A Day at Plymouth Notch, Vermont

It was just the beginning of foliage season when Geo and I took a drive to Plymouth Notch, the birthplace and boyhood home of our 30th President Calvin Coolidge. This historic site is unique among Presidential sites because it has changed very little since the time he grew up here. The buildings are restored and preserved with original furnishings. There is no other development in the area except for the new museum and education center.

The surroundings are rural and very scenic. 

The home where Calvin was born was attached to a general store.

Here's the first floor bedroom where he was born.

When he was four years of age, the family moved to the residence across the road.

The views from inside the home were especially beautiful on this early autumn day.

When Vice President Calvin Coolidge was visiting his father in early August 1923, news came that President Warren Harding had unexpectedly died. At 2:47AM on August 3, Calvin's father administered the Presidential Oath of Office to his son who then became President. It all happened in the dimly lit sitting room of a country home in the little state of Vermont.

The room is preserved to look just as it did at the time.

Across the road is the church where the family 
worshiped.





A very short walk took us back to the general store. The upper floor of the store - a multipurpose room for storage, Grange meetings and dances - became the "summer White House."

Across the road from the store are cottages where President Coolidge's staff would stay. The cottages were very simply furnished, each one with a bed, a table and a chair. (The outhouse can be seen on the left.)

Before leaving, we drove a short ways to the cemetery to visit the gravesites of President Coolidge and his family.

President Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States.

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Our Tour of Mosaicultures International 2013 in Montreal

We left the rain behind as we crossed into Canada and over the Champlain Bridge into Montreal.

Today we were going to the Botanical Gardens for the Mosaicultures exhibit. This is an international competition held every three years in a different country - and this year it's Canada in Montreal.

The theme for 2013 is "Land of Hope" to highlight the protection of biodiversity on planet Earth. The theme serves as inspiration for artists from around the world who created living sculptures of hundreds of thousands of plants. The plants need care and pruning as they grow. We viewed about 50 sculptures in the Botanical Garden.




 

Here's an example of a design and the finished horticultural work of art.  



"Mosaiculture" is a true art form. Most of the ones we saw were HUGE and amazingly intricate.

 This shows some of the detail that was being pruned: 

Each one was so fascinating, I really could not pick a favorite. But I especially liked the realism of the sculptures in the water.

No doubt about it, Geo's fave was a Japanese exhibit, Hachiko the Loyal Dog.

An entry from the United States was Farmers: the People who Feed the World.

Here are other sculptures we saw as we walked through the gardens.

I took a close-up of one of the deer.

More pruning:

The animals were fun.

Another photo (Mother Earth) seen here with the waterfall is truly spectacular:

Here's another view:

Another amazing one, symbolizing harmony with nature:

Here's one from a Canadian exhibit:

And this is only a small sampling of what we viewed...  

Art Hop and Preservation Burlington Walking Tour

The South End of Burlington, Vermont, historically had been an industrial hub. This area is now emerging as Burlington's art district. During the weekend of the annual Art Hop, Geo and I took the Pine Street walking tour offered by Preservation Burlington. (Hmm, anyone notice an error on the sign? Clue: Check the date!) 

Burlington, on Lake Champlain, imported huge amounts of lumber in the early days from Canada. A cottage manufacturing shop not far from the lake employed about 150 people in making furniture. The wood frame building with the red rock foundation still stands. The iron buttresses were added sometime during the 1980's.

This building housed Burlington's former coal company.  

Directly behind it is the site of the current Barge Canal Market.

Burlington's Street Department was located here. It's now home to artist studios.

If you look closely, you can still see the original sign.

Dorn's Venetian Beverages were bottled on Pine Street. We saw some of the original bottles. We learned that ginger ale was popular during Prohibition because the beverage had "zing" to it. It was also added to "moonshine" to improve flavor. When Dorn's sold out, Coca Cola bottling took its place. We saw some of the original Dorn beverage bottles.

This building is now a lighting store.

There was also a laundry on Pine Street. It boasted of its sanitary conditions and invited people of the time to take tours. There were huge windows to let in the maximum amount of light.

One of the most impressive buildings is the Maltex (still called that today). This is where cereal was made - like Wheatina and Maypo.

Our guide showed us what it looked like years ago.

Today it's one of the popular happening places for the Art Hop. Last night this is where the Vermont Jazz Ensemble played (and not far from where the Ben and Jerry's truck parked for free scoops of ice cream for everyone). 

After our tour we headed to the Burlington Farmer's Market where Geo had a Peruvian pork slider from one of his fave vendors.

We found a bench in City Hall Park. These guys were quite entertaining. (Burlington's Got Talent!)

We learned a lot about the history of this active former industrial part of Burlington. Now it's primarily a thriving place for the arts, as well as other businesses. It's all part of the South End Arts and Business Association. The walking tour was a pleasant part of the weekend celebration.