Alumni Weekend

A few weekends back I attended my annual Alumni Weekend up in Burlington, VT. I don't get up there as much as I would like but I still have a lot of friends who have stuck around after graduation and have settled down with jobs in the area. The weekend is mostly filled with running into old classmates downtown and watching a few of the sporting events, but there really is no set schedule for the weekend.

Although it is a long ride from Boston (usually about 4 hours), the scenes of the mountains are absolutely amazing. My friends and I were a bit early for the "leaf-peeping" but some of the trees had started to change colors already which was pretty neat to see. If you get the time, I would definitely recommend taking a drive up I-89 N sometime during October or November to see the cool views of the mountains, which the highway seems to curve around and through. You will know you have made it to Burlington when you reach a random pair of whale's tails on the side of the road.

Many of my favorite places in Burlington are down on Church Street, which is similar to an outdoors version of Faneuil Hall. The streets are lined with a variety of shops, bars, and museums with street performers scattered along the main stretch. My favorite restaurant is the Vermont Pub and Brewery. The VPB has their own brewed beer on tap and has a lengthy menu of with a huge variety of food from burgers to soups to my favorite, the Shepard's Pie. If you don't have time to sit down and enjoy a meal try Kountry Kart Deli for the best sandwiches to go. The local favorite is the Rise n' Shiner which is a sub roll with eggs, hash browns, cheese, and breakfast meat.

Although this weekend we didn't get to do any factory tours, there are a lot of well-known businesses in the area that give tours of their factories. The Magic Hat Brewery is just a short drive to South Burlington and gives a brewery tour like nothing you've ever seen. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream also got their start in Vermont and have a tour at their factory along I-89 in Waterbury, VT. Both tours were really personal and are very proud to be based out of Vermont and still making a name for themselves.

I am hoping to make it back up to Vermont this winter and then I can update you on some of the winter activities that the Green Mountain State has to offer.