Road Trip: New England
Day 3: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 - Montpelier, VT
Day's statistics:
Weather: Light rain
Steps: Steve 7,990; Linda 7,547
Drove: 374 miles
Since there was no breakfast, we packed the car, then went to check-out so we could go to the location the guy told us about
the previous night. Unfortunately, the front door was still locked, and there was no one to be found. I called the number
(I remembered the area code I got the previous night) and told them I was leaving the key on the desk in the lobby.
We bought our breakfast at the stop down the road from the hotel, called Maplewood. We got two egg, cheese, and sausage
sandwiches on English muffins, and a large coffee. No picture.
Our first stop of the day was at - the capitol!
Linda [barely] got a picture of the capitol on approach.
We started, and hopefully will remember to continue doing so, taking a selfie outside the capitols took three, and this was,
believe it or not, the best - I have no idea what the phone was focusing on).
And a few more shots of the outside before going in.
A statue of Ethan Allen to the right of the front doors (though actual entry is to the side).
And a shot from the top of the capitol steps.
The capitol from another angle, while walking to the Vermont Historical Society Museum.
And a closer-up of the dome and statue on top.
And near where the above image was taken, was this two-sided sign.
So far, of the 16 capitals visited to date, this was the first with absolutely no security whatsoever. One walks in the door...
and one is in the capital, walking amongst the politicians and other staff members. If dressed properly - meaning without a
camera hanging around one's neck - someone could just blend right in without much ado (not that the camera caused any ado).
This capital had self-guided tours, and one calls a phone number and enters a one or two digit number to get a narrative on a
particular item they are looking at.
But we were told if a door was open, we were welcome to look or enter a room.
We started in the first floor, and viewed some artwork, including a portrait of President Coolidge, and a less-than-perfect
one of President Chester A. Arthur (you know, the guy referenced in Die Hard With a Vengence).
Hard to believe such a relatively small, lower-populated state had two - TWO - presidents.
A staircase to the right of the Arthur portrait above.
The audio tour indicated that some of the marble in the floor had fossils in it.
A bust of Abraham Lincoln. The sculptor, Larkin Goldsmith Mead, designed the statue for the capiol dome, as well as the
Ethan Allen statue near the entryway.
Standing in, essentially, the center of the first floor with a view to the [let's just say] north, west and east. The "real"
front doors would be to my back in the first image, and the entry we came in at the end of the hall in the second image.
An old chandlier.
A stitch of the House chamber.
A portrait of George Washington. Looks rather similar to the one in Albany, doesn't it?!!?
A stitch of the Senate chamber. Note the original carpeting too.
A portrait of Edna Louise Beard, the first woman elected to the legislature.
A portrait of Consuelo Northrop Bailey, the first woman elected Lieutenant Governor in America, 1954; and the first woman
elected speaker of the Vermont House, 1953.
In the Governor's Reception room, a press conference was being held. We were told we COULD enter, as long as we didn't
disturb the proceedings. Someone in our party was reuctant to enter, so I grabbed a couple shots through the door.
The last picture is a reorientation of the previous picture - just so it is a little easier to see.
After our self-guided tour, we stopped by the Sargeant At Arms office - which is just off the entry foyer - to get our stamp.
There is no picture of the Governor's Mansion. That is because there is no Governor's Mansion.
Fun fact: Vermont is one of only five states that does not have a Governor's Mansion.
Our next stop was about two doors down from the capital. But it didn't open until 11:00. So we walked down "Main Street" for
a little, and got some "small town perspective" photos (I know, "But it's the capital!").
There were also some residents showing support for Ukraine.
Eventually, the Vermont Historical Society Museum opened.
This first one is actually on approach to the museum from the capitol.
Before going inside...
This is from the stairs going into the museum.
And then we went in for our tour.
First was a mural about Vermont, stitched here.
There was a section about the [supposedely] now-extinct catamount. It's a wild cat, larger than a coyote.
The impact of the Revolutionary War on Vermont.
An old desk and stool.
A portrait of General Parley Davis, a founder of Montpelier.
An original Dresden Press, the first official press of the State of Vermont.
Some Civil War artifacts.
A Cooley Creamer.
An original wooden model of the statue from the dome. And with Linda to show perspective.
A small model of the statue on top of the dome.
An original state seal from a pane of glass from the original House, dating 1823-1909.
Our visit of the museum was over.
Before finding someplace to eat, we went to the car to essentially move it as our two hour limit was up.
Typically, at a number of previous capitals, we found our shot glass at Walmart. So we ran to Walmart - one exit down the highway - in hopes
of finding one again, but this time, had no luck. So we returned to the capital, and happened to find a stationary store that sold them.
When we returned to the city, we found a spot on the street directly in front of where we were going to eat - Pho Capital.
We shared curry chicken, with rice; and shrimp pho. By "share" we each at some, then swapped bowls.
We also got a selfie inside because we thought it was cute.
Today was another day of wanting to get on the road a little sooner than later since we did have a bit of a drive
ahead of us. So we headed out mid-afternoon.
Essentially, Augusta is due East of Montpelier. We didn't go to Concord, NH, as one might logically think, because it is
actually further out of the way than it is to stop in Concord on the way to Boston.
Per Google Maps, using these three cities as reference, not exactly for our trip:
Montpelier > Concord > Augusta > Boston = 442 miles.
Montpelier > Augusta > Concord > Boston = 409 miles.
A lot of states have their capitols in the general geographic center of the state somewhere / somehow. Concord is,
for the most part, in the southeast corner of the state - so it is, for our trip, out of the way.
Once again, we took the leasurely route - primarily Route 2 across Vermont, then New Hampshire, then into Maine.
A lot of mountains and other scenery. And a few small towns, such as Johnsbury, VT.
And we crosses a state line or two - admittedly the "Welcome to New Hampshire" sign is one of the smallest state
welcome signs we have seen. There are probably scenery photos from before and or after these, but having them
in the exact order is not really that necessary...
It was right around dinner time when we arrived at the
Super 8.
We checked in, then wanted to head out into town a little.
But before we even left the parking lot... overheating. Let it cool, tried again, good to go.
We traveled to a nearby mall area, and ran into a Target to see if they had any
souveniers. Nope. But two helpful employees near the exit gave us some ideas for where to eat.
The two were generally pushing for us to go downtown - a 20 or so minute drive. But we just spend hours on the road and that
didn't really interest us much. So we decided to go to the nearby Margaritas - across the street from the hotel.
But before we even left the parking lot... overheating. Let it cool, tried again, good to go. (no, this isn't typo, but
rather that it happened twice in a rather short span of time.)
We eventually got to Margarita's.
The lighting was a little on the red side, but I adjusted as best I could...
Linda had the Cajun Shrimp Salad.
I had the chicken burrito.
Someone may have captured a picture of me before dinner arrived...
With dinner consumed, we headed acorss the street, unpacked, relaxed a little, and went to sleep.
Fun fact: Montpilier is the only state capital without a "Golden Arches" restaurant.