Weekend Trip: All Over Vermont

A while ago we were contemplating a weekend away right after Thanksgiving to unplug and relax. The natural default is always either Portland, ME or Burlington, VT. (Have I mentioned how much I love New England?) Well, Burlington won this round so we packed up last Friday night, hit the road, and had a lovely weekend in one of my favorite states ever. Funny thing is we were in Burlington, VT almost exactly a year ago. We just can’t stay away; we love it so much there.

When we arrived at our hotel on Friday night it was pretty late so we immediately crashed. We woke up bright and early on Saturday to get our day going. There was lots of frost!

Our first stop? The King Arthur Bakery, School, and Store. You guys know how much I love all things King Arthur so this was like my Graceland.

Their in-store bakery was phenomenal:

We shared a chocolate covered macaroon and it was, without a doubt, the best macaroon I’ve ever eaten.

We also got to peek into the baking school. I hope to someday take a class here, it’s on the bucket list. How awesome would it be to bake bread in this outdoor oven?

The next stop was at the Quechee Gorge Village. They have a bunch of really neat stores we wanted to check out.

The first was the Cabot Creamery Store.

Also inside the Cabot Store is the Vermont Toy Museum. Don’t ask.

It was awesome though and made us so nostalgic for all the toys we had when we were kids.

Also in the Quechee Gorge Village was the Vermont Antique Mall. The whole place was packed floor to ceiling. You could spend hours and/or get lost in here.

Next up was the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT. This Harpoon operation does about 40% of Harpoon’s brewing whereas the Boston location does the other 60%. We’ve been to both now and they are both spectacular. The tour was awesome and the samples were generous. My favorite was Harpoon’s seasonal Vermont Spruce Tip. So good.

We got the try some “green” Harpoon IPA right out of the fermenting tank:

By then it was lunchtime! We went to our favorite lunch place, the restaurant at Simon Pearce in Quechee.

I got the exact same thing I got last time – potato leek soup and the pulled pork quesadilla.

After lunch we browsed the store a little bit.

Around 3PM we hit the road to drive up to Burlington.

I love downtown Burlington. It’s so quaint and quintessentially New England.

And also gorgeous around the holidays,

We walked around and shopped for a while downtown. Somehow a few hours went by and it was time for dinner. We went to our favorite restaurant in Burlington, the Farmhouse Grill & Tap.

We had the first seating. It didn’t stay this empty for long. Within 15 minutes after opening, the whole place was packed. I totally get it. Their food is incredible, the beer selection is great, and their cheese boards are the best around.

We ended the night with a quick trip to Lake Champlain Chocolates. A local luxury and favorite.

We got on the road to drive back to our hotel and then left early Sunday morning to drive back to Boston. Another incredible weekend in an incredible state. Be seeing you again soon, Vermont!