A Summer Weekend in Vermont

One of the places we stopped to visit was Bellows Falls, Vermont, where Kelly’s dad was born. It is a charming little town by the Connecticut River in southeastern Vermont, not far from where we were staying in Springfield. We were looking for a sporting goods store, and we found a little local one almost immediately. It was closed, but there was a sign on the door that said “come down to the hardware store if you need anything.” So, we did. And an employee from the hardware store went back with us to the sporting goods store to get us what we needed. Stuff like that makes me love small towns.

We also stopped by the Episcopal Church there in Bellows Falls, and we didn’t realize it but we had missed some kind of yard sale that they had that same day. So we parked and took a look around the gorgeous little Gothic church. Who knows, if we move to the area, this might even become our new parish.

We didn’t see anyone around, but there was a big pile of stuff that was left on the curb labeled “FREE” so Kelly went through it to see if there was anything interesting while I took the dogs on a little walk around the area. Kelly did find one interesting item.

I am sure there are a lot of women out there who can relate.

We were also amused a little at this sign near the church. It seemed appropriate somehow.

That way you are most of the way to the grave and save the pallbearers’ some time.

We also stopped in nearby Walpole, New Hampshire, which is a town where a doctor great-uncle of Kelly’s lived until around 20 years ago or so when he died. Much to our surprise, we discovered that Uncle Bill was locally famous as “Doc Tatem” and had apparently been the attending physician at a great many childbirths, among other things. So Kelly became somewhat of a spontaneous celebrity by proxy, as Uncle Bill and his wife had died childless, but everyone around was thrilled that a relative of Doc Tatem was visiting. So, they invited us to stay for a concert that was the first one held in the town since before Covid-19. So we did, and really enjoyed it.

The view from our seats (a park bench) as the park began to fill up with people from the town. Eventually there was somewhere between 150 and 200 people.

Dash was probably a bit over-stimulated, truth be told.

Dash and Nymeria were with us, of course, and Nymeria was a particularly good girl as she was pretty quiet most of the time. She was also very good with all of the people and dogs that came up to her.

Dash? That’s a bit of a different story. Dash was just SO excited at all the people and dogs that he just kept barking and straining at his leash. Eventually Dash, like any tired toddler/child, had some sort of loud tantrum and we decided it was time to head back to the hotel. Still, we were able to enjoy the entire concert. It was nice.

We also spent some time in scenic Chester, Vermont, where we also got to sit and enjoy some music for a little while. We also got to do some antique shopping, as the town has several excellent antique shops.

Sadly, this shop won’t be around much longer. It is closing in September.

We walked the dogs around a bit, got them some water to drink (I think the temperature reached 94 or 95 degrees Fahrenheit), and then let them do their business before we went in the shops. Now Nymeria, being new to this business after her time in a puppy mill, does not entirely grasp the concept of “go potty outside, always”*, so much to our mortification, she naturally decided to squat and pee as soon as she got inside one of the shops. We quickly got it cleaned up and the owner, thankfully, was a dog and dachshund lover so she was quite gracious.

*When asked about this incident, Nymeria responded with “BARK BARK BARK BARK GRRR BARK BARK BARK”** and wagged her tail really hard, as you can see from this picture.

**Loosely translated, I AM A LITTLE PRINCESS AND AM TOTALLY INNOCENT OF ALL CHARGES!!!

~Geoff