MarknRobin Making Memories: Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site

We woke up on Friday (20th) to another beautiful day! Just outside of Branbury State Park we stopped to see the Falls of Lana. It was an easy hike on a gravel road and we found the falls without difficulty.

Of course the BEST view was off the trail and down a steep, rocky, mossy, damp and slippery descent to the base of another part of the falls. Of course.

We were on our way back from the Falls Overlook and passed a place where we could again hear some thundering water. We couldn't actually see what was down there because of the rocks and trees in the way, so while Mark climbed down to investigate, I elected to wait at the top and he disappeared below. After awhile he came back within sight and beckoned for me to come down. Of course.

It really was the best view . . . It's too bad I never capture what we actually see in my photos. I did get some pictures of Mark climbing back up ahead of me though to give you an idea of the exercise we are getting :)

In Pittsford, we saw the Hammond Covered Bridge which was built in 1842.

From there we took a long and roundabout route (our new GPS seems to usually find the most complicated way to get anywhere) to Wilson Castle near Proctor. It's marked as a "must see" gem in the AAA tour book, but when we finally got there we found a rundown and neglected structure partially hidden by the overgrown and unkempt surrounding grounds . The driveway was blocked and posted "no trespassing" so we couldn't even get a closer look, and the camera battery was recharging so we couldn't take a picture anyways. Mark commented that it would be a great place for a Halloween party.

In Rutland, we found a McDonalds and had lunch while we published the last 3 blog posts we had written.

We spent the afternoon at the Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site. Plymouth Notch is the small rural Vermont village where Calvin Coolidge was born and raised. The village has been kept "virtually unchanged" from the early 20th century and is now a state-owned historic site. There is a very interesting museum with interactive exhibits telling the story of his life. After spending some time in the museum, we took a self-guided tour of the village which includes the Coolidge Homestead where he grew up, as well as the small home attached to the back of the General Store where he was born. You can see the actual room along with the original furnishings. The family lived there until he was 4 years old and then moved across the street to the larger home he grew up in. As Vice President, he was actually home in Plymouth visiting his father when they received news that President Warren Harding had died. The rooms of the house are furnished exactly as they were on August 3, 1923 at 2:47am when his father woke him with the news and he was sworn in as the 30th President of the United States.