One of these days we are going to wake up early and travel up to the Swiss Farm Inn in time for breakfast; hint: better get there before 10AM. There’s a sign out front that says “World’s Best Breakfast” and I mean to put that to the test.
Pittsfield also seems to be the capital of river tubing in Vermont. It also has a modest town center with a gas station, a general store and a pizzeria. There’s a parallel road to the main road that allowed us to stop and take photos of the small town green and historic public buildings.
I think I remember that during the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, Pittsfield was pretty much an island. But like true Vermonters, folks showed their grit and ingenuity and got food, water and medical service to their neighbors.
Along Route 100, tubing is big on the Tweed River
One of these days we will actually see if the the world’s best, can’t seem to get there when its open
Our first destination today was Chelsea in hopes of perusing a large flea market that was taking place that day. Unfortunately we got there for the last hour when most of the vendors were taking down their exhibits. It had been rainy and cool all day so I couldn’t blame them.
Chelsea has two town greens, one at each end of the main drag. In between the architecture of the center of town suggests that much history has been preserved there and efforts to preserve even more are ongoing.
Chelsea is a very pretty place both in the center of town and in it’s beautiful Vermont countryside setting which we observed driving in. It was our first visit there but I hope not our last.
Center Chelsea.
Flea day in Chelsea, unfortunately a rainy one.
Who wouldn’t want to go to school in a converted barn?
There seems to be only one town of Royalton but when you visit there you may find yourself feeling that you’re in a place that’s mostly called South Royalton. In any case, we think it has one of the most beautiful town greens we’ve yet seen; and it has two bandstands. Adjacent to the green is a main street of neat little shops and eateries including a Co-op where Robyn finally found some organic All Purpose Flour. There are one or two restaurants there we hope to enjoy when we return.
Royalton is the home of Vermont Law School which contributes a certain elegance to the surroundings. The campus is beautiful and we can understand why someone might want to study the law here. The setting is magnificent.
We also remarked on the unusual number of covered bridges we encountered. I learned later that Royalton has 5 covered bridges, all on the Historic register.
We also found the grave of a very famous horse and a marker for it’s very famous owner as well. A horse originally named Figure and later called Lippitt Mandale was considered to be the horse by which all Morgan horses are measured. I guess you could consider him the prototype of this famous breed. At one point this horse was owned by a Randolph teacher and town clerk named Justin Morgan for whom the breed was named.
We were motivated to seek out these memorials by a book we recently acquired called ‘Off the Beaten Path Vermont’ by Cindi D. Pietrzyk. Can’t wait to see what other hidden jewels this fine book will lead us to.
Not the best-kempt place you ever ate breakfast…but popular none the less, South Royalton.
The standard for all Morgan horses and the sire of many
Vermont Law School- VT is a state where you don;t actually have to go to law school to become a lawyer.
One of these days we are going to wake up early and travel up to the Swiss Farm Inn in time for breakfast; hint: better get there before 10AM. There’s a sign out front that says “World’s Best Breakfast” and I mean to put that to the test.
