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What the Press Says You'll go Mad over Central Vermont Vermont is a wildly popular destination for leaf-peepers and downhill skiers. But the Green Mountain state is at its most lush and green - and perhaps most delectable - at this time of year. My husband and I took our seven-year-old on a short trip north recently and found a verdant beauty in the Mad River Valley of central Vermont. While we found plenty to keep us busy, some of the best moments were spent doing not much of anything - except for gazing at bucolic landscapes dotted with Woody Jackson-style cows (actually, Holsteins) or sitting on a flat rock, dangling our feet in the refreshing current of the Mad River. We lodged at the Wilder Farm Inn in Waitsfield. Owners Luke and Linda Iannuzzi searched for years for the perfect B&B and found it here. They made us feel like family, and their sweet nine year-old daughter Jordan led a walking tour of the three-acre grounds. The inn is on the national historic registry of buildings, and its eight guestrooms are large and beautifully decorated with antiques, many of them family pieces refurbished by Luke. Each room has a private bath, fragranced with organic lavender soap. Though comfortable featherbeds tempted us to sleep late, we pulled ourselves out of bed for fabulous breakfasts served beside a stone fireplace. There were scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms and Vermont cheddar, flaky cream biscuits with jam, and a glorious picture window view of wildflowers. The next morning, Luke brought out a gorgeous puff pastry tart made with fresh native peaches and blueberries, and French toast with cinnamon sugar and maple syrup. A guest refrigerator was always stocked with spring water, iced tea, and iced coffee. Our son especially loved the plate of warm homemade cookies that appeared as if by magic in the dining room every afternoon. We brought bicycles and explored a great bike trail just across the street from the inn, which runs alongside the Mad River (so called because it runs north). We wore swimsuits on our bike rides, since the Mad River offers plenty of swimming holes in which to cool off. Although there were dozens of area restaurants to choose from, we ate dinner at American Flatbread at Lareau Farm on Route 100 in Waitsfield, which is open only on Friday and Saturday nights. The wait for a table can be long, but it gave us a chance to admire an art show in the barn, sip maple lemonade, and play soccer and Frisbee in a nearby field. Their Evolution salad was deliciously tender and locally grown. The pizza, baked in the same enormous wood-fired oven that is used during the week to make the American Flatbread pizzas sold in gourmet shops, was very tasty. After dinner, we went out for a maple creemee (like a soft-serve) at Country Creemees at Village Square in Waitsfield. The Mad River Green Farmers Market on Saturday morning was the social event of the weekend. We found about 50 vendors offering fresh organic food, handmade crafts, activities for children, and even free five-minute Reiki massages. The Valley Rotary was there selling rubber duckies for their Great Mad River Race. Every Labor Day, about 2,500 ducks attempt to make it across the river, and race proceeds support local charities. Borgi Von Trapp, whose mother was one of the original Von Trapp singers, has managed the Farmers Market for 11 years. "It fills a need for the community," she says. "It's very magical, actually. It's a happy place." Vermont is famous for its agricultural products. To our family, that meant a chance to sample some fun foods. On the Ben & Jerry's factory tour in nearby Waterbury, we learned how ice cream is made and tried out some new flavors. An energetic young guide showed us a video in the "Cow Over the Moon" Theatre, and then let us observe the production floor, where ice cream is manufactured Mondays through Fridays. The day we visited, staffers were scooping two free flavors, Primary Berry Graham and Dublin Mudslide. For a chuckle, we took a walk through the flavor graveyard, where headstones described the fate of some of our old favorites. You wouldn't want to leave Vermont without trying some maple syrup. Morse Farm Sugar Works, about three miles north of Montpelier, is open all year to visitors, with free tastings. Owner Burr Morse is a seventh-generation Vermonter. He taught us how to recognize a sugar maple among the other maples on our back yard (the bark is much rougher), and he revealed that you can actually tap your own maple trees in early spring. Since it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, you'll probably prefer to leave this to the professionals. Montpelier is also worth a visit. It is an immaculate small city with vistas everywhere you look. Montpelier's granite State House is one of the oldest still in use. The statue on top of the building's golden dome, which represents Agriculture or the Roman goddess Ceres, depending on whom you ask, is not made of granite at all, but carved from wood. Skillfully restored to its 1860s grandeur, the State House has its original black and white marble floor in the lobby. Hanging beside a grand staircase, a portrait of former governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean in a canoe captures the state's rugged iconoclasm. Rock of Ages, the world's largest granite quarry, gives informative tours. Vermont has two types of native granite, Bethel White and Barre Gray, popular for architectural use and curbstones. Standing on the (fenced) edge of the gigantic quarry will leave you breathless. Rock of Ages created the new World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., with its two 700-ton arches. Don't worry about the granite supply running out anytime soon-Todd Paton, manager of the Visitors Center and director of Tourism at Rock of Ages, reassured us that Vermont has enough granite to last for the next 3,200-4,500 years. If you go... Wilder Farm Inn Rock of Ages Morse Farm Sugar Works Ben & Jerry's American Flatbread |
