Day 30, May 15, A Day Motoring Around Central Vermont

We spent a great day with Tom and Karen Reed. The morning was a gourmet breakfast fixed by Tom. Then in the afternoon, despite the early rain, we visited several towns and locales nearby Corinth. First we went to a place called Morse Farms, which harvests and sells Vermont maple syrup. We saw a video about the production process, how it has changed through the years, and about the family who have produced maple syrup for seven generations. We got to do a taste test of the four grades of maple syrup -- from the real light early season syrup, to the real robust, late season syrup. Naturally, we had to purchase several containers of the syrup, which we then had shipped back home. What a tasty treat will await us, when we return!

After the Morse Farms visit, we made our way to the state capitol, Montpelier, to site see, check out some of the shops and to have lunch. Here are scenes of the countryside and towns we saw along the way to the capitol. Included are several pictures of rivers and streams, all of which were quite swollen, due to the rain earlier in the day..

Montpelier was named after a city in southern France, by its first colonial inhabitants. They had been granted a charter in 1781 from Massachusetts. (Remember Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine were largely part of the original "Massachusetts territory". Vermont itself became a state in 1791. It is the 2nd least populated state in the U.S. This states' population of 643,000 is roughly the equivalent of the cities of Atlanta, GA and Sandy Springs, GA combined. I suppose a part of its natural beauty is that it has not been overrun with humans settlements.)

Patrise and Karen Reed

Doug and Tom Reed

Lunchtime selfie

Looking at the north branch of the Winooski River

The North Branch and main Winooski Rivers came together in the city's worst flood in 1927. You can see the flood stage marking of 535 feet, which flooded the first and second stories of every building downtown.

After lunch, we wandered around more of the central Vermont area, including working our way through Graniteville, Barre, and more. Here are some of those photos:

We ended the day with a wonderful dinner -- salad with salmon, potato leek soup, and cornbread muffins -- and watching the beautiful moonrise over Chandlery Farm.