Sunday, June 12, 2016

A Gallery of Photos: A Little Farther Afield This Time



When an old friend visited recently from another part of the country, not having been in New England for many years, we took a couple of excursions to reacquaint her with this part of Vermont.  Remember:  Vermont's claim to charm is all about its success in offering its own particular anachronistic look and feel.  Down-home stuff.  1940's.  There are no bill boards along the highways. There are plenty of dirt roads to say nothing of winding two-lane by-ways over hill and dale.  It's the sort of place where you drive by white steepled churches, country general stores, cows, plus a good number of brooks which earn the adjective, "babbling."  Of course, it was those very babblers that overflowed during Hurricane Irene a few years back, bringing on disastrous flooding.  Otherwise, yes, they're delightful.

1.  Bennington.  The Old First Church and Robert Frost's Grave

The Old First Church

The Frost Family Gravestone.  (You can see the pennies people have put there.)

His name is at the top, along with "I had a lover's quarrel with the world."

2.  Manchester.  The Equinox Inn.  Or I guess it's now called "The Equinox, a Luxury Collection Golf Resort and Spa."

Established in 1853, the Equinox Inn is next to the Old Marsh Tavern (1763).  We stopped here mid-day for a glass of white wine before carrying on.

3.  Weston (population 566).  The Vermont Country Store, the Weston Village Store, and the Craft Building

The Vermont Country Store calls itself the "Purveyors of the Practical and Hard-to-Find."

The old wood stove is still cranked up on winter days.  (If something works, don't haul in one of those modern gadgets!)

Dating from 1946, the store prides itself on its old-time merchandise.

The Weston Village Store (across the street) and its whirligigs.

This gorgeous building with its artistic shingle-work has been a firehouse, a machine shop, a studio for craftspeople, and now houses the red Concord coach used as a bandwagon by the Weston Cornet Band from 1880-1930, one of only two in existence.

4.  The village of Grafton with its Grafton Inn and old White Church

The Grafton Inn (rockers and all), once called the Old Tavern at Grafton. 




Life in a Vermont village.
The quintessential New England church--this, Grafton's "White Church."






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