Grafton Village Cheese Company

Grafton Village Cheese Company has moved to two new locations, a retail shop in Grafton, VT and one in Brattleboro, VT.

In Grafton, shoppers can sample cheeses as well as purchase Grafton Village Cheese Company cheese and other Vermont-made products. Having headed for the company's headquarter's in Grafton, which are no longer open to the public, we headed to the retail shop in Grafton.

The retail shop is quaint and if you are looking for Vermont-made products and want to taste some Grafton Cheese, this is a good stop.

However, in Bratteboro, the Grafton Cheese Company's location, according to their website, guests can watch cheese being made through their viewing area, as well as taste cheeses and purchase Vermont-made products.

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Brattleboro

With not many choices in Brattleboro, this Holiday Inn Express, was where we stayed for our one night here.  I believe they are a bit over priced at over $200/night after tax, when I think it should be under $150.  However, the hotel is nice and clean, along with a friendly staff.

We found our bed to be very comfortable and the room to be pretty spacious.  Free hot breakfast was provided in the morning with numerous choices, as well as plentiful seating.  There was also free wi-fi, which had a strong signal for our stay here.

The hotel is located about 5 minutes away from downtown Brattleboro, so you will need to drive into town if that is your destination.

Bennington Museum

Right outside the main downtown drag of Bennington is The Bennington Museum.  This museum has an array of different type of exhibits ranging from fine art to historic furniture to historical pieces from around the country.  The photo above shows a piece of the first transatlantic cable that was used to connect Europe to America.  We spent a little under an hour at this museum and it definitely had some interesting material inside of it.  However, it isn't the type of museum you could really spend all day at, so definitely allow for only about an hour when visiting.

Covered Bridge Museum (The Bennington Center for the Arts)

When we planned on visiting The Covered Bridge Museum and Bennington Center for the Arts, in Bennington, VT, our aim was really just to see the Covered Bridge portion.  However, the side of the museum that was an art gallery was the highlight.  There were numerous paintings done by local artists in many different styles.  When going in, you're given a piece of paper to choose your favorite for a contest they are holding.  This made it a much more enjoyable experience as you got to almost act as a judge in an art contest.

The 2nd half of the museum walks you through the history of Covered Bridges in Vermont and the rest of the country.  There are numerous photographs from all over that show you how they vary.  If you're a fan of covered bridges, this is definitely a good place to visit.  However, any non-aficionados may opt to pass.

One really nice portion of this was also a "library" of books that show all the covered bridges in different states, broken down by counties.  This lets you determine where covered bridges are near your own home, to give you a fun little side trip to do at home.

Bennington Battle Monument

A 306 foot obelisk, The Bennington Battle Monument can be seen from the road a few miles away.  It definitely sticks out on your way to Bennington.  Once there, you'll find a nice park surrounding it, which is a good place for picnics or just relaxing.  There is a gift shop near it where you can purchase tickets to take the elevator to the top to get a nice scenic view of Vermont, as well as part of New York.  These views are gorgeous, and well worth the small ticket price of $3/person.  During the ride up, the elevator operator will also give you a brief history of the monument and explain what you'll see from the top.

Mount Equinox Skyline Drive

Mount Equniox, the highest point in Vermont, as accessible by car on the "Skyline Drive" for $15/car and $5 for any passenger.  It is a steep climb up, but pretty much any car should be able to handle it, although older cars may have some over-heating issue in the warm months.

During the drive there are many pullover spots to get out and take in the gorgeous scenery.  The real highlight though is at the very top where you get an amazing view of Vermont.  You definitely want to make sure you do this on a nice, clear day so that you can enjoy the views.  Rainy days will just obscure your view with fog.

Vermont Country Store

Towards the center of the state in Weston, VT is the "Vermont Country Store".  Everything Vermont related you can imagine is carried in this store, which is crowded at pretty much all times.  From kitschy knicknacks to Vermont maple syrup to Vermont cheese, you can find it here.  In addition, you can sample various types of Vermont Cheese, Vermont Cookies and Fudge (and it's all delicious!).  It'll be hard to leave without a few of these items in tow.

Quechee Gorge

Before visiting the Quechee Gorge, I read that it was the "Grand Canyon of the East".  This is an extreme overstatement if there ever was one.  However, if is still quite a nice sight to see.  Getting here, depending on where you're coming from, can be a bit of a challenge currently as some bridges are under construction that lead to it.  However, once you arrive, plenty of parking is available at the gift shop next to the gorge.  It's an easy 1 minute walk from here to a bridge where you can view the gorge from the top.  There is also a hiking trail to get to the bottom of the gorge if you'd like.

Vermont Toy & Train Museum

The Vermont Toy & Train Museum is located in the Quechee Gorge Village.  This museum on the 2nd floor will send you down memory lane remembering all the toys you used to play with in your childhood (or maybe still do play with!).  From Nintendo to lunchboxes to McDonald's toys, it's all here!  The toys range from the early 1900's to today's toys with donations from numerous people.  Just spending 20-30 minutes here is well worth it to see toys and evoke the memories of your childhood.

New England Maple Museum

Do you like maple syrup?  Ever wonder about its history and how it's made?  Then you definitely want to take a trip to the New England Maple Museum.  While not very large (you'll go through the exhibits in about 10-15 minutes), it is a bit entertaining, especially with some of the cheesy effects (you'll have to see to actually understand).  At the end you'll also see a video of how the syrup is made, which is quite interesting.  At the end, you'll have the opportunity to sample different types of maple syrup so you can see which "grade" you like best.  And of course, in the main shop (which seems to be half the building), you can purchase any type of Maple Syrup related product.

Norman Rockwell Museum

If you lived through the era of Norman Rockwell and his famous Saturday Evening Post drawings, then the Norman Rockwell Museum in Rutland, VT is definitely a place for you to visit, as a good number of his drawings are on display, in chronological order.  Outside of that, there really isn't much.  Hence, this is a place for Norman Rockwell fans to visit and not really others, although people who don't know his work may gain an appreciation for it through this museum.

Simon Pearce Restaurant

In Quechee, VT, at the Simon Pearce Gallery, there is also a lovely restaurant that serves lunch and dinner, as well as weekend brunch. At lunch time, no reservations are needed, but reservations are recommended for the restaurant.

At lunchtime, we ordered the soup and salad combo, with the Vermont Cheddar Soup, which was the special for the day. We also ordered the chicken pot pie, which was the special for lunch.

The soup was creamy, cheesy and delicious. The salads with both entrees were incredibly fresh, and typically served with the house vinaigrette, however, you can ask for a different dressing if you choose.

When you're being seated or making a reservation, ask for a table near the window to overlook the waterfall. You can also see the construction of a covered bridge (or the covered bridge, once construction is complete).

Top of the Hill Grill

Top of the Hill Grill, a small restaurant just before downtown Brattleboro, has delicious BBQ, friendly staff, as well as indoor and outdoor seating.

We ordered a pulled pork sandwich, which was messy, scrumptious, and huge. We also ordered the beef brisket sandwich, also humongous, but not nearly as messy! As a side, we ordered the "adult" size mac and cheese, which was velvety, smooth, creamy, and like no other mac and cheese I have ever tasted.

While the order windows are outside, if you are going to take your food to go on a cold evening there is indoor seating that is a much warmer place to wait for your meal to be prepared. On nice days, there's also a good amount of outdoor seating around picnic tables.

Madison Brewing Co.

Madison Brewing Co., in Bennington, VT, has two floors of dining rooms, but very slow service. We ordered the Brat and Bird, as well as the Turkey Pot Pie, which was on the lunch specials. We also ordered the hot apple cider and a crock of french onion soup.

Our waitress brought the hot apple cider to our table quickly, however, by the time our lunch was brought out to us, the cider was gone (or, had I waited to drink it, it would have been cold cider!).

The french onion soup was delicious, and so were our entrees. I've never had turkey pot pie previously, so this was very yummy!

The only complaint we had about the entrees was the cheese melted all over the Brat and Bird sandwich and was also melted all over the outside of the hoagie roll, making it incredibly messy to eat.

Mary Meyer Museum of Stuffed Toys - Closed

What, by signs and our tour book, was called the Mary Meyer Museum of Stuffed Toys in Townshend, VT, was a retail outlet of the Mary Meyer brand of stuffed toys. However, when we arrived at the "museum", we found out that it had closed.

It looks like the shop just closed up one day and never packed anything. However, the Stuffed Bun restaurant next door is still open.

Bobcat Cafe

In the middle of Main Street in the quaint Vermont town of Bristol is the Bobcat Cafe.  This popular bar has quite the menu full of local fare.  For us, we sampled the Rockville Market Farm's Chicken and Butternut Squash Fricassee and the Vermont Venison and Chorizo Meatloaf.  Both were absolutely delicious!  In addition, they have many beer choices that they brew and even offer them in "sample" sizes to allow you to get the taste of a few without having to order pints.  This is a perfect place to stop on your way back to Burlington from the Green Mountains, but make sure you place a reservation ahead of time as it does get crowded and there is limited seating.  If you forgo the reservation, you may end up waiting 2 hours for a table.

Penny Cluse Cafe

We first discovered the Penny Cluse Cafe in Food Network Magazine.  Earlier this year they were running a special article on the best breakfasts in each state in America and the Penny Cluse Cafe won the award for Vermont.  The specific menu item mentioned in the article was the Ginger Pancakes, so of course we had to give that a try.  It was a wise decision as they were quite delicious and also very unique.  The restaurant is located right off of the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington, so it's very easy to get to.  If you stop for one place for breakfast in Burlington, this is the place to stop.

Fort Ticonderoga

While our trip was to Vermont, we did make a slight detour at one point to New York.  There are various ferries that go across Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York, but the one we took was the Fort Ti Ferry, located at Larrabees Point in Shoreham, Vermont.  You can walk on here for only $1/person each way.  However, once you cross over, there really is no transportation for you.  Therefore, it's best to take your car across, which is $8 each way.  During the drive across, you get a nice view as well of Lake Champlain.

After crossing the lake, the main destination for most people is Fort Ticonderoga.  Here was the first victory during the Revolutionary War for America, so it holds quite a significance in our country's history.  Throughout the day, various tours are given and are included in your admission that discuss the history of the Fort.  There's even a ghost tour that is given once a day.  Be sure to check the schedule for the day before arriving if you want to be present for a specific tour.

In addition to the history of the Fort, it also offers absolutely beautiful views of Lake Champlain.  These alone are worth the admission price and the Ferry trip over.

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

The Cold Hollow Cider Mill is located just minutes north of the Ben & Jerry's Factory on Route 100 in Waterbury Center.  The hot apple cider they serve here is probably the best you've ever had.  They also specialized in cider dipped donuts that were astounding!

You can even watch them make cider there.  Unfortunately, we got there pretty late at around 6 PM and they weren't making any more cider at that point in time, so I'd recommend calling ahead to find their cider-making times before getting there if you'd like to see it.

Before you leave, also make sure you walk to the back of the parking lot to get a beautiful view of the mountains behind the store.

Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks

On the outskirts of the state capitol city of Montpelier is the Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks.  We were actually able to sample their maple syrup earlier in the day at the Skinny Pancake in Montpelier, and it was just as you'd imagine...delicious!

Upon getting to the farm, you'll notice a model of the State House of Montpelier right in front that was made perfectly to scale.  Quite a nice model!

When entering the store, it has the classic "country store" feeling with great local gifts, including their maple syrup, and other items such as locally made cheese and crafts.

Unfortunately, the time of year we went (mid-October) wasn't conducive to giving tours of how they make their syrup, but if you go during the spring you can watch them make their syrup.