Vermont, Part Two.

Our hotel was a couple miles outside Burlington proper, just off the interstate. We had gotten it through Pr1celine, so we were paying next to nothing and it was much nicer than what we are used to. We unloaded our stuff, washed up and changed clothes, and headed out to explore.
Waterbury was about twenty minutes away, and we figured that visiting Ben & Jerry late on a Thursday afternoon would be better than doing so early on a Friday. We stopped at the Green Mountain coffee roaster on the way and fueled up, and by the time we got to the Ben and Jerry's factory we were just in time to take the 4:20 tour. Sweet. It was quick but interesting. The automated machines reminded me of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. At the end of the tour we got a sample of Cinnibun iced cream. It was only about as big as a large shot of liquor, but it was sickly sweet and I had no need for a cone when we finished the tour. We took a bunch of pictures, walked around a bit, and then got back in the car to head to Burlington.
Burlington is smaller than I thought it would be, which was nice because it made finding stuff a lot easier. We pretty much just drove downtown and parked and walked around until we saw something we wanted to eat.
We ate at a noodle shop called P@cific rim. The food was okay and the service was spotty at best, but we were on vacation and couldn't have cared less. They were also out of several things on the menu, and I began to suspect that there was an elaborate Fuck With Hey Bartender plot unfolding, but I managed to press on. I had a decent local beer on tap but I can't remember what kind.
We were both impressed by the lakefront. There were a lot of nice restaurants, and nothing seemed outrageously priced just because it was on the water. We parked at a meter and walked along while the sun was setting. There were large wooden swings placed at intervals along a biking and foot path on the lakefront, and after we walked around a bit we took advantage of one. We watched a lot of people walking their dogs, which of course made us miss ours, and noted that many of them were swimming in the lake - something that Kilgore will really enjoy. After the sun set we made our way back to the hotel and watched TV until we crashed early.
Friday morning we got up early and went back to Green Mountain for coffee. Then we drove up to Mt. Pelier to get the lay of the land. We found downtown and parked, walking a short way until we located the NECI restaurant. It was a beautiful day. SLightly overcast and breezy and cool, so we sat outside for lunch. When I went in to use the rest room I saw signs pointing to classrooms, and there was a window into the kitchen. Our waitress was very nice, totally competent, and seemed to really enjoy her job, which was comforting because she was obviously a NECI (they pronounce it "necky", which I find very weird) student. Anyway, the meal was great, the latte was perfect, and the people next to us had a dog. The b.h. had some kind of seafood soup thing with mussels, and I had a house made black bean burger. When the guy at the next table got up to get some water for his dog, who was seated out on the sidewalk a couple feet away, he was accosted by Mormons. The b.h. took a picture. I wish he had taken video, because their speech was hilarious.
After we ate we walked around a bit. The local library is in a building that is very old, very large, and totally beautiful They were having a book sale, and even though I had no desire to lug books around in my luggage, I had to step in and take a peek. I love the smell of libraries. I did wind up buying a book, because it was old and beautiful and they let me name my own price (which was two dollars, for which I got a very earnest and surprised "Thank you"). I'll try to post a picture of it later.