Vermont 2021 {10/22: King Arthur Flour, American Precision Museum, Vermont Country Store, Vermont Country Deli, Brigham Young Birthplace}

We wanted to get down to Southern Vermont, and since it's the furthest drive and we had so much to see, we made it into an overnighter adventure so we could fit everything in. We left Jay Peak at 9:00 am on Friday, 22 October, heading South on I-91, which is probably the most beautiful freeway I've ever driven (even when it's cloudy and my photo doesn't capture the beauty!). We stopped at King Arthur Flour to pick up an order I had made online, plus do a little browsing in the shop that I didn't get to do last year. What a fun store! We ate our croissants outside on the table stuffed with some chicken salad brought from home and it was a delicious little picnic.

Next, we drove to Windsor, the Birthplace of Vermont, so we could snap a picture of the Constitution House (it was closed for the season, so this was the best we could do) as we drove by. We were on our way to the American Precision Museum, which was in an old mill/factory building and was full of cool old and new machinery things. Lots of lathes and presses and robots and 3-D printers. We learned a lot, including that Thomas Blanchard (I had never even heard of him!) invented the first matching lathe for interchangeable parts for a gun! Amazing!

Our next stop was a park across the border into New Hampshire (apparently New Hampshire is our go-to spot for parks when we're in east-central Vermont ;) to get some wiggles out before spending time in a giant gift shop, The Vermont Country Store. That place is overwhelming on its own, but get some kids in there with you touching all the things and squeaking all the pigs in the toy department and it's mayhem!

A bit further down the road was our dinner stop at Vermont Country Deli in Brattleboro. Yum! Mac 'n' cheese and pulled pork sandwich and pot stickers and cod - oh my! A yummy feast!

We continued on west from Brattleboro after our dinner, with a quick stop in Whitingham to look at a house that the McClungs were maybe interested in, and also to visit the monument in Brigham Young Memorial Park talking about his birth in that town in 1801. Who knew he was born in Vermont, too? (Not me.)

We continued on to Bennington, settled into our motel room, and called it a (fun and full) day.

I don't know why I even try with the photos-through-the-
windshield thing, but here's another paltry attempt to
capture the scene we enjoyed that morning.

KAF had some super cute shirts, which we didn't
buy, but liked looking at.

I loved their framed collections of random kitchen gear.
So cute!

Photo op!

A peek into the kitchen - making lots o' pizza!

Two things I loved here: that GIANT mixer and HUGE
stack of sheet pans!

Our haul: a Vermont Country Loaf (sourdough), 4
croissants (of the like 30,000 they make a year), a
chocolate croissant (the one with the powdered sugar),
and a Kouign-amann (which I really wanted to try after
learning about them on Great British Baking Show
a few years ago; spoiler alert: it was delicious!).

The Constitution House, aka Birthplace of Vermont!

Isn't the American Precision Museum just cute?

Watching the movie at the beginning of our museum time.

We first heard about Thomas Blanchard in the film at
the beginning of our tour, but then spotted his name on
this sign.

Lots of cool little miniature versions of
tons of machines that actually moved!

An early apple peeler-corer-slicer!

They called the area Precision Valley
a la Silicon Valley of today.

A few things were touchable, and we made
sure to touch them!

They had some nice art in the bathroom ;)

More bathroom art.

Another poster from the bathroom.
This is the mill building that the museum
is in now.

And the last one!

Here's Cal outside the museum.

And here's all of us.

Teeter totter time at the park in New Hampshire.

Pretty field nearby.

And disc golf!

Vermont Country Store is full of the funnest retro-themed
toys and games. I swear I played with this as a kid, but I don't
know where because I know I didn't have it myself!

Sam found this adorable covered bridge
piece for wooden train tracks (but we didn't
buy it because it's $25!).

Just snapping some idea pics for upcoming
gift-giving season. ;)

I saw this last year and snapped a pic
then too, I think. I wish my library had a copy!

Cal spotted this one - she really wants
a harmonica!

I seriously considered getting this one for
my sister Kylie :)

I had one of these as a kid!

This looked kind of cool.

I had one of these, too!

Cute shaped puzzles.

Talk about a blast from the past!

My mom and grandma have tablecloths just like this!
(I had no idea they would be almost $90 to buy new!)

Sneak a little homeschool into breakfast time? ;)

Here's the monument in the corner of the park
about Brigham Young being born in Whitingham.
We didn't see the actual site of the home where
he lived because it was nearly dark and we needed
to press onward to Bennington. Maybe next time. ;)

The next post will document our return trip back to the top of the state!