Burlington, Vermont and discovering Lake Champlain Chocolates

During our stay in Barnard, Vermont, we took a day trip up to Burlington.  It was about 2 hours away---there is a GREAT deal to do in Burlington; we barely scraped the surface.  From a natural perspective, Burlington is home to Lake Champlain- a gorgeous lake that is mainly within the borders of the US; however, some of it is within Canada's borders in the province of Quebec. It is a freshwater body of water and is connected to the Hudson River by the Champlain canal.  There are a variety of water activities in this area- but our visit was short and we wanted to get to a few places before dark. Burlington is a college town, much like Colorado's Boulder- in fact, their 'downtown' area was so similar, it was quite strange.  This town is much more eclectic than the rest of Vermont- it had a new-age 'hippy' feel to it, in fact. 

Burlington is also home to the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, The University of Vermont, and Lake Champlain Chocolates! College students were everywhere, especially in the quaint downtown area.  We missed the teddy bear factory, but we DID make it to the chocolate store.....

We made it!!

and here's where all the 'makin'' takes place!

It looks rather industrial....

The story of their chocolate

inside the store

The Lake Champlain Chocolate insignia

Loved this Metal and Light building in Burlington---the rhino w/ the pumpkins!

Burlington's City Hall

The quaint downtown district

Bicycles were everywhere...again, like Boulder!

Loved the menu of this delightful little cafe'

Don't you just love the word BISTRO?  I do!

I SO wanted to take this 'kitty' rug home w/ me!

Some of the architecture of Burlington

Loved the little 'flat' pumpkin on the tree stump

The colors of Burlington

In my opinion, Burlington was more 'city' than I needed in my trip- but we did love our trip to the chocolate store.  We also had a yummy little meal at City Market- Burlington's version of Whole Foods....we headed back to Barnard and our wonderful inn...it had begun to rain.....stay tuned!!

Woodstock, Vermont: Antiques and Houses, Shops and Pumpkins

Woodstock, Vermont is another quintessential New England town.  I loved walking through the leaves on the sidewalks.  The stores were completely outfitted for Fall, and there are many inns, coffee shops, and antique stores to keep anyone happy- we spent several hours on Main St and loved it all.  We even found a darling bookstore that has a mascot- a Bernese Mountain dog- of course, one of our favorite breeds since we had Moose, a berner we owned for almost 7 years- I would have taken a picture but there was a sign in the shop to NOT take a picture of the dog unless you paid them 2 dollars- so trust me, he was cute!

I hope you enjoy the pictures....I'd love a comment or two, just to know you liked it or not.....it kind of makes my day, you know? I'm missing New England myself as I sit here writing this.....

this child's merry-go-round was amazing

love the old stroller

A flower press? hmmmmmm It's actually a linen press!

Things are certainly easier these days......that iron actually looks dangerous!

Oh so blessed to have my Rowenta!

I LOVE MOOSE- so loved this guy!

Transferware is always a favorite of mine

This secretary was very special

Love the pumpkins on the ledges above windows
I know a gal on MV who does this!

A very special grand entrance - main street Woodstock, Vt

This pumpkin totem was so fun!  Susan G. told me she saw one, too!

I kind of just liked the simplicity- a pumpkin and some mums

if not for the 'car' in the glass window, this one could be a painting

This little 'totem' was just piled up next to a shop

the sidewalks of Woodstock were strewn with leaves

and flower boxes full of bright mums were everywhere

this shop amazed me- steel beams holding it up over the water

mums...

Loved the homemade sign and all the desserts in the window

Time for a cup of coffee---how fun is this?

Well....there's also the Vermont Flannel store in Woodstock---Made in the USA

such thick, warm, and soft Flannel- yes, I bought some!

an antique carriage

I thought this old bike/scooter was adorable

I think someone's garden was bountiful in pumpkins

and a river ran through it

buildings were right up next to the water actually

a little shop that had very colorful beauty goodies

loved the pink shutters and punkins

this is the antique store the children's toys were in

the Jackson House INN in Woodstock- This place is FABULOUS!!
They have an outstanding restaurant, gorgeous rooms, beautiful gardens in the back,
and incredible attention to detail.  I added a link so you can check it out yourself

                                                                        

                                                                        

                                                                          

Happy Halloween!!

I'm just going to take today and present you with some awesome Halloween decorations for inside and outside- most were taken on my trip to New England--some from my trip to California @ Roger's Gardens! I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween-----it's because of YOU I do what I do!

I LOVE FALL!

Pumpkins on the steps of the Inn

Lovely Fall wreath at the Maple Leaf Inn, Barnard, Vt

Some parts of Vermont had already passed their prime colors when we were there

Balboa Island, CA had gorgeous Fall flowers in their windowboxes

Yes, it was about 80 degrees!

A HUGE display of white pumpkins in every size- this was just a few of them

Gorgeous pumpkins for purchase @ Roger's Gardens

love the pumpkin and plant displays

Rooms @ Roger's Gardens were filled with gorgeous and SCARY displays

Roger's made Kewpie dolls scary!

I love this gorgeous beaded pumpkin and really SO EASY to do!

My middle daughter checks out the gorgeous hanging baskets with pumpkins all around- ONLY 4 weeks ago in CA

yes, he's always been scary to me!

Roger's Gardens filled this candy machine with rats!

My granddaughter with unknown 'ghoul' at this year's Halloween Party.  The theme was Alice in Wonderland

Her Mom, my daughter, the Queen!

I will be doing individual blogs on Roger's Gardens and the Maple Leaf Inn, so I'll attach contact information then.  Stay tuned....I LOVE comments- won't you leave one for me and tell others about my blog! I would really appreciate it!

Happy Halloween!!

With Love from The Real Girl!