip to Burlington I think the responsible hipster label is pretty spot on. We now own flannel in abundance, I was mistaken as a local, and I’m into crystals now. All wins…now it’s chilly…where’s my flannel scarf?
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