Northeast Train Trip pt. 3–Vermont

Continuing with our 2022 epic train trip…

We headed out early to Union Station in D.C. to board The Vermonter to St. Alban’s Vermont. Washington, D.C. is the train’s first stop, and St. Alban’s is its last stop, so we would be taking it the whole way. We did not know what to expect in St. Alban’s, but it seemed like a quiet, laid-back town for a relaxing weekend.

This was an over 12 hour train trip. This time, Ryan and I rode in coach, while my parents rode in business class. The perks of business class are slightly more comfortable seating, free drinks, and reserved seating. The worst part about coach is you don’t have assigned seats, so if the train is rather full, you may not be able to sit together. But this was no problem on this train since we boarded at the first stop, so we were able to claim our seats for the entire trip. But over all, coach isn’t that bad, especially not in comparison to flying. And it’s much cheaper than business class.

This train did not have a dining car but it did have a car with a snack bar where we could buy things like burgers or tamales. While the snack car did have tables, the seating was very limited so people were encouraged to enjoy their snacks at their seats.

Here are some views from along the way:

It was late when we got to St. Alban’s, but fortunately we were just a short walk from the hotel. Even better, the snack car attendant was staying at the same hotel over night, so she offered to show us the way there.

The next morning, we met up to walk to breakfast. We decided on St. Alban’s Diner–they seemed like they might have the best classic breakfast with maple syrup offerings, and since St. Alban’s is home to a maple syrup festival, that seemed like a good plan. I had the Waffle Treat which comes with eggs and sausage as well. Ryan had the St. Alban’s Breakfast #2. The maple syrup was so good! Other than that, the food wasn’t anything extraordinary.

Next, we decided to split up for a bit. Ryan and I decided to check out the weekly farmer’s market. Ryan is a huge fan of cider, and he was excited to see a vendor selling fresh cider. The farmer was very old and seemed like he had been doing this all his life. He mentioned he was getting a little worried because the apples were coming in way too early. He isn’t usually able to produce cider batches in June! He is worried how this warmer weather will affect his crops overall (thanks, Global Warming!). When we tasted it later, we declared it to be the best non-alcoholic cider ever! Ryan returned to the stand to buy another bottle. He even enquired if it was possible to have some shipped to us at home. The farmer was surprised and honored, and his son and grandson seemed eager to help him make that happen. They had Ryan leave his address with them (unfortunately, we never received any cider, but we also weren’t expecting it).

Then we headed to a bookstore called The Eloquent Page. We both needed some more reading material for the train. The store sold new and used books. While it was not really organized in any way that made sense to us, the lady who worked there knew every single book that she had in the store and knew exactly where to find it. She was very helpful.

Ryan and I made reservations for lunch at Jeff’s Maine Seafood. It was a nice day, so we ate outside. I ordered the Crab Cakes and Ryan ordered Blackened Swordfish. Both were very good and very filling!

After lunch, I met up with my mom to do some hiking. There is a trail called the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail which, as the name implies, was built on top of an old railroad track. Its total length is 26.4 miles, starting in St. Alban’s and ending in Richford. For obvious reasons, we did not hike the entire trail. But the portion we hiked was very nice. It took us through lots of farmland.

After the hike, Ryan and I stopped to try some ciders in a local tap house. They were only ok.

Our final event in Vermont was an excursion to watch the sunset over Lake Champlain. This is not within walking distance, so we had to order a cab to get there. Once we got to the lake, we stopped at the local gas station for Creamies–Vermont’s local version of soft-serve ice cream. There are many flavors, but I decided to get the maple. The sunset was enjoyable, but the mosquitoes got kind of bad. I recommend bug spray. Then we met up with our cab to go back to the hotel for one more night.

A couple of notes on Vermont–first, the people we met were very friendly. St. Alban’s doesn’t seem to get too many visitors. It seems that they get enough visitors to have some sort of tourism industry (gift shops, for example), but tourists are rare enough that everyone seemed really excited to meet us. The farmer selling cider was one example, but there was also a young man working at a market where we went to buy some maple syrup who was extremely excited to talk to us. He gave us some advice on things to do in Maine (none of which we followed, but it was still kind). Then there was an elderly lady who we met while crossing the street from the farmer’s market. We learned her entire life story in the course of one block. She shared with us that she was born and raised in St. Alban’s and was proud to share that they even have a Walmart now! We had told her earlier in our conversation that we were from Kentucky, but when we were saying goodbye, she told us “Enjoy the United States!” I’m not sure where she thought Kentucky was! Also, people actually stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, which is not necessarily true here.

Anyway, we really enjoyed our quiet stay in Vermont. Next, we will be heading on to Connecticut for just one night! Stay tuned to find out more about our trip!