Vermont in Instarecap 2016 Edition

This was my first time visiting Vermont in the summer in over 3 years. When I first returned from England we made a special trip down to Vermont to see the fall colours, but Vermont in each season is so different than that last, one cannot be compared with another. Not really. I was very glad to be getting back for this season. Getting back to the creemees, the lobster dinners, the swimming, the pedestrian street shopping, and the nature. Here is a instareview of my summer trip.

Top left to right: Timbits on the way down, Safety first with Betty at the water, family dinner out at the new Waterworks, eat corn at Paul Mazza's, Sunset over Lake Champlain.
Bottom left to right: Old Gold is a fave vintage shop, boats on the Bay, colourful kayaks, Black Raspberry Creemee from Broadacres, traditional lobster night

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Beansies: a Vermont Icon

While I was in Vermont I was talking to a friend back home and they asked me what I was up to that day.

Me: We are heading to Church Street for some shopping, then Beansies for Michigans and topping it off with Creemees.
Them: That sounds awesome, but I understood very few of those words.

That's when I realized that Vermont is a magical unicorn that only few people have the privilege of experiencing.

This is Beansies, a Burlington institution

Opened in 1944 in a retrofitted old yellow school bus, it serves from April to October, 10:30am to dusk, 7 days a week and located at the corner of Battery Park, Burlington, Vermont. It's food is award-winning. Literally.

There was a time when getting food from a truck was a novelty, but although today's gastro-truck can give Beansies a run for it's money, it still stands up against the competition. It's won Best Food Truck for the past 3 years.

It severs up simple all-American foods; hamburgers, minute steaks, Michigan dogs, fries, and creemees.

We went for the Michigan Dogs with a large fry to share (A Michigan is a 'steamed hot dog on a steamed bun topped with a meaty sauce, generally referred to as Michigan sauce'.)

The food is good and the setting is even better, as your in a lovely lush park which is set on a cliff that over looks Lake Champlain. I mean, just look at this view.

Although I'm sure the creemees at Beansies are wonderful, we couldn't turn our back on our favourite flavour of Black Raspberry available at another Vermont institution, Al's Frech Frys

Chocolate dipped and all.

Ever been to Beansies? What's your favourite food truck? Let me know in the comments below.

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Best Things to do In Vermont in the Summer

Favourite things to do in Vermont in the summertime in no particular order

1.Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream in Waterbury

Visiting the factory where this creamy goodness is made is always a treat to do. It's a lovely drive up to the small town of Waterbury and you are rewarded with rolling hill views and ice cream. I have yet to convince my family to stop at the antique shops that dot the roadside.

2.Drive through the Notch

This can follow a trip to Ben & Jerry's as Smugglers Notch is on the mountain road between Stowe and Jeffersonville. Worth the detour for the windy roads, picturesque rocky stops and short hikes if you are so inclined. I am not.

3.Shopping on Church Street

It's four blocks of pedestrianized walkways with local and some chain stores on either side. Restaurant patios extend into the bricked lane and with the hustle and bustle of shoppers, buskers, and shop workers it has a great lively atmosphere.

4.Sailing on malletts Bay

Obviously this one is a bit tricky if you don't have access to a boat or a friend with a boat. But generally just getting out onto and into the water will do. Grab that beach towel and head to the sandy shores of Malletts Bay.

5.Watching the Sunset Over Lake Champlain  

Sunsets are a thing of beauty almost no matter the setting, but over Lake Champlain the sun really does seem to outdo itself each night. Worth a viewing at least once.

6. Go to a Baseball game
The Vermont Lake Monsters is a minor league team for the Oakland A's. They play in Centennial Field on the University of Vermont campus.

7.Eat at Beansies 

Go for the Michigan, stay for the fries!

8.Creemees

Also known as soft serve ice cream, but doesn't it sound more appetizing as a creemee? A family favourite is Black Raspberry or Maple. It is Vermont after all.

9.Bike Riding along Island Line Trail

Bike riding in general is a fun summer activity, doing it along the waterline makes it so much more enjoyable. Rent a bike in Burlington or bring your own.

10.Movies at Sunset Drive-in Theatre

Two movies for the price of one in the comfort of your own car? Count me in. This is a tradition for my mum and I. When I was a kid, I remember thinking it was soooooooo late when the movies finally ended. I mean, yeah it is late, but it's summer and when else should you indulge yourself?

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I Scream, You Scream

Yes, the weather has grown colder, but you will never convince me it's not ice cream season. 

We visit Vermont often enough, having family there, and a visit to Ben&Jerry's Ice Cream factory in Waterbury, is usually on the list of things to do. It has a little something for everyone. A retail store to buy merch, a factory tour, museum display of B&J's ice cream history, park grounds, vista views of mountains, a flavour graveyard, and of course an ice cream shop. 

Vermont was the first state to require labeling of foods made with GMO ingredients and Ben&Jerry's is in full support of this new law. They are a great company that has always had a strong morality in the way they do business and their community efforts.

They started their small ice cream business in a renovated garage in Burlington, Vermont in 1978. My parents often regal me with tales of how date night consisted of a small scoop of ice cream and a parking lot movie, projected off the white exterior wall of the shop. They tell me how Ben (or was it Jerry?) first served them in their opening week.

At lease she begs politely 

Of course Ben&Jerry's has a flavoUr graveyard, honouring all the past flavours that just weren't as loved by customers as B&J thought they should be. Vermonty Python anyone?

We don't have too many Ben&Jerry's scoop shops in Canada, but they are in England and every time I came across one in London, it brought a smile to my face and made me think of home. Now who wants some ice cream?!