Labor Day 2010 plus good weather meant that people would always go places for the “Long Weekend” A group of us decided to embark on a journey which was one of the most random events to start off but ended with us having seen (and conquered) two of the highest mountain peaks in New England; Mount Washington and Mount Mansfield. So in a span of two days we drove from Massachusetts to New Hampshire and then over to Vermont and back to Massachusetts.
1st Stop: Mount Washington: We quickly reached a consensus of taking the Mt. Washington Cog Railway to go atop the mountain. The ride, as the train guide explained, takes one through 3 different climates which was hard to believe at first but was absolutely true. Along the ride which was about an hour starting from the base of the mountain and reaching the top, we moved from a hot and pleasant sunny climate to a more windy and cool climate to one of the coldest climates ever with winds almost blowing us away. We could barely stand outside on the mountain top near the viewing area. The adverse climate put paid to our hopes of getting some good pictures from the mountain. They say Mount Washington is known to have one of the worst climates in the world and with what we saw in summer, I have no doubts that this place will be unbelievably tough in the winters. We managed to survive and click some pictures and heading straight to the café for hot coffee. Not sure how much it helped to stay warm, but we all had a reason to have one. The journey back down was much easier since we were heading toward a much better climate zone. Just a quick mention, most of the peaks in the Mt Washington area are named after US presidents. I am sure they did not discover either of them but good for us to know about it. Back into our car and we had to decide what next? The plan was to move closer to Vermont and the break for dinner.
2nd Stop: Church Street Market Place in Downtown Burlington: Apart from noticing the well lit up downtown Burlington area, you just cannot miss one thing: The Cows. They were everywhere in the marketplace, atop some of the restaurant roofs, in pictures, posters, miniatures. I hope by now you know what I mean, but these cow statues and pictures are just about everywhere. Not surprising then to know that at one time in the history of Vermont, this green state had more cows than humans. After walking for a while in a chilly marketplace area we decided to have dinner. Searching for hotels to stay was a bit tough with most of them booked on account of Labor Day but we did end up with one close to Stowe, Vermont.
3rd Stop: Mount Mansfield: Woke up on Sunday to find the weather on the cooler side. Had some great breakfast at the hotel where we stayed. (Cheese Omelet, Home Fries, bread, juice and coffee) We were headed straight for the famous Mt. Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont, but stopped on the way to check Bingham Falls. Walked a small trail to reach to these falls and took a few pictures. It was a nice and quiet place and none of us ventured into the water. (Probably due to the chilly weather) We then made our way to Mt. Mansfield through the auto road which was a steep and narrow road between the mountains until as far as we could drive. We parked the car and then began our trail to reach the top of Vermont’s tallest mountain peak. After hiking through the mountain and trees with wind blowing faster as we moved closer to the top, we almost reach the top most point of the mountain. We could see the border of Canada (not exactly SEE), New York and Lake Champlain. Again, a few pictures here and we were headed back to the parking spot. Got into the car and drove straight to Lake Champlain. We had a quick stop at this place http://www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/ . Had the best Masala Chai – Chocolate drink ever and loads of sample chocolates to taste
4th Stop: Lake Champlain: One of biggest attractions of Burlington is Lake Champlain. States of New York and Vermont share their borders with this lake and a part of Canada as well. We took the Lake Champlain cruise which took us around the entire water body. We boarded the ship just when the sun had started setting and were able to catch some amazing views of the mountains and the lake at sunset. A complete rainbow across the lake added to what was already a great scenic view. It’ll be best to explore this place more rather than comment on it right now. I highly recommend a Vermont trip to one and all!!! This is definitely one of the best scenic places in the north east of USA, if not in USA. It rounded off our amazing trip and we headed back to Woburn, MA for some Indian food and back home. Looking forward to some more trips now !! J
