Varmont Road Trip Index
In the spirit of Harper’s Index, here is our index for the Vermont Road Trip.
Airbnbs stayed in: Five
Miles driven: 3,777
Spent on gasoline: $475.70
State border crossings: 19
Road Sign Math winners found: Ten.
Miles of Appalachian trail hiked: One mile, twice.
Cheeseburgers Tyler ate: 10
Ratio of all Cheeseburgers that Tyler ate: 10 of 18.
Count of boats on: Four.
Floathaus,
Sailboat,
Canal cruise,
Donut boat
Ice cream shops: Nine.
Photos taken: 2,958
Percent of photos taken by Jamie: 54%
Count of books purchased: Nine.
Number of towns visited: 20
Accord,
Albany,
Cleveland,
Douglas,
Fennville,
Hoosick Falls,
Kingston,
Littleton,
Manchester,
Montpelier,
New Paltz,
Pittsford,
Rochester,
Saratoga,
Saugatuck,
Shaftsbury,
St. Johnsbury,
Woodstock (NY),
Woodstock (VT)
Museums visited: Five.
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium,
Historic Huguenot Street,
Woodstock / Bethel Woods Center for the Arts,
Hildene,
Rochester Museum & Science Center
Count of clothes Mazie bought: Five.
Ratio of clothing purchases by Mazie: 5 of 7.
Number of baby Leeches on Mazie's legs: Over one hundred
Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of Vermont Road Trip.
Best Ice Cream of Vermont Road Trip
On our drive back we went back and each of us picked the favorite ice cream we had on our Vermont Road Trip. It was interesting to me that we all picked a different place!
Mazie: Key Lime Pie at Sleeping Giant on Day 4.
Tammy: Mint Chocolate Chip at Kilwins on Day 14.
Tyler: Sea Monster at Charlie’s Around the Corner on Day 13.
Jamie: Peanut Butter Chunk at Greater’s on Day 1.
Vermont Road Trip Log: Day 16, Sunday
Weather: Perfect. Warm and sunny.
- 7:46: Depart Floathaus.
- 7:55a: Uncommon Coffee Roasters for coffee and pastries.
- 8:01a: Depart Saugatuck.
- 9:03a: Entered Indiana 👋
- 9:11a ET/8:11a CT: Back in central time!
- 8:40a: Entered Illinois. 👋
- 10:16a: Entered Wisconsin. 👋
- 11:16a: Rocky Roccocco pizza! Deforest, WI.
- 2:45p: Final Ice Cream stop at C&J Candy Shoppe in Mnemenje.
- 3:29p: Enter Minnesota! 🙌
- 4:02p: Back home! 🏡
- Final odometer reading: 3,894.
Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of Vermont Road Trip.
Vermont Road Trip Log: Day 15, Saturday
Weather: Perfect.
- Breakfast at GROW Café + Bistro. 🍽
- Return shopping at Urban Found for Mazie. 🛍
- Pottery projects at Express Yourself Art Barn. 🎨
- Return visit to Roan & Black for Kimmy Cantrell mask!
- Afternoon ice cream at Blue Star Cafe! 🍦
- Afternoon in the waves and sand, lots of sand, at Oval Beach. 🏖
- Visit to one of our favorites, Salt of the Earth in Fennville for dinner. 🍽
- Pennyroyal Cafe for dessert, huh?
Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of Vermont Road Trip.
The kids buried me in the sand today at Oval Beach. 🥳
Express Yourself Art Barn
We love to visit Express Yourself Art Barn when we are in Saugatuck. They have a ton of great projects and the people that run it create a great space and are incredibly helpful. We decided to all do pottery painting today. Tammy and I did three decorative lanterns in various rainbow effects, Mazie made her own garden stakes, and Tyler decided to do a Turtle Bank!
We have to have them shipped back to us. Hopefully everything makes it in tact! 🤞
When we visited Roan & Black Gallery in Saugatuck yesterday the work of Kimmy Cantrell caught my attention in a big way. I was particularly taken by “Abandoned Nest”, which is coming home with us.
Vermont Road Trip Log: Day 14, Friday
Weather: Perfect day!
- Enjoyed a relaxing morning on the Floathaus.
- Amazing breakfast at Pennyroyal Cafe.
- Check out the art at Roan & Black.
- Iced coffee at Uncommon Roasters.
- Walk around downtown Saugatuck: Teeny Tiny Toy Store, Glik’s, Landshark, it is what it is, Grins of Saugatuck, Jeff Blandford Gallery, Sea Bags of Maine, Wine Sellers of Saugutuck, Amazwi Contemporary Art, Kindel and Company, Urban Found, Good Goods.
- Kilwins Ice Cream.
- Saugatuck Dune Rides Over the Years! 🤩
- Hang out and have fun at Oval Beach. The waves were great.
- Return to Pennyroyal Cafe for a delicious dinner and incredible desserts.
Urban Found storefront in Saugatuck, MI.
Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of Vermont Road Trip.
Saugatuck Dune Rides Over the Years
A trip to Saugatuck would not be complete without the Saugatuck Dune Rides. We took a ride with “Frosty” today and had a blast. We also made sure to get a family picture at the stop on the top of the dune.
Which gives me a moment to reflect on our 2017 dune ride.
And our 2013 dune ride.
Guess we will be back in 2025! 😉
One minute at Oval Beach, Saugatuck, Michigan.
Afternoon craft coffee at Uncommon Coffee Roasters in Saugatuck, MI.
Vermont Road Trip Log: Day 13, Thursday
Weather: Clear morning until Pennsylvania with moderate to heavy rain. Crazy heavy rainfall in Ohio. Weather cleared up in Michigan and rest of the day was very pleasant.
- 6:04a: Depart Airbnb in Rochester.
- 8:05a: Enter Pennsylvania. 👋
- 8:25a: Gas stop on I-90 outside of Erie, PA. ⛽️
- 8:55a: Enter Ohio. 👋
- 9:40a: Just past Cleveland, very heavy thunderstorm and downpours! ⚡️⛈
- Culver’s for lunch in Oregon, OH.
- 12:27p: Enter Michigan! 👋
- 3:35p: Arrive Saugatuck, MI.
- Great afternoon in a Donut Boat rented from Retro Boat Rentals.
- Extended power outage disrupted our plan to have dinner at the Southerner. Had a fine dinner at Fresh Basil Cafe.
- Charlie’s Round the Corner for Ice Cream.
- Settled into the Floathaus of Saugatuck.
Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of Vermont Road Trip.
Floathaus of Saugatuck
For our final destination of this Vermont 2021 trip we are capping off the unique places that we are staying with the Floathaus of Saugatuck. We’ve never stayed on a houseboat, and this is a gorgeous one to give it a try with.
Welcome sign on the dock side of the Floathaus.
Clean, nordic inspired design.
Entrance is along the dock side.
Inside is bright and nordic.
Here is the Floathaus from the water, taken on our Donut Boat ride.
View of Tower Marina from the 2nd floor deck of the Floathaus.
This is our third time in Saugatuck and we’ve gotten to know the place reasonably well, including what some of our favorite ice cream options are.
Donut Boat
After arriving in Saugatuck from Rochester this morning we went straight to Retro Boat Rentals to get our 4pm reservation for our Donut Boat. Only Tammy really knew what we were getting, but we all had an awesome time once we got into our pink Donut Boat and tooled around the Kalamazoo River and Kalamazoo Lake. The donut boat is all electric and extremely quiet and incredibly easy to use. It tops out at a leisurely 4 mph. Perfect for enjoying a beverage and great company.
We spent an hour a sand beach just before the Kalamazoo River enters Lake Michigan before returning the donut to the rental shop. If you ever get a chance to go out in a donut boat, do it. 🤩
Sailboats at Tower Marine in Douglas, Michigan.
Very challenging driving in Ohio on I-90. Very heavy rain. High winds. Limited visibility.
On family vacations I still use technology, but as much as possible I try to put the Internet in “write-only” mode. I’ve done a pretty good job of it this trip. Having Feedbin mark all new items as read has been great to keep diversions away.
Vermont Road Trip Log: Day 12, Wednesday
Weather: 89 °F, feels like 103 °F. 🥵
- Mad Hatter for breakfast.
- Rochester Museum & Science Center.
- Iced Maple Latte with extra shot at Ugly Duck Coffee.
- Shopping stop at Millenium Games
- Pittsford Farms Dairy for Ice Cream.
- Boat tour down the Erie Canal on the Sam Patch.
- Delicious Good Luck Burger for dinner.
- Prep for an early departure tomorrow!
Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of Vermont Road Trip.
Good Luck Burger
One of the things we wanted to do in Rochester was to return to Good Luck to share a Good Luck Burger. “1 lb. house-ground, grass-fed local beef on brioche with cuba cheddar, vegetable slaw & fries.” You split this four ways. We had to return here after our visit in 2018, 3 years and 1 day ago.
I may need to learn how to make this.