Alternate Vacation in Manchester, Vermont

"The best laid plans..."

We were planning on traveling to Austin, Texas to attend SXSW. We went last year and had a great time. My wife again received a stipend to write about the movies shown at the festival. This was just when the Coronavirus was starting to rear its ugly head. Large gatherings of people were beginning to get cancelled. We were hoping the date of SXSW would be early enough so it would not be cancelled. Unfortunately the festival was cancelled by the City of Austin, not the organizers. As much as we were disappointed, we realized this was the smart course of action. Testing was not even being talked about at this stage and the 100,000 attendees were coming in from around the world. Also, traveling in a hermetically sealed aluminum tube for 4 hours with recycled air would not have been the healthiest decision.

We still had the approved time off and wondered what we should do. My wife suggested Manchester, Vermont. She and her mom were visiting Bennington, Vermont years ago. They decided to take a ride north on 7A to look for Todd Lincoln's summer home in Manchester, Vermont. Afterwards, they continued north into town for lunch. She was so enamored with Manchester, she remembered the town years later. Hmmm...the Green Mountains, a quaint New England town, long, open stretches of open road...I'll start packing!

In the end it worked out perfectly. We went to bucolic Vermont, we had no schedule, we visited Bennington for an afternoon, and just chilled.

 My wife executing a pincer move to secure a piece of bread.

Local Vermont cheese? Yes, please!

I ordered the Shepard's Pie with braised ribs and my wife tried the Caesar's Salad with shrimp. 

The cost of the breakfast buffet was included in the price of the room.

North Meadow Farm

The only stipulation my wife had for the trip was she wanted to visit a farm. Since it was winter, the farm was closed for the season. However, the owner saw us wandering around and was kind enough to let us feed some of the animals.

Hello!

Zoey's Double Hex Restaurant

Meatloaf with rice pilaf and green beans for me and fish with the same sides for my wife.

Ponce Bistro

These sandwiches were made from local vendors and were beyond delicious.

Porsche Cayenne GTS

BMW M5 (F90)

The Battle of Bennington

No relation to Tony.

Madison Brewing Company

The security guard for the ATM.

Buffalo Chicken Salad for her and the Brats for me. 

Mount Major

A former colleague posted a photo of her hike to Mount Major on her Instagram. I was so inspired by her I went the next day.

There were a few tough spots that made it a challenge to continue upward. There is another trail leading to the summit which is not as difficult. I took the blue trail and she told me it was the orange trail that was a little easier.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame

Driving west on Route 90 in 2018 on our way to Toronto, we passed The International Boxing Hall of Fame. This year on the way to Toronto, we built in time to stop and tour the HOF.

The hall was really just one big room. Although it is well curated, the amount of memorabilia on display is small.

Boxing or a form of hand-to-hand combat in its simplest form is millennia older than all these other sports. The Boxing HOF website states,"...the shrines to baseball, football, and basketball are located in the ancestral homes to those sports. But boxing has no such geographical origin" or timeline that can be at least traced. Since the other major sports could trace their geographical origins their HOF are much older than boxings. Here is a list of the years the other major sports established their HOF:

Baseball 1939
Hockey 1943
Tennis 1954
Basketball 1959
Football 1963
Boxing 1989

The International Boxing Hall Of Fame

Rocky Marciano

"Marvelous" Marvin Hagler

This is the pavillon used for the induction ceremony

This was a nice touch! The actual 82-year boxing ring from Madison Square Garden.

2019 Canadian F1 Grand Prix, Part IV: The Race

Time to go watch some F1 racing!

Both my wife and I prefer experiences over a gift. This experience was special because it combined my favorite things to do; drive long distances, travel to a new city, and watch live a Formula 1 race.

2019 Canadian F1 Grand Prix

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

After the race is over, people jumped the fence and walked the track. I would like to see this happen at Fenway Park after the Red Sox finish a game.

Tire remnants scrubbed off due to the friction of racing.