On the Road AgainBurlington is certainly for the young at heart, a not-so-surprising fact since one of its biggest attractions are tours of the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream plant and the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, located in nearby Waterbury and Shelburne respectively.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were childhood friends from Merrick, Long Island who decided to get away from it all by opening an all-natural ice cream store in Burlington in 1978. Their business quickly became so big that they were forced to expand to their current corporate park in Waterbury, VT. The process of how the company makes its ice cream is detailed in a lively half-hour tour, and, yes, samples are given out at the end.
The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, founded in 1980, has quickly become the largest in their market, thanks in part to its massive radio advertising campaigns. (Their ads have been fixtures on both the “Imus In the Morning Show” and “Howard Stern Radio Program” for years.) Company officials bristle at referring to their teddy bears as toys, since most of their sales come from adults buying bears for other adults. The company offers informative and entertaining hour-long tours of its factory, and one learns how a teddy bear is made from first step to last.
For years, the Burlington waterfront was an eyesore. Government officials then realized that a beautified waterfront would attract tourists, and they pumped millions of dollars into revitalizing the area. The result is the Burlington Waterfront Park, which has jogging and bicycle paths, fishing piers, and plenty of green grass and benches that double as swings. (I told you that Burlington is for the young at heart! Just be careful not to get carried away and hurt yourself).
Also making its home at the Burlington Waterfront Park is the Spirit of Ethan Allen dinner cruise ship, which offers nightly two-hour narrated tours of Lake Champlain, the body of water separating Vermont from New York. The four-course dinner is sumptuous, and there is on-board entertainment. A point of information here: Ethan Allen was an American Revolutionary War hero who helped drive the British out of Vermont. These days, of course, his name is utilized by an upscale furniture company bearing no connection to Vermont.
The nightlife center of Burlington is Church Street, which turns into a pedestrian mall after 7PM. Here you will find inexpensive bistros, brew pubs, coffee houses, and dance clubs. During the summer, try to catch a Vermont Expos baseball game at Centennial Field, located on the campus of the University of Vermont. Centennial Field is one of the oldest baseball parks in use today by a professional team, as it was built in 1922. The Expos play in the New York-Penn League, as do the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Staten Island Yankees.
One of the most famous skiing resort towns in the world, Stowe, is a forty-minute drive from Burlington. Though best known for its winter sports, Stowe is hopping all year long. The best-known resort in Stowe is the Trapp Family Lodge, founded by George and Maria von Trapp in 1956, best known as the inspiration for “The Sound Of Music.” The von Trapps chose to build their chalet in Stowe because of the area’s uncanny resemblance to the Austrian Alps.
A wide array of lodging is available in the Burlington area, ranging from cozy bed-and-breakfast inns to full service hotels. Burlington is a six-hour drive from New York and you can break up the trip by stopping in scenic Lake George. Impatient travelers can get there faster using JetBlue, who has two daily flights from JFK.
For more information call (800)VERMONT.