Jeff and I just got back from a “mini” road trip. I’m putting mini in quotes there because since I found out we’d be doing this trip I always just kind of thought it would be a quick get away buuut I think it’s safe to say we killed this trip! Nine states, and just over two thousand miles. For now I think the easiest way to blog about it will be to go in chronological order…
Thursday night after Jeff got off work, we loaded up the car and headed toward my parents house. I thought the plan was to spend the night there and leave early in the morning but Jeff had misunderstood and thought I wanted to leave right after dropping Klaus off. Aaaand that was totally cool by me (because that is exactly what I actually wanted! I just thought a little bit of sleep before a twelve hour drive would be the responsible thing to do.) So we drove through the night, took turns sleeping, and made pretty great time.
Although it was slightly out of the way, Jeff really wanted to take a detour into Vermont. No real destination in mind, just wanted to cross it off his list as it was one of the only states on the east side of the US he hadn’t been to yet. We choose a town at random, Bennington.
I was rambling about how cute Vermont was when to my left I spotted one of the most beautiful houses I had ever seen. Seeee?! It was massive, decrepit, and honestly just looked like the perfect haunted house. We HAD to stop and get photos. While I was busy taking shots with each of my three cameras (one digital, two instant film. I’m a v. serious tourist, okay?) Jeff thought it would be a good idea to check and see if there were any geocaches nearby. Perfectly enough, there was! “Say Hi to Robert Frost” is the name of the cache and it was located in the cemetery right down the street. That’s how we randomly ended up in the cemetery Robert Frost was buried in!
Honestly, Robert Frost isn’t very exciting to me. I’ve just never been interested in poetry, it’s nothing against him. I’m always happy to check out the grave of someone famous though, no matter who they are. Also, any excuse to stop into a cemetery is fine by me. …Well, it turns out that Old Bennington Cemetery is packed full of history and the most beautiful headstones. I was only inside the gates for a matter of minutes before declaring it a favorite!
Do you remember last month when I blogged about Workman Cemetery and was all excited about that one headstone with a creepy face on it? Yeah, this cemetery was literally packed full of them! I have SO many photos of them. It’s just crazy how much detail and work was put into these. They put modern headstones to shame.
Pretty awesome first official stop of the trip, right!? Old Bennington Cemetery is absolutely gorgeous, and totally worth a detour. I have never seen old headstones in such amazing shape. This place is an absolute treasure!
xoxo
26 comments
I love your pictures so much. Robert Frost, wow man, I would love to see that, as he is my favorite poet of all time. This is totally random but it looks like we may be moving from Florida to Ohio. I'm both nervous and excited. Nervous because I have no idea what I'm really in for. I've never been that far up North, except by plane, but we're moving because one of my daughters is settling in there to start a family and her boyfriend is from Ohio. Any tips for an outsider who's lived in Florida for over 20 years? Thanks! 🙂
Prepare yourself for winter! 😛
Haha, true! It looks as though I spoke too soon, the kids have changed their mind, so it looks like I'll be staying in the boiling heat and humidity for awhile longer 😉
Got curious about the David Redding Tombstone so I looked him up. Seems harsh to be hanged for horse theft! I love your cemetery posts…I'm fascinated by who the people might have been and if a story can be figured out by their gravestones which sometimes you can on the larger stones. Large stones also mean a family of wealth. Part of the reason cemeteries don't allow large gravestones anymore is for vandelism reasons. That and, honestly…the flush to the ground markers now allow maintenance crews to easily cut grass. Or so i've heard. Thanks for sharing!
WHAT? That's so crazy. Things have certainly changed. I can't even imagine all the silly things people have been killed for.
Oh my gosh! You are in my state!! I love the thought of stumbling across you photographing cemeteries in my area. I live close to there too. Southern Vermont is so magical – you could probably spend your whole vacation searching for swimming holes and tiny graveyards. And it's blackberry season. If you are ever back in the area, swing by my shop and check out our tiny houses, or take route 100 anywhere. I love Vermont!
UGH. Swimming holes!!! I wish we could have stopped at one. I can't wait to come back.
AH this place is perfect! I've only been to Vermont once, but I had similar feelings about it immediately. It's so quaintly New England that it's hard to believe a place like that exists, but it still somehow feels authentic. I need to get back up there asap.
I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to Vermont. We seriously spent less than two hours there but it was enough to know I needed more.
I love old cemetaries with intricate headstones, too. Thank you for sharing these photos! It sounds like you had a great road trip. I really like your blog posts about your trips. So man bloggers post about exotic and expensive trips to far off places……that is cool, but hard for me to relate to. I like that you find cool and unusual places closer to home. It inspires me to explore my own province and the provinces close to me. Thanks! Margaret Forsey ( http://www.charmedlifecraft.com) ��
I'm so happy to hear that! There really is so much to see close to home!!
I grew up near Bennington (and worked there for a few years). It's funny, I didn't even know that's where Robert Frost was buried until I was in college. Gorgeous photos!
Thanks Rachel!
"I had a lovers quarrel with the world." HAHA!
Wow, looks like you found the tombstone of the first person to be tried and hanged in Vermont! http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2010/09/patriotic-requirement-of-hanging.html
(I was curious and googled – sorry if you have already done so and this is repeat info!)
I hadn't looked it up yet, so thank you! That's pretty crazy!!
Vermont cemeteries are the best!
I wouldn't say "the best" but this one was certainly up there! 😉
This is such a pretty cemetery! They takes such good care of it.
They really do! It's in incredible condition.
beautiful! whenever we go to an old cemetery i can't stop taking photos either, the headstones are just so beautiful! real works of art.
Truly! They don't make em like they used to! 😛
I am amazed at what good condition these old gravestones were in. I have visited many old cemeteries here in Kentucky, and the markers are usually so worn down and weather beaten to be unreadable. I love when you share these photos. More! More!
Hehe! Glad to hear you enjoy, Wendy! I've got two more cemetery posts from this trip coming soon! 😉
So amazing how many of these headstones are still standing! You almost always see those super thin ones knocked over or in those metal braces! 10/10!
[…] that I was led to this one with that amazing view of the skyline. Geocaching also led me to one of the coolest cemeteries I’ve ever visited. Chances are geocaching will lead you to places that you never even knew […]
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