Vermont I didn’t forget you

I stayed in the most perfect Airbnb. Lots of jokes about the hobbit house in the shire were made. I have to say, the interior of the house wasn’t hobbit-like at all, it was beautifully done. Everything so well-appointed and not at all cluttered or overdone. Just perfection. Loved listening to the Barred Owls at night. Incredibly quiet here, a great place to come back to after exploring.

I enjoyed hiking in Vermont a lot. Went to a hike called Pine Cobble Trail which intersects with the Appalachian Trail as well as the Owl Trail on the property, which is where I took the photo below. Great mushrooms everywhere, lots of bright orange salamanders, tons of butterflies. It was so green it almost hurts your eyes. 

Vermont smells incredible. I think it’s the sugar maples? I don’t know - there’s this fresh smell I can’t describe that I smelled everywhere. Such clean air. I loved driving with my top down. I often left in the morning without a real plan, just to drive scenic Highway 7A. I love the feeling of having no plan and just happily wandering. The Green Mountains in the background, fields of yellow and purple flowers - I think I drove from Pownal to Manchester three times. Great place to have a convertible. 

Went to the Bennington Museum - they had a Grandma Moses exhibit which was really cool. Lots of other great paintings and really interesting displays - I highly recommend this museum. I found it by accident, saw it as I was driving by and decided to stop. The Early Vermont gallery was fascinating. To see things from the 1700s and 1800s created by Vermont craftsmen while actually in Vermont was quite an experience. I didn’t make it to the Robert Frost House but there was a lot about him in the Bennington Museum. 

I also went to Massachusetts MOCA, a really HUGE cool museum. A lot of the artists created the pieces on site. There was an exhibition by Blane De St. Croix that was hard to see - climate change. Also Jenny Holzer - interesting to read. 

 I liked the building itself. 

Vermont was a place I’d like to explore more. I’m not quite sure I got the full experience though I enjoyed it very much.