I’ve said this before, but when Jay and I travel, we got to immerse ourselves in vibe of the city. I know that sounds like “oooh, how deep of you,” but we’re not deep people so you know better than that. What I mean by that is that every city and every state have a different energy and if you take the time to notice, you start to fall in love with the way of life. You notice it more when you’re traveling between coasts, but it’s also a thing if you’re just going to the other side of your state.
Vermont is three hours away from us in Massachusetts. You can say the two are similar, but from the first time we drove to Stowe for a random day trip in 2016, I told Jay that when we were to settle, Vermont would be the place. I think our mind was definitely made up about it during our little weekend getaway.
We arrived Friday night at around 11pm and spent all of Saturday in Burlington, eating the food, walking around to explore, and just feeling like a local. Sunday after breakfast we left for Stowe where we hung out for a bit until it was time to go home.
Where We Stayed
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/22910142
We started in Burlington. VT and we couldn’t have picked for a better place to stay. While it was still a little pricey for a 2-night stay, it was perfect in terms of needs and location.
The house was literally 9 minutes away from downtown Burlington where we planned to spend most of our time. It was in this really cute suburban neighborhood just off the busy street that led us into downtown. It got dark as all hell at night that was for sure but that’s to be expected.
The pictures of the place look amazing and they don’t even do it justice. It was freshly renovated so it was beautiful and it was really clean. The amenities were more than we needed for the time we were there but they had a washer/dryer, a full kitchen (stove, fridge, dishwasher, silverware, and cookware) and, a bathroom with a tub ( that I unashamedly used and it was heaven).
The doors were locked by an electronic keypad and the day before the owner texted us the combo. They were really sweet in providing local information in a big binder on the counter. Other than that they left us alone.
We arrived Friday night around 11pm and stayed in Burlington until Sunday Morning. After breakfast, we headed down to Stowe
What We Ate
The first night, we got to Vermont at 11pm and the first place we passed was Buffalo Wild Wings. Surprisingly we’d never been so we figured we’d try it out. It’s fine for sports watchers but aside from the okay tasting wings, it wasn’t anything I’d go out of my way for.
The next morning we went up to Juniper at the Hotel Vermont. There wasn’t a wait but the environment was really nice and mellow. I have a thing for preferring greasy messy breakfast food as opposed to some fancy stuff but it was still pretty good.
Onyx Tonics was our next stop. It was this a really cute hipster coffee shop. The lines there were long but they worked fast and the coffee was good. They had crafty real coffee options as opposed to like Dunkin’s Donuts.
After walking around the seaport, we were seeing signs everywhere for The Skinny Pancake. The lines were really long but we had some nachos and they were surprisingly really good but it should’ve been with how long it took. The redeeming factor of it was that it had an amazing playlist so the music kept us happy while we waited.
For dinner, we went to check out American Flatbread. We’d heard it was a must-see while we were there so we had to go. The flatbread took a while because it was made in a wood-fire oven so it tasted really good. Also, all of the beer they had were craft beers that were brewed from local breweries. A fan favorite was Zero Gravity and Foam Brewers. All of the local restaurants worked with them.
The next morning, we checked out Leunig’s Bistro. It was open for breakfast and we’d noticed the day before that it was busy so we walked to check it out. Leunig’s was open all day and most of the night. It was always lively because they had a live band outside and at night it lit up the street with people stopping and dancing while watching.
Before we left for Stowe, we got some smoothies at the Juicebox. Where we sat for a little while before heading out of town.
In Stowe, after our hike, we had ice cream at The Snack Bar. We stopped on our last trip to Stowe and had cheeseburgers and fries. For a small little shack, it had a tone of business and you can’t beat the view in the back.
This time we didn’t realize we were probably going to be hungry for the road until we got to Cold Hollow Cider Mill. We picked up a dozen apple cider donuts and then headed across the lot to The Apple Core to grab some wraps. This place also made its own liquor and had this type of Maple Creme that we didn’t get to try but Jay got some of the home-brewed beer and he got to keep the cup which was cool.
What We Did
Aside from our tour of restaurants, our time consisted of a TON of walking. We walked everywhere!
We started Saturday with a stroll through downtown Burlington where we walked into City Hall Park and there was a huge farmers market going on. There were booths with fresh meats, cheese, maple syrup, and veggies. There were also booths that were selling fresh flowers or homemade wooden bowls, or jewelry. It was an interesting bunch. People were seated everywhere eating from the booths or just enjoying the day around the park.
Next, we toured through the Church St. area where they had so many cute stores. Some favorites were Dear Lucy, Common Dear, and Warner Supply. The shops were pricey but the things were really nice.
After roaming the city, we walked down to the Waterfront. It was actually really cool how close by it was. There we actually saw the Green Mountain Express. It was something we’d only seen in stock photos and miniatures at the train store but it was something cool that Jay absolutely adored.
We walked down the boardwalk and people were sitting on the benches watching all the boats in the water. There were also people laying down on the grass and just hanging out.
The weekend we were there was actually the Jazz festival so music was EVERYWHERE. It was great. We had like background music everywhere we went. On all four corners of church street there were stages with music and down at the waterfront, they were setting up a huge concert tent.
We went up to Battery Park to watch the gorgeous sunset and it was right above the Jazz festival so it was perfect.
Later in the night, after going out for dinner, we actually went across a place called The Archives. This place was so much fun. It was an adult arcade that had a bar, again with drinks from the local breweries, and old 90’s arcade games. There were so many people but there was room for everyone and It was a perfect way to end the night.
The next day we headed for Stowe. Instead of hanging out in its amazingly Charming main street, we were actually on a mission to take on a hike to the Moss Glen Falls. We had gone a couple of years ago and realized how unprepared we were so this year we had our minds set on getting to that waterfall. The falls were beautiful of course and the incline of the hike was difficult for sure but we made it happen and it was just a huge personal accomplishment.
Before we headed back to Massachusetts, we HAD to stop at Cold Hollow Cider Mills. It’s by far my favorite place on Earth. It makes you feel like fall (our favorite season) all year long. It’s the smell of Apple Cider and homemade donuts. Yuuum.
And there you have it! Our Perfect Weekend in Vermont. It was just such a relaxed environment. And EVERYONE had a dog. Dogs were everywhere and everywhere was dog-friendly. Heaven guys, I was in heaven all weekend. I hope you can tell that by this post. It just further solidified the notion of moving there one day. Vermont is such a beautiful place with beautiful scenery and the whole thing felt like a community I wanted to be a part of. All of the restaurants were local and they got their products from local farms and breweries and they functioned together. It was just really great to go and feel that for myself.
Let me know if you’ve ever been. What you liked, what you didn’t. I’d love to hear from you.
