Sunday, Oct 14, Bennington & Arlington, Vermont

It rained most of the night, after such a beautiful sunny day yesterday!
Weather notwithstanding, we set off for Bennington, which holds memories for us. That is where we were stranded 3 years ago with  seized bearings. We stopped in to Greenwood Lodge & Campground to say "Hi" to Ed & Ann, who were our gracious hosts at that time. They remembered us & we had a nice but brief visit.

Then it was off to Arlington to see the Normal Rockwell Exhibit and Sugar Shack.

Norman Rockwell lived in Arlington from 1939 - 1953 and about 200 local residents modeled for his illustrations.  The small country srore has a room dedicated to many of Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post covers, illustrations, advertisements and prints.

The rain has let up as we return to Bennington, We stopped at Hemmings Motor News, which is a free vehicle display of vintage, restored vehicles. Love their washroom signs.......


We then found Carmody's, an Irish Pub, where we had lunch (lobster rolls all round)





Next we stopped at the Bennington Battle Monument. The fog has cleared, so we purchased tickets to go up the monument.
The Bennington Battle Monument is a 306 ft (93 m) stone obelisk located at 15 Monument Circle, in Bennington, Vermont. The monument commemorates the Battle of Bennington during the Revolutionary War.
In that battle, on August 17, 1777, Brigadier General John Stark and 1,400 New Hampshire men, aided by Colonels Warner and Herrick of Vermont, Simmonds of Massachusetts, and Moses Nichols ofNew Hampshire, defeated two detachments of General Burgoyne's British army, who were apparently seeking to capture a store of weapons and food maintained where the monument now stands. While the battle is termed the Battle of Bennington, it actually occurred about 10 miles (16 km) away, in New York; the Bennington Battlefied, a U.S. National Historic Landmark, is entirely within New York State.
In 1877 a local historical society began to plan a monument for the battle's centenary, and considered many designs. The committee eventually accepted J. Phillip Rinn's design with some changes. The monument's cornerstone was laid in 1887, and it was completed in November 1889 at a total cost of $112,000 (including the site). It is constructed of Sandy Hill Dolomite from present day Hudson Falls, New York, a blue-gray magnesian limestone containing numerous fossils.
From its observatory level at 200 feet (61 m), which can be reached by elevator (but not the stairs, which are closed), one can see Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts. A kettle captured from General Burgoyne's camp at Saratoga is visible in the monument along with a diorama of the second engagement, and information on how the monument was built.

We returned to the campground across Hwy 9, back over Hogback Mountain. Ended up being a beautiful day!

Tomorrow we are off to Maine - Look out, LOBSTERS!