Green Mountain, Maple, & Moose State

This week in Vermont was our last one-week stop for a while.  I did a pretty poor job of taking photos and writing down things to remember, so let's see what I can come up with about our week there!  

The park we stayed at was called Pine Hollow and it was fantastic!  The only drawback was the so-so Verizon service we had (even with our booster), but that downside was totally worth being in this location. We were given a great spot set back from everyone else.  The dogs got to run and enjoy the spot all week since it had a yard.  The park was located in Pownal, Vermont, which is 9 miles or so from Bennington.  I was surprised at how many interesting things are in this area!

One of the first things we did was to visit the Old First Church and cemetery.

Old First Church, built in 1805.
The congregation has been meeting since 1762.

We visited with a woman who attends the church.  She told us about its history.

More than anything, this visit prompted thoughtful conversations with the kids.  One such talk came up because of these boxes in the main room.  While the boxes do serve a practical purpose, we learned that the way they were utilized is a shame.  You see, the boxes served as great insulators back in the years when the church was without central heat. Vermont has bitterly harsh winters and the only sources of heat in the building were body heat and little hot-rock boxes. Families would cram in and the elevated, enclosed boxes helped to hold the heat in.

The bad is that not everyone was able to use the boxes.  Boxes were purchased by families and the money was used to pay for building costs and maintenance. When the woman said this, I noted, "That wasn't great for the families who couldn't afford a box."  She agreed and said that those families were able to sit up in the gallery area.   The same gallery area that held the local prisoners, who were brought in and placed behind half-walls so people didn't have to look at them.  So we talked about verses like this one and examined the box situation. 

"My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.  For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, 'You sit here in a good place,' while you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there,' or, 'Sit down at my feet,' have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 
Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
But you have dishonored the poor man.  Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?  Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?  
If you really fulfill the royal law according to Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well.  But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
James 2:1-9

The upper area seated prisoners, the poor, and young adults who weren't sitting with families.

The roof is shaped like a dome and there is a tall pulpit that creates an amplification system so everyone could hear the speakers.

The woman told us that the young men sat on one side of the upper area and the ladies sat on the other.  The boys, (most of whom had pocket knives), marred their side with tons of gouges and messages scratched into the seats.  The ladies' side is immaculate.  We laughed about that.

Thought it was interesting that someone etched this verse into a bench.  This is what the verse says:

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in."
Matthew 23:13

Jordan looks so "Anne of Green Gables" sitting there.

There is a large cemetery behind the church, which we walked through.  We found the plot of famous poet, Robert Frost. It's a strange coincidence that his grave happened to be here because Sonlight has us studying his work this year.  Crazy how things line up like that.  We started reading his poems and biography this week, so now the kids have a frame of reference in their minds for what we learned about him last week in Vermont.

Posted at his graveside.

The big deal in Bennington is the Battle of Bennington, which happened in August of 1777--thirteen months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  There is a monument, plaques around town, and there were mentions of it here at the cemetery as well.

Battle of Bennington Monument
You can see it from all over town!

The Green Mountain State is one of our favorites so far.

Brookings people:  You know how everyone visits and says, "So, uh, what's the deal with all the bears?"  Vermont has its own version:  Moose!  The statues are everywhere you look, even in residential areas.

We also visited the famous Bennington Potters and wished we could fly Cindy across the country to shop with us!  This was such a Cindy store--everything in it made me think of her.  The kids found a fountain that they said she needs to have.  😊 Bennington Potters are known for their trigger mugs, so that's what I chose as my cup.  Everyone else picked out a mug and we got one alternate.  We love them!

After that, we visited several of the covered bridges in Bennington.  It was neat but kind of a bummer because they have all been redone and painted exactly alike, and they have big traffic signs plastered on them.  So some of the charm was lost, in my opinion.  Nothing like giant yellow signs that read, "12'6"" to take you back to the old days!  Lol.  

One of the many moose statues in Bennington.

This was taken outside of the Apple Barn Country Bake Shop.  GUYS!  This place makes these amazing cider donuts every day, and we had them three times last week.  It kind of became a problem.  So it's a good thing that we had to move on.  The lady who runs it is a New Yorker, and we really enjoyed visiting with her.

Next, we have the unfortunate scene wherein Sarah's camera's SD card dies at the most inopportune time.  The kids and I visited Robert Lincoln's home, Hildene.  (Robert was Abraham Lincoln's son).  I pulled out my camera when we arrived and found that the SD card had sustained some kind of damage and didn't work.  So all we have are a few poorly-lit photos from my phone.  There was so much to see there, and the views were beautiful. 

This room was amazing!

The house held an enormous organ with a hundred organ pipes that went from the basement up.  Our guide played a song for us and it was loud!

Early twentieth century living room.  A lot has changed since then!

This room belonged to Robert's wife, Mary.  It reminds me of Larri.

Out to the gardens and mountain views!

What on earth is this?  Seriously, somebody tell me!

Toward the end of the week, Jackson met a new friend and was invited over to play a game of Catan with his family.  They came over to introduce themselves to Jeff and I, and we hit it off.  Like us, they are Christians and love Good Mythical Morning and Catan (but they call it Settlers and are practically professionals).  We exchanged numbers and are hoping to meet up with them again this October. Super excited about that!

Other than that, we spent a lot of our time at the campsite this week because it was just so beautiful and peaceful.  Our next 3 stops are 2-weeks each, which is good since this week we began our 12th year of homeschooling!  I usually take photos of the first day, but we didn't feel like making ourselves look presentable.  😜  I get so many group photos now that we're traveling, it's not like I'll forget what they looked like at this age!  So we're at our first Maine location now, enjoying a slower pace.  We've seen a few things already (including the Atlantic!) and hope to see a few more before heading even farther north!