Explore Vermont In Retirement

On a recent weekend getaway, we fell in love with Vermont again.  It’s a beautiful state. The mountains are gorgeous, and the state roads and highways are free of billboards.  There are farms and small cities and there is a rustic feeling throughout the state.  If you explore Vermont in retirement, you might not want to leave.  There is friendly restraint to the people who have lived here all their lives and it’s as if they’re saying “we know what we have here so please don’t change it” or at least that’s the impression I got.  And they’re right.  They shouldn’t change a thing because the state is unique and beautiful.  That’s the wonderful thing about our country; every part is different and has a story of its own.  Being able to travel at a leisurely pace is one of the most rewarding things about retirement.

You'll be very glad you took the time to explore Vermont in retirement.  It has something for everyone.

If you like a small city, Burlington is a wonderful place to start.  It’s definitely a college town and a center for arts and culture, there’s always something going on and the restaurants, bars and breweries are worth a visit.  When you explore Vermont in retirement, you can find unique spots that appeal to almost everyone.  To me, the best part is traveling through the state.  If you’ve spent any time on this website, you know that I love the mountains.  I like driving through them and stopping in all the little towns along the way.  I love the ski resorts and how they adapt to the slow summers in anticipation of the cold and the snow.  When you get to know locations like this and read about a drought or a “snowless” winter, you really feel bad for the residents because that’s how they make a living.  It’s also been a great source of interest and learning as we go through our retirement years at a slower pace than our one-week vacations during our working years.  You get to know what life is like in a lot of different areas and you feel a connection to the people you’ve met and feel incredibly sad when something tragic happens.  The fires in Maui brought back memories for us of our time there but it also made us incredibly sad when we saw the devastation that the fires had caused.  The same was true when we heard about the fires in California.  When you visit Vermont, you’ll make those same types of connections.  It’s amazing how attached you can become to a location when you travel.

Of course, I would make it a priority to visit Calvin Coolidge’s Birthplace when you’re in Vermont but that might not be at the top of everyone’s list.  It is a very well-maintained site with passionate volunteers who tell the story of this simple (but very smart) man who became Vice President after gaining popularity as the Governor of Massachusetts.  Coolidge’s handling of the Boston Police Strike was widely acclaimed, and Warren Harding chose him as his running mate in 1920, and they won by a huge margin.  Unfortunately, the Harding Administration was very corrupt.  Coolidge refused to get entangled in the illegal dealings that resulted in the Teapot Dome Scandal and the public didn’t seem to take it out on Harding who remained very popular until he died suddenly in San Francisco.  Coolidge was staying in Plymouth Notch where he had grown up on his father’s farm.  Upon hearing about the death of Harding and realizing he was now President, Coolidge’s oath of office was administered by his father in this little farmhouse which can now be toured.  Coolidge was as uncharismatic as you could get but clung to his values and was a man of honesty and integrity.  That’s not a bad combination.  Mr. Coolidge loved his state and, if you explore Vermont in retirement, you will too.  The mountains and the trees are magnificent in the fall.  It’s surprising to learn that, back in the 1930’s, much of this area had been completely deforested.  Thankfully, the trees are back, and the fall season makes this one of the most beautiful sites in the country.

There are many places to explore in retirement, but Vermont is one of the loveliest.  We have been extremely fortunate to be able to explore a lot of this wonderful country. If you like history as much as I do, visiting some historic sites is a painless way to learn about this country’s wonderful history. It’s one of the great joys of retirement so we encourage everyone to do so.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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