2026 Life Logs, Day 50: Trip to Montpelier with Ollie
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Warmer Than Expected; High Temp 40, Low 19 degrees F (in Waterbury)
Location: At Home at an Airbnb in Waterbury, Vermont
Today’s adventure took Ollie and me to Montpelier, Vermont. It is the state capital, and we both thought it would be a bigger town. It is not. It is a tiny town with a population of around 8,000 residents which grows to about 21,000 each weekday due to the large number of jobs associated with it being the state’s capital. It has a main street with some businesses and then it has the state capital complex. That is about it. Ollie and I wondered why the capital was located here, and when we looked that up, we found it was simply because of its central location in the state. When it was chosen as the capital city in the beginning of the 1800’s, the population of Montpelier was around 900 people.
Ollie and I had crepes for breakfast at the Skinny Pancake which were really yummy, and we visited a fabulous outdoor recreation shop next door before heading to the State House. It sits majestically up on a hill with its gold dome glistening in the sunshine.
The granite steps leading up the hill are bigger steps (higher) than normal making it quite a climb to the top. I got a photo of Ollie standing in front of a statue of Ethan Allen by the front door, but then we had to walk around to the side of the building to get in. We found out that the front doors that look like they are bronze are really pine painted to look like bronze. The inside doors are also pine, painted to look like they were made of mahogany. The people of Vermont are known to be frugal!
We used ‘magic wand’ listening devices on our self-guided tour which took us to the second floor to see the Senate Chambers and the Representatives’ Hall. We could enter the viewing area of the Senate Chambers, but the legislature was in session. We stood outside the open doors and watched. And while we were standing there, they adjourned. So we waited until most people vacated and then went into the viewing area to take a closer look.
We also made a quick trip to the Vermont Historical Society Museum next door. It was interesting, but we spent most of our time playing a game of checkers. The display of a typical home in the 1800’s had a checkerboard on the kitchen table. So, Ollie challenged me to a game. Guess who won. It wasn’t me!
After we got home, I took a trip just to the edge of town to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory. It was too late for a tour, but I just couldn’t be in Vermont without visiting the only Ben & Jerry’s factory open to the public.
