Goodnight Irene! An Update on Restoration after the Hurricane in Vermont

This picture is not how Vermont looks yet. We are just getting color at the high elevations now. It is early in the season. It is going to be spectacular season.

I encourage everyone to visit. The roads are mostly open, as you can see by this Vermont Transportation Map. There are some roads near the Green Mountains that are limited traffic or closed (very few actually closed). But the you-can't-get-there-from-here feeling is over.

In my own township, the Simon Pearce Restaurant has re-opened. The lower levels of the complex are still closed, but the restaurant and shops are open. In my August 28 post, I lamented that restaurant closing. It is quite near the Quechee Bridge, a covered bridge which was heavily damaged. But the restaurant is open again!

Pretty much everything is open again. The Tucker Hill Inn, near Montpelier, has an update page, pointing out that it is open and had no damage. The Applebutter Inn, near Woodstock also has no damage, and the roads to it are open. Applebutter is owned by Michael Pacht and Barbara Barry. Michael sings in the same chorus as my husband. On his website, he notes that since no wind accompanied the rain, our maple trees are well watered! We look forward to a gloriously colorful foliage season.

It is going to be a great foliage season. Here's a link to a foliage tracker: Early colors now on the hillsides. Other events are also on track. For example, Billings Farm Museum is holding its Quilt Show. There's a lot to do in Vermont.

In neighboring New Hampshire, there's a Goodnight Irene fundraiser at a local pub. You probably can't come to the fundraiser, and fundraisers are important for the people who lost their homes (about 700 homes) and businesses.

Most people are okay, though. I am not hardhearted. I just want to say that most businesses are open. Most roads are open. You can come to Vermont and support all the businesses that need your support. It's going to be a great foliage season, partially because we had all that water. In a dry summer, the leaves get a little dry and brownish. Not this summer! The leaves are going to change spectacularly!

Come visit Vermont!

Photo from Vermont Living website.