Gribblenation

Sitting quietly along Vermont 100 within the White River Valley is the Windsor County town of Rochester.  Proudly calling itself "The Heart of the Green Mountains," Rochester is home to about 1100 residents. Many old homes are well kept in Rochester (Doug Kerr - May 2012) Settled and incorporated in 1781, Rochester is surrounded by mountains and nestled in the White River Valley.  Rochester hosts several events throughout the year, including Harvestfest on the first Saturday after Labor Day, a Summer Concert Series, and a weekly farmers' market on Fridays from late May through early October. The Civil War Soldiers Memorial is the centerpiece of Rochester's village green. Rochester is an oddly shaped town - it has many different angles as it annexed land from four adjacent towns in the early 1800s.  It consists of nearly 36,000 acres, making it the largest community in Windsor County. For over 30 years, the Rochester Cafe & Country Store has been a popular spot f...

The town of Jamaica is located along Route 100 in the Green Mountains of Southern Vermont. It has just over 1,000 residents and consists of the villages of Jamaica Center, East Jamaica, and Rawsonville. Jamaica Memorial Library The community is not named after the Caribbean Island but the Natick/Algonquian for "beaver."  Both the West River and the Ball Mountain Brook run through Jamaica. One of the many historic homes in Jamaica. (Doug Kerr - May 2012) Since its charter in 1780, Jamaica has transitioned from a colonial timber industry community to an industrial wool industry in the mid-19th century, to a community driven by outdoor recreation (skiing, fishing, golf, etc.)  Nearby Jamaica State Park is a popular fishing, hiking, camping, and mountain biking destination. Jamaica Town Hall - In addition to the annual town meeting - Jamaica Town Hall hosts community activities and events. Jamaica continues the New England tradition of an annual town meeting.  Held the first...

Prologue Before I start with Day 2, thought I should wrap up, and provide explanation why the Day 1 post stopped after getting to New Hampshire. After crossing into Vermont, I decided to get some exercise by checking out the Quechee Gorge State Park off of US 4 (Exit 1 off of I-89). This is when the fun started. First, it decided, when I was halfway to the Gorge, to start raining. I decided to return quickly back to the car, and in doing so, unbeknownst to me, dropped my wallet on the Gorge Trail. I then drove through often deluging rain (and speeds less than 30 mph) the 50 miles north on I-89 to my hotel. When I finally got there around 4PM and was asked for my credit card for reservation confirmation, it was then I found out I had no wallet, so no cash, cards, license, etc. Since my only stop was at Quechee, I headed back down there, fortunately, for the drive, the rain had stopped. However, the Visitors Center was closed and after I searched the trail a couple times, I went over to...

Have you ever wanted to travel on a single route number for as long as you can take it?  To make as many stops as you can along that route? Well for a long time Vermont 100 has been one of those routes that I wanted to complete in one day.   Nearly 216 miles on one two lane highway through the heart of Vermont.  The idea of driving VT 100 in one setting was inspired by an entry in The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips .  I often refer to this book and other scenic drive books as ideas for various roadtrips. How did we drive it:  We left Doug's place at 6:30 am and arrived in North Conway, NH at around 8 pm. Our Route: I-890, I-90, US 9/20, NY 150, NY 43, NY 351, NY/MA 2, MA/VT 8, VT 9 , VT 100, VT 105, US 5, I-91, VT 105, VT 114, VT 122, I-91, I-93, US 302. (Full Disclosure: we did skip one small segment of VT 100 south of Wilmington - I had already driven that section of VT 100 numerous times so we stated on VT 8 and rejoine...