Naidni SOME OF OUR FAVORITE PLACES IN VERMONT Brandon: arty town, very good French café, art gallery and antiques. Also check out the Warren Kimball Gallery. East Middlebury: (Go up Rt. 7 and Right on 116) The Waybury Inn has a formal dining room with excellent food. On Sundays there is a spiffy brunch: also check out the Pub that is in the back of the Inn. It has local draft beer and great venison burgers. On the way to Middlebury there is Woodware up on the left that is worth exploring. We like Rosie’s for breakfast. Great antiques shops along Rt. 7. There is Hannafords that is a huge new grocery store on your left near McDonalds. Middlebury; stroll around--mildly interesting. Best grocery store is Shaws behind Chittenden Bank. Also, check out the Middlebury Food Coop across the street. There is Frog Hollow which is an upscale crafts place. Restaurants: --American Flat Bread at the Marble Works becomes a restaurant on Friday and Saturday nights. Fabulous pizza, etc. --Tully and Marie’s that sits on the river has a neat porch weather permitting and has good food. --The Dog Team is about a 5 to 10 mile drive above Middlebury right off Rt. 7, look for a sign on your left. It’s a lot of food--prime rib (we avoid the seafood entrees—remember this is Vermont) is delicious and has great sticky buns that come with the meal. It’s an experience! Rochester, VT: across Rt. 73, a lovely half hour ride (watch out for moose—really!) The Huntington Inn is upscale and worth the bucks. It is a gorgeous place and has a pub menu. Mt. Philo: on a nice day for some spectacular panoramic views of the Champaign valley after a rather steep but short climb (if you want to cheat you can drive to the top). There are some tables at the top if you want to do a picnic. You can walk down the road instead of the trail to the parking lot. It is off Rt. 7 in Charlotte—to the right. Vergennes: a nice town near Philo. Grab a neat sandwich at Eat Good Food. : Longer day trips: In East Middlebury take Rt. 116 north to Bristol (terrific Creamee stand). Right past Bristol take Rt. 17 to Lincoln and the Lincoln Gap road to Warren. From Warren go to Waitsfield on Rt. 100 to Stowe. Stowe is a wealthy, beautiful town—a great ski area so it has a number of good restaurants. Take the Mt. Road to Mt. Mansfield and park at the top and you can walk along the top of the mountain as far as you want. There is a small Ranger station at the top. Call us on your cell phone if you reach the top! Also around Stowe there is the Von Trappe Lodge, where if you listen carefully you can hear The Sound of Music and some random yodeling. Around Naidni: There is a neat one hour (or less) gradual trail up to Silver Lake. Trail starts across the lake from us. The Robert Frost Poetry Trail and home are in Ripton (Rt. 125). Texas Falls is a little farther up Rt. 125.