Vermont....it's the CHEESE

california and wisconsin both brag about their cows and their cheese. i mean really, who hasn't seen those silly "cheese head" hats the green bay packers fans wear every season, or those funny talking cow commercials in california? well my friends, i will have you know that vermont, that little unknown state in the northeast, has some DAMN good cheese.

among the other things vermont is known for: covered bridges, quilts, maple syrup, and men with facial hair (at least that's what the guidebook told us). so monkey and i ventured out to check out this beautiful little state...and though we only made it to the southern tip, we had quite a good experience.

we drove through the rolling green hills of western mass, then up to the little town of brattleboro, vermont (population 12,000). this town is apparently known for it's "60's mentality"...which to me translates into lots of insense, body hair, and birkenstocks. we stopped at this cute farm stand, bought the said delicious cheese, a mini blueberry pie, and some homemade bread. yum! after lunch we explored the main street, with it's cute boutiques, outdoor gear stores, political book stores, and coffeeshops. i bought some fun stickers at the bookshop and some beads for a necklace at the bead shop. almost bought a magnet that had a picture of george w. and dick cheney hugging naked, but decided to save my money for the night on the "town".....

the trip wouldn't be complete without checking out the local watering hole! oh yeah, i forgot to mention the parade that was happening (it was, after all memorial day)...though this was no memorial day parade. this parade consisted of dancers with jingle bells attached to their legs, dancing to the tune of a flute and throwing a scarf-like object in the air. i think they call it "morris" dancing, though even the locals we asked didn't know a thing about it. anyway, the dancers were in the local brewpub (i would be too if i had to dance that ridiculous dance!) they were singing numerous drinking game songs, and by 9pm were totally passed out.

i decided to try my luck on the game of "ringo" (not sure if that's the real name, but that's what monkey called it). anyway, this game consists of throwing a metal ring onto a hook that's attached to the wall. except the ring is attached to a string hanging from a piece of wood. hard to explain, but after attempting over 100 times to get the damn thing on the hook, some poor local came over and showed me the "right" way to do it. once i got the hang of it, it was great, and i promised to make one at home, just to make him feel better.

oh yeah....one more thing about the bar...it was one of those places that you could throw peanut shells on the ground. it reminded me of that bar in chico that has sawdust on the ground. anyway, monkey and i bought a basket of peanuts just so we could throw the shells on the floor. (this became much more amusing after several beers, might i add) :) yup, a fun night was had by ALL!!

friends, those are the highlights from my trip. oh yeah and we passed through vermont's longest covered bridge. oh yeah, and did you know there are 3 different kinds of maple syrup? and that vermont has good cheese?? .......