Day 3: Vermont and New Hampshire

On Friday we had a few things we wanted to do in Vermont before we made our way over to New Hampshire. Since the states are so small we felt like we had plenty of time so we all slept in. Everyone slept until nearly 8am, which is about 2 hours later than usual so that was a real treat. We had planned to cook breakfast outside, but when we woke up it was drizzling so we scratched those plans. We ate inside, packed up and headed over to Burlington. We got off the highway, went through the University of Vermont and the adjoining Champlain College, and then drove over to Burlington.

The nicest way for me to describe Burlington is underwhelming. We had always heard nice things about Burlington so I guess I expected more. There just wasn’t much to it at all. We opted to keep on going and headed over to Waterbury which is where the Ben & Jerry’s factory was. We were already aware that tours were not available until the evening, so we were really just there for ice cream and the graveyard. The employees at Ben & Jerry's were obnoxiously nice. They offer last minute day-of tickets so I asked about them. It was about 11am. The woman at the counter said "we have some availability at 5:15pm if you'd like to hang out until then". No thank you. Do you know how much business you'd lose if I kept these maniacs on your property for the next 6 hours?

For ice cream we opted to get the Mini Vermonster for us all to share. It is basically a bucket with four scoops of ice cream, cookie and brownie pieces, banana slices, whipped cream, hot fudge, and caramel. It actually was perfect for the seven of us. Go figure that I, a staunch opponent of fruit in desserts, was the only person that didn't mind the banana slices in the ice cream.

Digging into the Mini Vermonster. Nolan wasn't happy until he got a taste

Bird's eye view of the Vermonster and Natalie's infamous hat.

Once we ate that we were planning on going to the playground and graveyard but it started pouring rain. There was no way we could make it back to the motorhome without getting completely soaked so we had to cram inside and wait it out.

While waiting inside we also got to cram in with the half dozen dogs people brought in with them. I will never understand this. Why does everyone bring their dogs everywhere with them? Not everyone likes dogs. I actually really like dogs, but I don’t like having to worry about your dog bothering my kids. And of course, on our way out two dogs from two different families started getting into it and made an awkward scene. But don’t worry, “they’re good dogs” and “that’s the first time that’s ever happened”.

The rain finally let up to a sprinkle and we hauled back to the motorhome. When we were almost back Natalie realized she left her hat in the bathroom stall. This was fairly mind-blowing because this was the first time in her life I’d ever seen her wear a hat, and why she took it off in the bathroom is beyond me. Natalie and I went back to get it and of course when we walked back to the motorhome the second time it was pouring again.

We stopped in the motorhome and ate lunch, then checked out the ice cream graveyard where they memorialized all the past flavors they don’t have anymore. Even with the rain, it was a fun stop.

Some of the flavors in the graveyard were obviously doomed from the start. But others, such as this sounded pretty good.

On our way to New Hampshire we drove through Montpelier to see the state capital. That was a very odd experience. To get to the capital you drive on some pretty rural roads right up to about 1/4 mile from the capital. Then you pass it and it’s back to country roads. Allyson commented that it felt just like the capital in Charleston, WV, only much smaller. Later I read that Montpelier has a population of only 8,000. Other than the drive over to New Hampshire the capital concluded our Vermont experience. Vermont is a pretty place, but it was way more rural than I anticipated. I know it is in the mountains, but plenty of it is not in the mountains and those areas feels very sparse. Allyson's comparison to West Virginia was really spot on. They look the exact same. The main difference is that one is labeled as hillbilly, and the other is peaceful and nice 🤔 Hard to wrap my head around that, because I am actually quite fond of West Virginia. But I digress

The drive over to New Hampshire was more long and winding roads, and again they were a challenge for both the driver and passengers of the motorhome. It’s very beautiful in Vermont and New Hampshire, so I think the drive would be fun in a regular car, but in the motorhome it’s exhausting. We were planning on taking a scenic drive through the White Mountains called the Kancamagus Highway, but between the winding roads and the on and off rain it didn’t seem like a good idea. We instead headed for our campground which was a state park on Lake Winnipesaukee. At one point in New Hampshire we made our way down a slow, curvy road for about 10-15 miles. Suddenly there was a sign for a low bridge, and then moments later there it was…..a super low bridge. This was rather devastating because we were all getting worn out and Nolan was about to get whiny. We were only another 10 minutes from the campground…if we could just get past this bridge. However as we approached it our antenna began to scrape and we had to back up and find another way. Even doing that was a challenge because we had little to no cell service throughout much of Vermont and New Hampshire when we weren’t in a major city.

Our remaining 10 minutes turn into 50, but we made it. Our campsite was at the Ellacoya State Park right on Lake Winnipesaukee. It is an amazing location. The state park is a no frills campground that only cost $20 for one night. It was awesome. We quickly grilled dinner and then headed over to play on the beach. The weather was perfect so it was a really enjoyable evening.

Making Dinner. This was easily the best "value" we've ever had at a campsite.

Blowing bubbles

The beach was literally at the end of the short road our site was on

Julia was specifically told not to get wet and this was the result. We couldn't even be mad because this girl was in her element!

After the beach everyone showered up and hung out before bed. What a great evening.

Tomorrow we are off for Maine. We’re staying in Bar Harbor for three nights which will be nice because we won’t have to pack up after just one evening. We’ll also have a rental car so we’ll be able to do some more exploring.