Manchester Memories:  Nostalgic About Fall Foliage Trips with Mom

Mom and Me Shopping in Vermont in 2017

I grew up with five brothers and no sisters. My parents had four boys in a row, then me and many years later another boy. With this configuration, I was destined to be either a tomboy or a girly-girl. My mom was a little of both. But since she finally had her long-awaited daughter, she wanted to make sure I became as much of a little lady as possible. And what’s one of the most feminine pastimes? Most would agree that shopping and going out for lunch rank high in that category. Yes indeed, a tremendous amount of female bonding takes place over browsing the boutiques and chatting about life over a delicious lunch of quiche and salad.

There’s Nothing Like Vermont in the Fall

We lived in Troy, New York, just fifty minutes from Bennington, Vermont, close to the New York/Vermont border. Manchester is less than a half hour from there, so in all it would be about an hour and fifteen-minute trip. As soon as we left our house and headed east we plunged into delightful countryside, passing small family farms and traversing quaint villages as rural upstate New York morphed into bucolic Vermont. Rolling through once verdant landscapes kissed by fall’s golden sun and chilly nights, we delighted in viewing an artist’s palette of every variation of red, yellow, burnt umber, sepia and chartreuse. The brush, fields, flowers and trees all revealed their autumn splendor.

As if this festival of colors was not enough, most every house and business was done up with often fabulous displays of pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn (now known as Ornamental corn), cornstalks and sometimes a smattering of ghosts. Here the scarecrows were authentically clad and many had also served a purpose in the fields where crops had been freshly harvested. Today, these colloquial scenes have been souped up with giant plastic blowups in the form of spiders, ghouls and other representations of today’s exuberance over Halloween.

Yet the sincerity of these Vermonters remains true; fall is a time of sensory celebration. As many in the world know, autumn in Vermont stirs all of the senses.

Sure, the traffic through these country roads and towns has increased over the years. But when you’re on a fall foliage tour, leaf peepers don’t care much. That was the case for Mom and me when we had encountered a few jam ups some years back. Those slowdowns provided us with the opportunity to take a closer look because driving to Manchester meant enjoying the sites and scenery along the way. One could take a week going to Manchester from the capital district area of New York, a route followed by many New Yorkers, including those coming up from the city.

Peppered with antique shops, farm stands, all kinds of specialty shops and places to enjoy a bite, this near-famous Route 7 could easily be considered one of the top shopping and touring thoroughfares of New England. 

Mom and I Hitting a Vermont Country Store

When Mom and I were making Manchester our final destination, we’d typically only allow ourselves to stop at a handful of spots because we wanted to save a chunk of time for this oh-so happening Vermont town. Our goal would often be to arrive at The Equinox, an inn that has existed since 1769. Spotting the tall and stately columns in the front of the inn signaled that we were stepping back in time. Lunch within this bastion of tradition was always very special. Today, known as The Equinox Golf Resort & Spa, this historic property continues to evolve and is now a destination hotel and a Manchester landmark more so than ever.

The Equinox Golf Resort & Spa in Vermont

After lunch we’d mog around the center of Manchester, popping in and out of shops to our heart’s content. By 1977, Mother Myrick’s also rose to the top of our list of must-sees in Manchester. This confectionery began as a small fudge shop and now ranks as a first-class purveyor of all kinds of yummy sweets, including baked goods. People from all over the country order from their online boutique. Mom’s favorite was their buttercrunch, a handmade toffee made with Cabot Creamery butter. So many memories are wrapped up in foods. I’ll have to procure some for myself soon. Is candy a food?

Mother Myrick’s Fudge

Northshire Bookstore also opened during this era in an historic building that operated as an inn for over a century. One of the best-known small independent booksellers in the country, Northshire Bookstore has grown throughout the decades both in size (10,000 feet) and stature. Browsing here offers a delightful experience. In addition to being a general bookstore, they also showcase a curated selection of magazines, cards, stationery and all kinds of Vermont-made goods from comestibles to crafts. They, too, have a strong online presence and their author’s events are first-rate. 

Northshire Bookstore

We would usually leave the town center at a reasonable hour to save lots of time at the now defunct Jelly Mill, a huge old barn filled from the floor boards to the beams with an immense selection of gift items. Seeing this beloved establishment close its doors after so many years was sad but thankfully its disappearance allowed smaller boutiques to shine. Manchester Woodcraft and Above All Vermont are a couple of the shops that make this lovely Vermont town worth the trip. 

As time went on and the influx of travelers to Vermont’s Green Mountains grew, so did the shopping scene in Manchester. By the eighties, outlet shopping had become big here and soon Mom and I were spending less time at lunch and more time scouring the discount stores. Favorites outlets have long been Pendleton (for gorgeous woolens), Marimekko (for colorful prints), Le Creuset (for super sturdy cookware from France) and Armani (for fabulous Italian fashions). 

We’d sometimes stop into the Orvis store to pick up Christmas gifts for the brothers that liked to fish. (The Orvis family, who once occupied a wing of The Equinox, founded this esteemed company in Manchester in 1856. Known as a world leader in fly fishing, their goods embody the spirit of the Vermont way of life. So it’s only fitting that you’ll find two Orvis stores here, the main one and an outlet.)

Mom and I would pull into our garage past dark with a car stuffed with a prized selection of goods and gifts. Typically we’d only bring the Vermont cheeses, sausages, maple syrup, cider, apples, cider donuts and other goodies into the house. The rest would be stashed away for our own pleasure or for future gift giving to others. Either way, all that we purchased had so much more meaning because of the manner in which we did our shopping and the charming places where our treasures were found.

One of My Books on France, a Travel Memoir Entitled
A Tour of the Heart:
A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France

These trips with Mom were repeated year after year in the fall as well as during other seasons. They left an imprint on me so indelible that I developed an aversion to big cookie-cutter stores. No, I needed to shop in places full of character and charm, even if I only picked up a thing or two. 

From Vermont Country Stores to Paris Big Names

With these seeds planted, I eventually founded a shopping service in Paris, France called Chic Promenade. During this time in my life, I organized visits behind-the-scenes to the big names, so that people could learn the story of revered French houses such as Dior, Nina Ricci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and many others. Chic Promenade also helped visitors discover the lesser-known boutiques of Paris, establishments full of history and tradition that provided a unique experience as soon as you passed through their door.

Before I even conducted my first tour, I began to write about these boutiques as well as the special places of interest, neighborhoods, restaurants, hotels, spas, tea salons and wine bars you’d want to incorporate into all kinds of shopping and touring excursions. In all, I have authored four books on shopping and touring in Paris and the French provinces.

It was a proud day when Mom and I went to Northshire Bookstore for my author’s presentation of one of these books. My passion for shopping and touring in Vermont had come full circle.

Thank you Manchester. Thank you Vermont. Thank you Mom. Merci to all for providing me with such inspiration. I’m sure you’ll find your own form of je ne sais quoi in Vermont when you go as well.

Bodacious Biarritz

Biarritz: Breathtakingly Beautiful

La Grande Plage

Bobbing Heads in the Surf Capital of Europe

Steve & Me

I took a trip of a lifetime with my boyfriend, Steve, a while ago and now seems like the right time to write about it.

It was stunning and dramatic, sweet and endearing, intense and oh-so memorable–all very much like our relationship. It left us in awe and amazed and full of desire for more.

We both chose the destination; I chose France and Steve narrowed it down to Biarritz, an oceanside resort in southwest France in the Basque region that I had only visited once–very briefly–on a cold winter’s day during the research phase of my book The Riches of France: A Shopping and Touring Guide to the French Provinces. At that time, I did just a cursory tour of the town, one that was more focused on the boutiques of Biarritz than its spectacular coastal scene and its sensational surf.

Biarritz Beauty

Gorgeous

With Steve, it was all about the surf. No surprise there, since this is where the waves roil in with the greatest, most consistent force in all of Europe. And Steve is big on surfing. It sounded like the perfect fit to me; he had the surf and I had France. What came as a surprise, however, was how he became so taken with the whole French experience and the French themselves.

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Touring Country Stores in Stowe, Vermont with Mom

Mom and I Shopping in Vermont

Since 1895: Shaw’s General Store

Vermont Country Road

Mom at Stowe Mercantile

My how I’ve been blessed with being back East this fall. The weather has been glorious throughout upstate New York and New England. (I think it has actually been pretty beautiful along the whole East Coast with the exception of down south.) We’ve been experiencing true Indian summer weather–East Indian, in fact, with some days hitting temps as high as 90 degrees!

The annual autumnal festival of colors with regard to leaf peeping has started late this year. (The abundance of jewel-toned mums, however, rates among one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. I we don’t have such a display in Colorado.) A brilliant kaleidoscope of fall colors is just now emerging in many parts of the Northeast.

Designer Mum

Magnificent Mums

This fall is not likely to rank among the most spectacular, since many of the maple trees have been stricken with a fungus that has made their foliage look blah. Plus, we have not yet had enough chilly nights to force the color to change into eye-popping hues of red, orange and gold. But isn’t fall always beautiful? I think so. For me, it has already been memorable.

Brick-Toned Beauty Before the Leaves Even Change

Ready for Winter at Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm

That’s because two weeks ago mom and I headed out for a road trip to Vermont. It was just a two-night stay, however, we packed a lot in. My mother and I have always traveled a good amount together but this was the first real getaway of its kind in two years. There’s no doubt that as you grow older, home offers greater appeal and traveling seems like more of a chore.

Still, mom rose to the occasion and off to Vermont we went. We beat the path that we had tamped down–heading northeast out Route 7 from Troy, New York–for many years throughout our lives. This time, however, we were venturing far beyond our usual destinations of Bennington, Arlington and Manchester, Vermont. This time we were headed way up. Three-and-a-half-hours up.

“I always wanted to go to Stowe,” mom told me as I navigated the sinewy roads of the Green Mountain state, by then dashing along Route 100 past Rutland. (Yes, mom thought I was going too fast around the innumerable bends in the road.)

Pumpkin Potpourri at Cold Hollow Cider Mill

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“Yes, I wanted your father to take us all there on a ski trip.”

“Wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard that,” I said. I remember the very first time I skied. I had a terrible time. It was so cold and the equipment felt so heavy. But I remember the lodge and the whole ambiance. I just loved the cozy scene in Vermont. I think it was during a New Year’s holiday. I think I was about five–is that right, mom?”

Stowe and Skiing Go Together Like Rolling Hills and Vermont

And so we prattled on, trading thoughts and memories about what we loved so much about Vermont.

Salt and Pepper Shakers from Stowe Mercantile

In truth, most of our mother/daughter escapes to Vermont revolved around day trips. We’d leave early in the day, enjoy the scenic drive, have lunch in a country inn and then poke about in quaint shops. We’d return with the car loaded with goods and goodies, a mostly made-in-Vermont haul that we’d have to sneak in to keep out of sight from “the boys” and my father (six fellas in all). It was female bonding at its best. Sure, we’d share cider and syrup with them but many of our treasures were stashed away in order to avoid looking like spendthrifts.

In truth, we didn’t buy a whole lot, mostly wool sweaters, candles and knickknacks. It was how and where we bought everything that had the most significance for mom and me. It was out of these forays to Vermont country stores that my love for shopping and touring in authentic places was born. So many of these bastions of tradition and charm spoke to me, so much so that I could hardly tolerate shopping and browsing in department stores or other big, impersonal retail outlets the rest of the time.

Little did I know that these excursions would plant the seeds for me to found Chic Promenade, a Paris shopping service where I organized visits behind-the-scenes at the big names as well as tours to the off-the-beaten-path boutiques of the French capital. I later went on to write three guidebooks on Paris and one on the French provinces. (Read about The Riches of Paris: A Shopping and Touring Guide and The Riches of France: A Shopping and Touring Guide to the French Provinces as well as my travel memoir, A Tour of the Heart: A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France at Maribeth’s Books.)

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Post Election Healing

Museum Going with a Dear Friend

Museum Going with a Dear Friend

Let’s take a collective ten deep breaths. Ommmm. Remember to exhale long and completely. Now try doing that every hour. Yes, that’s ten deep breaths every hour, every day.

Whether consciously or subconsciously, most of us spend every hour of our day trying to manage our stress. We all have so much going on! And yes, one can even feel stressed in a beautiful mountain town surrounded by some of the most awe-inspiring scenery in the world.

Just now, as I began to write this story, the internet at home here was all goofy. RRRRRrrrrrrr. Fortunately, I didn’t let that frustrated feeling set in and I just brushed it off (sort of) and decided to write free form without needing a speedy internet. Lots of letting go here.

I feel the need to address the stress subject with you because so many people have been distraught over the election results. Whether your candidate won or not, everyone has experienced a certain amount of stress over this. (Just think of the Trump supporter attempting to defend his president-elect on social media or at the water cooler. Or, even without saying anything, hearing all the opposition against his or her choice.) It’s hard to move on from it all, especially since the daily news flashes keep bringing bad news to the dems. Ugh.

Try Breathing into this Painting Entitled Friendship by Agnes Martin at the Guggenheim

Try Breathing into this Painting Entitled Friendship by Agnes Martin at the Guggenheim

Just think of the people directly implicated by this. I mean right now. My older brother, Frank Clemente, the driving force behind Americans for Tax Fairness, was to meet with Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren just after the election. Well, you can bet that meeting was cancelled. And now I’d imagine Frank’s work has quadrupled. So discouraging. more »

Win a Fall Foliage Trip to Telluride, Colorado

Fall in Telluride

Fall in Telluride, Colorado

Autumn in Telluride rates as one of my favorite times of the year. Since we’re located in southwestern Colorado, it’s typically sunny and warm during the day and cool and crisp at night. Known as the gold season, the aspens present a dazzling array of sunshine yellow, honey and maize while the brush, which flanks our mountainsides and carpets our valleys, turns into a rich showing of saffron, russet and ruby red.

The foliage typically peaks at the end of September, however, the scenery remains stunning here through mid October, especially if we’re blessed with a fresh dusting of snow on our breathtaking peaks. The big summer and festival crowds have gone home, so you can easily soak up the tranquility of our charming mountain destination and the outlying area whether you’re hiking, biking, fishing, jeeping, shopping, dining or just lolling on a nice deck.

Thanks to Mountain Lodge Telluride, the New Sheridan Chop House Restaurant, Paragon Outdoors/Bootdoctors and Salon 7, you can win a fabulous stay in Telluride, one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. (And that’s coming from a gal who lived eleven years in Paris.) Here’s what the trip includes:

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6 Aug 2014, 1:15pm
Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Podcasts Restaurants Shopping Travel:
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Comments Off on Dana Crawford Chats About the Opening of Denver’s Restored Union Station and The Crawford Hotel

Dana Crawford Chats About the Opening of Denver’s Restored Union Station and The Crawford Hotel

Denver's Union Station

Denver’s Union Station

I rarely write about a place without having visited it, however, in this case, I can do it with the utmost confidence. I’m talking about the newly restored Union Station in Denver and a splendid hotel housed within:  The Crawford. Both have been a labor of love of for Dana Crawford and Sage Hospitality, and Colorado is abuzz about the reopening of this landmark station and the unveiling of this unique hotel. Listen to what Ms. Crawford has to say about this enormous project, her passion for restoration and future plans in the works in my Travel Fun interview below.

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Summer Sipping 2014

Chloe Wines

Chloe Wines

Summer is the season for wine festivals throughout much of the United States, especially in Colorado. June is particularly big in our Rocky Mountain state since the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen is taking place this weekend and the Telluride Wine Festival—under new direction—is happening next weekend. They’re both long-established events, terrific for sampling and savoring food and libations among the pros. Typically one walks away from these festivals with a go-to list of wines, spirits and restaurants to experience in the upcoming months. They also offer wonderful opportunities for socializing among fellow foodies and wine lovers in beautiful mountain settings.

For me, however, summer sipping feels best outdoors while gazing at a gorgeous mountain vista or inside relishing a delicious dinner of grilled meats and vegetables after having done a big hike. I’ve also been known to pack a good bottle and snacks and share a near-sacred moment with someone special out in a remote place. These treasured times create memories that last the longest for me.

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The Riches of Paris and The Riches of France Now eBooks

The Riches of Paris:  A Shopping and Touring Guide

The Riches of Paris: A Shopping and Touring Guide

If you’re headed to Paris soon or are just an armchair traveler that enjoys curling up with your eBook, may I recommend my books, The Riches of Paris:  A Shopping and Touring Guide and The Riches of France:  A Shopping and Touring Guide to the French Provinces. They’re perfect for Francophiles interested in knowing more about the places they’re discovering.

The eBook versions of my classic guidebooks come just in time for spring/summer travels to the French capital and the provinces of France. How handy it is to pull them up on your mobile device or eBook reader to find out about the most interesting places and products to savor.

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    This blog is a personal blog written and edited by Maribeth Clemente. This blog sometimes accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content. The owner of this blog is sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, Web sites and various other topics. Even though the owner of this blog receives compensation for certain posts or advertisements, she always gives her honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blogger's own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
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