A Rainy Day in Vermont

First - a correction from yesterday… the covered bridge is the longest double span bridge in the world which means it has one stone support in the middle. Yikes! Just knowing it was wide enough for 2 vehicles was enough for me.

Second - everyone wants to know about the smoke pollution where we are which is Jeffersonville, Vermont. The AirNow app reports only “moderate” for here whereas at home at 6 p.m. it was reported as “hazardous” although it’s been upgraded to “unhealthy”. Guess we were lucky to have left when we did.

Now back to the blog news… 

This first photo is near where we’re staying. Some talented artist has painted circular murals on the sides of two old barn silos. Although not in the photo, John is somewhere off in the field pointing at this one. He thinks the Zahns should take note and get some art on their old silos.

From there it was shopping - woolen mill, artist coop, cookware store and a bit of food and music in Burlington which was having a jazz fest.

Having already been to the Shelburne Museum, we opted to visit the 1,400 acre Shelburne Farms which was the agricultural estate of Lila Vanderbilt and William Seward Webb in the late 1800s. Olmsted was hired to landscape the farm and Robertson hired to design the buildings.

This magnificent building, believe it or not is the barn. At the time it was built it was the largest barn in the U.S. Although it still has a few animals living there, it now also houses a cheese making operation, a bakery/cafe, a woodworking shop, and educational space. The general public is not allowed to drive there so you can either walk the 3/4 mile or ride in a wagon pulled by a tractor. (We rode. It was raining after all!.)

This was the Webb’s home which has now been converted to an inn with 24 guest rooms. It overlooks beautiful formal gardens (one reason I wanted to visit) and both the Inn and gardens overlook Lake Champlain. The inside is just as beautiful and, although the guest rooms aren’t open for general viewing, we were encouraged to look at them online on a big screen rather than a phone. Eighty percent of the furnishings are original to the house. Hopefully this means the mattresses have indeed been replaced somewhere along the line!

Heading into Canada & Louise Penny sites tomorrow!