(Date: April 24, 2016)
After crossing into the Green Mountain state, I continued along on I-93 through the mountains until I got to St. Johnsbury, Vermont where it terminates at I-91. However, as soon as I got on I-91, I got off the freeway to head west on Highway 2 toward Montpelier. Along the way I drove through many small villages such as Danville and Plainfield as well as see the beautiful farmland along with the small lakes and mountains in the area.
After a drive on US 2, I made into Montpelier, the state capital of Vermont. After crossing the Winooski River, I drove into the small but astounding downtown area with a lot of shops and restaurants. I parked my car along State Street in front of the Vermont State House. Although I was behind schedule, the scenery was pretty nevertheless especially with the hills and mountains surrounding the area. Once I got out of my car, I stood in front of the Vermont State House. Built in 1859, the building was full of beauty with the gold dome on top.
As Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the United States, the city is very walkable. From the capitol, I walked east on State Street gazing at the numerous historic buildings housing many of the state offices. Many of the buildings date back to 1867 or 1868 such as the Christ Episcopal Church as well as the building hosting the Vermont Department of Personnel although it was completed in 1870. Other remarkable buildings include Pavilion Office Building, a re-creation of the Pavilion Hotel of 1876, along with the Washington County Courthouse, built in 1880. For a small courthouse, it is very beautiful.
State Street eventually ends (or begins) at Main Street in an area with a lot of restaurants as well as the city hall and the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. I first took a quick walk over to the area with the library to check out the building from afar. The skies around sunset with the view of the library next to one of Montpelier’s churches made it a pretty sight. After turning back the other way on Main Street, all of the buildings looked very beautiful looking south toward the hills nearby.
I walked back into the car to drive up one of the hills overlooking the city. I drove up toward Hubbard Park, located on one of the larger hills just north of the state capital. Once I drove into the park, I found a road which heads south out of the park and into a residential area. However, the view from the top was just beautiful. It made for a great drive down the swerving hill back into Montpelier.
Originally I was going to be eating dinner that night in Burlington where I would be staying the night, however, as it was getting late, I decided to eat in Montpelier. When I was walking around downtown earlier that evening filming my Let’s Visit video, I happened to come across an Italian restaurant, Sarducci’s, right along the Winooski River. After hearing about the excellent reviews, I went inside to get something to eat after I drove back into downtown from the park
The interior of the restaurant was quite nice as it would make a great romantic dinner. I ordered the crab ravioli with shrimp, and it was very appetizing! The vodka tomato cream sauce tasted heavenly as it coated the crab-filled homemade ravioli and the shrimp. Every bite was a delight; it was so delightful that my visit to this restaurant was made into a Scottman895 Travel Delights video! When visiting Montpelier, you must come to Sarducci’s!
Sadly, it was time to leave Montpelier as it was getting into the hours of twilight. Thankfully, there were no sights of vampires or werewolves anywhere. Anyway, I absolutely loved the drive going from I-89 from Montpelier to Burlington. Although it was getting very dark, there was enough sunlight in the air for me to still see the beautiful Green Mountains on both sides of the freeway. With the light traffic, it was very serene. Although I spent most of my time driving with my SiriusXM satellite radio, I drove this stretch with it off due to how peaceful it was.
Just east of Burlington, I finally made it to my hotel, the Best Western Plus, located on US 2 just east of I-89 (technically it is in South Burlington, VT). The hotel was very nice, and the room I stayed in was nice and cozy. After a long day of exploring northern New England, I fell asleep without any trouble. Thank you for reading another blog post from my New England road trip, and this is Scott signing out!
Scottman895 Travel 
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