Day four...

I love everything about Boston. The esplanade along the river. The "dive" bar in Beacon Hill. The old churches next to the new high rises and the centuries old cemeteries in all the neighborhoods. But my two favorite parts of Boston are the people and the drivers. East coasters get a bad rap for being rude, but I think it's because they don't take the time to pretend. They may come off a little cold at first, but once you get on their good side, they're all niceness and pleasantries. And the drivers, just don't ever get on their bad side. When you drive in Boston, you do what you want, when you want. If someone doesn't go when they should HONK! If they're taking too long to turn, pass them!

Last time I was in Boston we walked the Freedom Trail. Got to see Paul Revere's house, the historic Old North Church, and the Fanieul Hall. This time, we just wandered around the Public Garden and Boston Common, did a little window shopping on Newbury Street (it's way too expensive for our tastes), then up for dinner and drinks in super fancy, brick lined Beacon Hill. Also too expensive, but last time I was there I discovered a bar called the Sevens on Charles Street that is surprisingly affordable and pretty much what you'd expect from a Boston bar. Sports on the TV, really loud patrons with thick accents, and lots and lots of beer. It was heaven.

Day three...

The weather was on our side today. Most people probably wouldn't say that about storm clouds and rain, but since today was our "drive around Vermont looking for a covered bridge" day, it worked out perfectly. We left Concord early and headed up into Vermont. We ate lunch at a delicious Italian restaurant in downtown Montpelier, Vermont. My GPS (codename: Gladys) was telling me we were going to hit our destination in only 1/2 mile, but true to the Vermont landscape, there was nothing around. We were surrounded by trees and hills and neither Tara nor I could imagine the state capital of Vermont was less than 1/2 mile away. But we turned a corner and there it was. The smallest capital in the United States.

After lunch (steak sandwich=delicious!) we headed 10 west to Waterbury to go to the Ben and Jerry's factory. I didn't realize how excited I'd be until we pulled into the driveway and I saw the signs and the giant silos of cream. The tour was pretty mellow, and we got to stare down on the factory workers (I could hear ABBA ever so lightly through the giant windows) as they made their wares. Our tour guide could tell that Tara and I were no usual tourists, gabbing and exclaiming the whole tour. I was even accused of being a spy for Haagen Dazs and one point. We got to the flavor room, which is where Ben and Jerry and many employees have thought of flavors, taste tested, and named the beauties we all eat every day. Our tour guide asked me to put on a goofy hat, do a twirl, and welcome the rest of our group to the flavor room. So I did.
After leaving Ben and Jerry's we stopped by a locally owned maple farm called Bragg Family Farm on the recommendation of our server at the Italian restaurant. We taste tested maple syrups (I didn't even know that was a thing!) and it was a lot like testing beer; light to dark. The women working there were super nice (just like everyone in Vermont) and they were able to direct us to our first (and only) Vermont covered bridge. We have them in the Willamette Valley, and when I lived in Corvallis, I was only a mile from a historic covered bridge. But this was different. We were in Vermont.