It was a beautiful day on Burlington's famous Church Street. People were enjoying the late summer hot weather and getting some walking in past the shops and restaurants of the city market.
There are so many little villages and beautiful towns here in Northern Vermont. Today my mom was in town, and the kids were in school, so I thought we would go and explore a bit. Even though its not the capitol, Burlington is the major hub of Vermont. This is where the biggest airport is, and it is located right on the shores of the massive Lake Champlain. The University of Vermont draws in students from all over, and holds the hospital where all three of my kids were born. Every once in a while, I will descend out of the mountains of Stowe, and go explore this beautiful city.
On our way out of Stowe, Vermont, we made a stop at the Von Trapp Family Lodge. This is where the some of the Von Trapp family, made famous by the movie 'Sound of Music', immigrated from Austria. The rolling mountains and winter ski scene of Stowe reminded them of the native lands back home. Nowadays there is a sprawling lodge, restaurant, farm, beerhall, bike and cross country ski trails, and a really cute kaffeehaus that I have always wanted to stop at. It turned out to be a wonderful place to sit down for a cinnamon roll and a coffee and admire the view. Highland cows were grazing outside and there was even a cow cake in the bakery that looked just like them.
After a nice sit down, we made the 45 minute drive to the shores of Lake Champlain, after driving through the UVM campus. I parked in the Church Street parking lot, which has free parking for an hour. Church Street is one of the best places to walk in downtown Burlington. It is a vibrant scene of shops, restaurants, and old architecture, a few blocks up from the lake shore. My mom and I checked out several shops, and bookstores, and somehow managed to walk by the original Ben and Jerry's shop without getting a huge scoop. We walked all the way down to the end of Church Street, so I could get a photo of the beautiful church and steeple at the head of the pedestrian right of way. The weather was brilliant, sunny and 77 degrees, so everyone was out and about, dressed for summer. For Vermonters, days like this in September are never taken for granted.
Sailboats ply the waters of Lake Champlain, near Burlington, Vermont.
The cute cakes looked just like the highland cows, grazing outside the coffee shop at the Trapp Family Lodge.
I've always wanted to stop in here at the Trapp Family Lodge Kaffeehaus, and we finally did it today. Yummy cinnamon roll and a fine latte to go with it. Also not a bad view of the rolling Green Mountains of Vermont. I see why the famous Austrian family settled here when they moved from Austria.
It was a little early to dip into some of the Trapp Family microbrews, but I am partial to their Dunkel brew.
View from the Coffee house.
Just past 1 Church Street is this beautiful church and grounds. Last time I was here the colors of the leaves was changing and this was really a beautiful scene.
I've always wondered what all these exotic animals are doing on this mural in the alley leading from the parking garage to Church Street.
Another mural, showing off Burlington's vibrant LGBTQ scene.
Coffee and a conversation.
The coffee shop at the Trapp Family Lodge, in Stowe, Vermont.
You can see that Church Street has changed quite a bit.
There was a pretty cool outdoor area at the coffee house at the Trapp Family Lodge.