Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2008 > May > 24 > Entry
No. 48: Vermont!
My lifelong goal of visiting all 50 states reached a significant milestone yesterday: the final of the Lower 48. (Although one could certainly quibble about the amount of time I’ve spent in Rhode Island, Delaware and South Carolina, I’ve spent time on soil in each state and not in airports, which, like embassies, don’t count as local territory.)
But before Vermont, we stopped by the family friendly Maine beach town of York for a taste of its early 20th-century attractions, then buzzed across New Hampshire, breathing in the green hills and the absence of ugly freeway culture along the highways. (Carol assured us that the old mill towns, however, could be plenty depressing.) The lack of commercial access roads, a strategy that TxDot proposed, then abandoned for new highways, clearly had a beneficial effect here.
We lunched in New London — the definition of quaint — in a dark, 19th-century tavern called Peter Christian’s, part of a small family series (Carol haunted the Hanover version while she attended Dartmouth.) Here we ate creamy, cheesy chili, meaty, crumbly crab cakes and drank pale, unfiltered regional ale.
At this point, we needed to coin another word for “quaint” or “cute,” so we went with “cher,” which is French for “dear” and “costly,” which both fit New England village life well. The fact that we were also are listening to Cher’s greatest hits in the car, meant that New Hampshire received a new slogan: The Cher State. (Traveling with Tommy O. is a cher pleasure. For his version of events, turn to his sometimes salty blog.)
Then across a bridge to the 48th state on my childhood itinerary (at age 14, only Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana and Michigan were checked off the life list.) We had time to linger in just one town, so we chose Woodstock, tres cher and vibrant with flowering trees, including white lilacs, as well as covered bridges, 18th-century headstones, and a tidy commercial center. (I purchased Barbara Walters’ well-reviewed, weirdly revealing memoir, “Audition.”)
And sooner than you can say “$5 parking ticket,” we were back on the road to Mass. That night, after serious cheeses from the Fromaggio, we attended the Huntington Theatre’s production of “She Loves Me,” my favorite musical. (Robin Lewis of TexArts, who’s up her doing a show at North Shore, recommended the production.) I see the 1963 romance, based on “Little Shop Around the Corner,” once every 10 years or so, and weep profusely.
We desserted at Jo’s Brasserie in Back Bay, then steered to Carol’s apartment in the South End, which I’m told was once very dicey, but now feels like Paris or Greenwhich Village, with its tenderly preserved brownstones and generous landscaping.
As is my distressing custom on vacation, I spent considerable time in the car planning a road trip to State No. 49: Alaska. (And no, Lizzy, never been to Hawaii. You have that on me.)
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By tommy o'malle
May 26, 2008 9:35 AM | Link to this
great seeing you and kip, bahhhnes. i gotta say, between the front porch in ogunquit and listening to showtunes and cher in the car--this was easily the queeniest weekend of my life.
http://www.tommyomalley.com/2008/05/new-england-boy.html
By Elizabeth Mills
May 25, 2008 10:38 PM | Link to this
Totally jealous! I too, have the lifelong dream of spending real time in every state.Our younger brother, Thomas and I said you had to "spend the night"in the state to make it count. But I like your definition of quaility time and NOT in airports!
So you haven't been to Hawaii?! I actually have ONE on you!?