I recently spent a week in Middlebury and had a fine time. “Draw Me a Story” at the Sheldon Museum was a delight, and I discovered creemees! I was especially charmed by the hidden flower garden behind the public library; it’s a beautiful, well-kept place to sit in the shade on a sunny afternoon.
However: as a tourist looking for souvenirs, I went to a shop specializing in such things, and bought a few maple-syrupy items, cookies and candies to bring home. Outside the shop, I took a second look, and was shocked to see that the candy I’d paid a pretty penny for has no real maple syrup in it — it was artificially flavored! I returned it, of course, but I’m still surprised that such a thing would be sold in a “Vermont Souvenir” shop.
My other disappointment had to do with the lack of those iconic black and white cows I’d seen in all the postcards and travel guides. Where are they? We drove around the countryside, saw plenty of green pastures and beautiful trees and white churches and covered bridges, but where are the cows? Someone told us they spend all their time in barns now, but that can’t be true, can it?
Jean Murphy
Eugene, Oregon