Vermont- My Punch in the Gut

Have you ever seen a place so beautiful, that the moment you saw it, you felt immediately like you had been punched in the gut? For no explainable reason, that is the way I feel about Vermont.  My inner being aches with the hopes that one day I can set foot upon and enjoy just a piece of the wondrous state of Vermont.  Frank Sinatra sang about it, Ben and Jerry call it home; Maple Syrup became famous there, and John Deere made his very first tractor there.  Since first hearing about Vermont, I have always wanted to go. Not as a party of 1 mind you, but the only way that Vermont can truly be enjoyed in all its glory, with the love of my life, as the song by Old Blue Eyes so romanticized in his song. 

Of course I had no Idea even where Vermont was. Sure I studied it and the other 49 as a youth in school, but the years deteriorate the mind fast, and it wasn’t long before I couldn’t pick out more than merely a handful of Eastern states by appearance alone.  When I found out it was way out East beyond New York, I was humorously flabbergasted! I could not believe that in order to get to this amazing Heavenly dot on the map, one had to pass beyond the Northeast border of New York to get there! In fact, depending on what tiny town of visual excitement within Vermont I chose, Maine and Canada were only a hop, skip and jump away!

           “…People who meet in this romantic setting, Are so hypnotized by the lovely...

            Ev'ning summer breeze, Warbling of a meadowlark…Moonlight in Vermont…”

Never before had a state bewitched me so, other than what is now my most recent longing,  the constant sites and over the top (but effective) blatant marketing for the sunny Aloha state of Hawaii as seen through the new Hawaii 5-0 drama series. Vermont is beautiful for so many reasons. It is what the West is not; lush, quiet, secluded. The West in all it’s excitement from Vegas to L.A. can not begin to offer the romanticism that Vermont pours out abundantly from it’s fingertips at the southernmost point in Brattleboro, to the Northernmost edges of Vermont, including Lake Champlain.

Whatever the hold that Vermont has on me, I am hopeful that one day I can exercise the yearning that is within me to drop in from a very long flight, rest my feet on some of God’s most beautiful country, and take it all in; the colors, the sights, the romantic glow that seems to drip steadfastly from every tree, every covered bridge and every piece of antiquated architecture. 

So there you have it, Vermont, my punch in the gut. A place that is so fantastically beautiful, my fear is that once I arrive, I will never want to leave.  I will chase my dreams; my wish is that you have the opportunities to chase yours!

-Lou

“…Falling leaves, a sycamore, Moonlight in Vermont…”