December 30, 2023

Katelynn is in New England for Christmas and New Year. We all haven’t seen the Northern New England states, yet. So, we have planned a couple of trips with her. Originally, we wanted to go to Portland, Maine a day after Christmas first. But unfortunately, Kevin’s Jeep got rear-ended in Marlborough, a suburb of Boston. And that trip ended right there. Thank goodness, we are all okay.

On this trip, I planned to drive up to Brattleboro, Vermont. But then I saw, that Guilford has a nice Vermont Welcome Center at Interstate 91. We planned to visit the Kringle Candle Company in Bernandston, Massachusetts. Since Bernandston almost lies at the Massachusetts/Vermont border, we decided to hop over that border to say we have been in Vermont.

The Guilford Welcome Center is a beam barn, which pays tribute to Vermont’s agricultural roots. The building was opened in late November 1999. When we arrived at the Welcome Plaza, we looked at some beautiful ceramic pottery. Once we were inside the Welcome Center, there was a lot more art in display cases, history of Vermont, maps, and guides. The center has also a terrace from where visitors can see the old agricultural machinery in the meadow. From Spring to Autumn I imagine, it is a nice place to take a little rest and have a picnic in the garden or the apple orchard. When we visited, it was raining and there was still a leftover pile of snow on the ground next to the parking lot.

But now, I have some reading material I can look through to plan a longer trip deeper into the Green Mountain State. There is definitely a lot to explore in the future. For now, Katelynn, Sara and, I can say we have visited our 40th State. Vermont is State #41 for Kevin.

… to be continued…