This Day in NLM History

A year ago today the Not Lame Minus crew (Gavin, Rob, Brian & I) were in the middle of our annual fall trip. We had decided upon Burlington, Vermont for two reasons: 1) it took the others too long to decide where to go (The Chestnut House on Nantucket, one of our favorite "off-season rate" places to stay, had already filled up); and 2) we'd never been there, and felt like going somewhere different than our customary island trips (plus: no ferry cost!).

Since we were coming from two different directions that Friday, and because Brian & Rob had gotten out of work hours earlier than Gavin was able to, they went to the UVM vs UMBC hockey game, had dinner & a few beers, and awaited our arrival at the local RiRa. After a 3-hour drive Gavin & I arrived at the Shelburne Super 8 around ten pm, checked in, then headed out to meet the others. The four of us had a couple more beers, Gavin & I ate, and we headed back to the motel to crash.

Saturday morning we took our time getting started, and then we pigged out at the local Denny's for a cheap breakfast before heading downtown to wander around the cool shops of Church Street Marketplace. The weather was brisk, but clear and sunny, so armed with either sweatshirts or jackets, and coffee from Uncommon Grounds, we walked down the hill to the shore of Lake Champlain. We wandered all over the place: Rob & Brian took many pictures (funny statues, cool rooftop ironworks, fall foliage, lakefront vistas, etc...); we walked through a couple of parks; hung out on the water (the docks); goofed around in a nearby train yard; and I stopped at the Local Motion bicycle shop, where I bought a flying disc for us to throw around (which we didn't), and made a donation to their bike trail preservation cause.Back to Church Street to split a large at Ken's Pizza (we were all mesmerized by our waitress, a spunky athletic brunette who had a husky voice, an angelic face, and charm enough for all four of us!), and then it was back to the motel to chill, change, and (re)charge for the evening.

We walked around downtown to find a place to watch the Red Sox game, and settled on a place called Finnigan's Pub. They were having technical difficulties, but when the game finally came on, we had a few beers, surrendered our table to an older couple looking for a place to sit in the crowded bar, and then headed to The Vermont Pub & Brewery for dinner. Wow! What great food. I had one of their Dogbite Bitter Classic ESB's (fantastic!) with some kick-ass fried oysters, and a humongous fish & chips platter. I was SO stuffed, that I only had one more beer the entire night! Our gorgeous waitress even turned on the restaurant's projection tv especially for us, so we could watch the rest of the Red Sox game ☺ After wandering around fruitlessly to find a promising place for more beer, we finished the night back at RiRa, where it was packed like a sardine can, but a cool Irish band was playing, and it was worth it to see the Red Sox win Game 6 of the ALCS, making the series 3-3 and forcing a Game 7 (they would ultimately lose the series the next day, but hey, it was a good way to cap the evening).Sunday morning we packed and headed out. We had breakfast at The Burlington Bagel Bakery & Cafe, where I've never had such an amazing sausage, egg & cheese bagel in my LIFE. Seriously, I had a dream recently about how delicious that sandwich was, and it's a big part of why I am still kind of sad that we couldn't afford to go back this weekend (haha)... But I digress. The drive back home was so picturesque, I will never forget it: fall foliage in New England at it's best - driving up & down winding mountain roads, multicolored trees on all sides, and that glorious smell of crisp dry autumn air filling my nose and lungs. Sure, it was a 3-hour drive, and there was a 20-minute hold-up during construction at a narrow switchback, but it was the perfect end to a fun weekend in Vermont.

All photos by Brian!