The Maritime Museum

Last Saturday we were finally able to visit the site of our first tourist pamphlet when we came to Vermont--the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. We had actually tried to visit three different times thinking it was located in Burlington on the lakefront. Every time we gave it up because of the ferocity of the rain. It is actually near Vergennes and was well worth visiting in a drizzle.

The museum is a working museum with several buildings such as the one pictured above. Every building smells of the sea itself and is meant to provide you with every sensation of various ships, shipmen, and sea life. most importantly it showcases the history of Lake Champlain. Our favorite however was the dockside delights. At dockside is the replica of an 1862 steamer, Lois McClure, a replica of a gunboat, the Philadelphia II, captained by Benedict Arnold (Displays point out that he was a wartime hero before commiting treason) and several longboats built by students.



We were given a wonderful tour of the Lois McClure by two volunteers, Ernie and a lady. Ernie was wonderful! A seasoned seaman he explained the ship will be sailing on the 4th of July down the Erie Canal to the Hudson River. He showed us every inch of the ship. We found out from the lady whose name I've forgotten that Ernie is a famous painter who has painted many pictures of the Lake and ships. The first picture is one of his paintings and depicts another important function of the museum. They've charted the entire lake bottom and have pinpointed all the sunken ships. I didn't take a picture of the longboats.
We're enjoying Vermont and its rich history. We're hoping to soon visit another feature of Lake Champlain--Lake Ticonderoga.

Third Time's a Charm

On Memorial Day we decided to return for the third time to Windsor. This trip was to visit two museums which had been closed on our previous visits: the Old Constituion House and the American Precision Museum--a tribute to precision toolmaking in the US. We also visited Bridgewater a small town where our brother-in-law's Vaughn family once lived.
Garth took lots of pictures of the tools, but I took what I was interested in like the bicycle pictured above. The building which housed the tool museum had been a gun factory where they made guns with interchangeable parts--Sharps rifles to be exact. Then it was a bicycle factory and a sewing machine factory. The displays were very interesting (I say that tongue-in-cheek). Hubby loved it.


At the Old Constitution House, we learned from a master. Our guide had written a book on the subject and knew her Vermont history well. She explained that Vermont's constitution was well thought out and planned because the delegates were forced to pay special attention to it because of a thunderstorm. Ira and Ethan Allen, the famed leaders of the Green Mountain boys, were in Windsor as delegates when they, as well as other delegates, learned of the attack on their lands in northern Vermont. Their first inclination was to hurry home, but thunderstorms prevented that perilous ride. At Old Constitution House, Vermont's constitution was signed and they were the 14th state and the first which did not touch the ocean.




We drove through Bridgewater and couldn't find the cemetery. We stopped at the fire station which was like old times for Garth and asked directions. One fireman said, "Which cemetery? There are 20." There were only 4 and we had lots of fun tromping through them. They were in beautiful settings. However, we learned that the one we wanted was only accessibley by 4-wheelers. We are intrigued by the many rock walls throughout New England.



We're, on the downhill run but still have much to do here. We're looking forward to summer--if it ever gets here. I thought you'd enjoy this picture of Dawniella. I think she inherited some of her Grandpa's reading-on-the-toilet genes.

In our Own Backyard

This hapless fellow was found on a recent excursion to a wonderful museum in the capital city of Montpelier. The museum is operated by the Vermont Historical Society and is featuring an exhibit called Freedom and Unity the state motto.



I'm always amazed by the wonderful displays of Revolutionary War memorabilia.




And Civil War. Of course, I loved the old signature quilt. I didn't realize I had my flash on so pardon the glare. This quilt had Bible verses and get well wishes written on the light parts. The bullet in the shoe was so interesting to contemplate.
And here's a couple of other old relics.