Solo Work Trip to Burlington, Vermont

My new favorite client sent me out to Burlington, Vermont for a shoot at Champlain College. With no rental cars anywhere nearby, I spent a few days walking around Burlington when I was shooting 360s.

We tried to figure out a way for all of us to go, but for the short amount of time we'd be there it didn't seem worth it for how much it was going to cost. 

I'm not sure if you were aware, but as the largest city in Vermont, Burlington only has 44,000 residents. That's nuts. A small suburb in the Twin Cities.

First meal at El Cortijo. Modern tex-mex in an old dinning car.

The whole city is centered on Church Street, which was full of somewhat bougie stores and restaurants.

At the end of the church street is the Unitarian Meeting House which the street is named for.

I meandered my way down to the Lake Champlain waterfront. In the distance is New York State and the Adirondack Mountains. It's not a Great Lake by any means, but it's big. Twice the size of Mille Lacs in Minnesota or Wisconsin's Lake Winnebago. And those are big lakes.

I was having a hard time finding an accommodation that wasn't $500/night until I found a modern hostel near downtown, My Cousin's Place.

My quaint attic space was only available my first night, so I booked a separate room for the next two nights. Rooms were nice, shared bathrooms adequate and I got to stay an extra night.

After my final full day of shooting I got right back to walking the streets of Burlington.

I had planned on going to a local dim sum place, but it was serving hot pot at night. So I walked south towards City Hall Park and debated what to eat.

Ahli Baba's Kabob Shop fit the bill. I still can't figure out how the crust punk cook managed to check folks out and make their gyros and falafel. Real talent.

One of my contacts at Champlain College suggested getting a beer at Zero Gravity Beer, which was back on the other side of town.

The city's not all that big. Only a healthy mile and a half walk.  Zero Gravity was kind of loud, but the oktoberfest was great. I really was beginning to like this place when American Analog Set came on the sound system only for the song to cut out and Skid Row to take over. The horror.

That's when I knew it was time to head back. Somewhere in here I booked a bike for the next morning.

When I got my breakfast at Henry's Diner all I could think is that Brooke would love this place.

The kids too. 

I even ordered corned beef hash. Brooke's favorite.

😱

Apparently I should've been getting pastries at August First Bakery. Next time.

My main contact and campus guide suggested that after getting the bike I should take the Burlington Greenway to the Lake Champlain Causeway and the Island Line Trail.

I mean, yeah.

Ugh, wish we could do this too. 

Seven miles later and I'd made it to the causeway.

At one point the causeway connected to Grand Isle via a swing bridge. The bridge that served the long abandoned railway was removed decades back. To bridge the gap Local Motion runs a bike ferry for a suggested donation.

Not sure why a bike ferry is this cool. It only lasts ten minutes, but if you love biking or hiking, it's worth the jaunt out into Lake Champlain.

Once off the ferry I continued my ridge onto Grand Isle past apple orchards towards South Hero.

After looking at some antiques I chatted with a local woman about the history of this town hall. It was a convoluted history featuring volcanoes and crops. Hopefully folks will be able to preserve the 200 plus year old structure.

The nice old woman suggested Wally's Place, but beer and burgers sounded better. If I'd only known that Two Heroes Brewery was going to take an hour to get my food to my table. My patience was paid off with a free beer.

Border states sure love waving their neighbors flags. I get it, the Canadian flag rules.

I found my way around the island and down country roads.

Thinking to myself, dang this would be nicer with Theo, Meadow and Brookie. 

I found my way back to the ferry for one last ride.

When I was biking out to the the island, I'd noticed an old growth forest at Rock Point. It turns out that this conserved chunk of land was set aside by the local Episcopal Church and is open to the public. Rad.

I biked back to Local Motion and then walked back through the historic center of the city.

After hanging out back at the hostel, I thought I'd get dinner at a pho joint to the north.

It was a wee bit busy, so I turned around and walked until I found a true hidden gem.

There it was, the teeny tiny Ichiban. I'd be having ramen instead of pho tonight.

This would've been perfect had I made it clear that I wanted ramen WITHOUT tripe.

I got lost a little bit on the way back to the hostel, eventually found my way and packed for the trip back home.

I found out about the service Bounce on the way in. At secure locations like UPS Stores they lock up your bags while you explore town. Perfect for a later flight and early checkout. This time I actually needed it since I had to get out of the hostel at 10 am.

After Lyfting over to the UPS Store, I walked back over to the Burlington proper.

First stop was Centennial Woods on the University of Vermont campus.

Then a zig zagging tour of the University's campus.

Back past the Champlain College campus.

And back to downtown for some Cafe Dim Sum. Not as good as San Francisco of course, but a good way to kill a bit more time.

After lunch I explored Church Street one last time.

Until next time, Vermont.