Bennington Potters on County Street in Bennington has been making beautiful, durable, and functional handmade stoneware pottery since 1948. A special highlight this year is the stoneware dinnerware collection and the stoneware pottery bakeware, mixing bowls, and batterbowl. Come visit and shop at Potters Yard in Bennington and take a tour of the factory. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Phone: 800-205-8033.

Books About Vermont Life <br>and Anything Else You Can Name Books About Vermont Life
and Anything Else You Can Name

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The independent, family-owned Northshire Bookstore at 4869 Main Street in Manchester Center, in business since 1976, is a paradise for browsers and literature fiends of every variety. All kinds of books for all kinds of readers, along with DVDs, gifts, music, readings by authors, and book discussions. Lots of Vermont authors and Vermont-oriented reading matter. And if you don’t know quite what you want, the well-read staff is on guard to offer big ideas. The neighboring Spiral Press Café offers sustenance to keep you going. Hours: Sunday-Monday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Phone: 802-362-2200.

Byway Follows Victory Route <br> of Colonial General Byway Follows Victory Route
of Colonial General

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Molly Stark Byway traverses southern Vermont along Route 9 from Brattleboro to Bennington. The byway is named after the wife of General John Stark who led the Colonial militia to a victory at the Battle of Bennington on August 16, 1777. The Vermont State Legislature named the road the Molly Stark Trail in 1936 commemorating the route taken by General Stark and his troops during their victorious march home after the battle. The Molly Stark Byway winds its way through lowland valleys, historic villages, busy downtowns, and the spectacular Green Mountain National Forrest. Anchored at either end by vibrant historic town centers in Brattleboro and Bennington, and including a classic New England crossroads village in Wilmington in between, a trip along the 48-mile byway is a great way to experience the full character of southern Vermont. See map.

Come and Meet Vermont's <br>Covered Bridges Come and Meet Vermont's
Covered Bridges

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Few structures in America combine architectural ingenuity, economic necessity, and romantic idealism better than the covered bridge. Covered bridges flourished in the United States in the 19th century. Pennsylvania has the greatest number of covered bridges, and Vermont, with about 104 covered bridges, has the highest number relative to the state’s size. In Southern Vermont, some highlights of the many covered bridges include the Bridge at the Green (Arlington Bridge) in Arlington and the Henry / Burt Bridge in Bennington, which is a short distance from the rebuilt Paper Mill Bridge and the Silk Bridge. Covered bridges offer a wonderful opportunity to stop, take pictures, dip your feet in the river, and even to picnic.

Come to the Country for Some Really Fun Shopping

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The Vermont Country Store, on Main Street in Weston, is the first restored rural store in the nation, stocked to the rafters with thousands of practical and intriguing necessities for daily living. Amid countless antiques and oddities from floor to rafters, you'll discover long-forgotten essentials and toys and household products that you remember from childhood. It's all here, from apothecary goods and granny forks to socks guaranteed to fend off temperatures of 30 degrees below zero. Open daily, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Phone: 802-824-3184

Confectionary Filled With Mother’s Best

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Usher the sweet tooth in your life (or in your head) to Mother Myrick’s Confectionary on Main Street in Manchester for a cozy time browsing and selecting from among the best candies and confections to be found anywhere. Specialties of the house are the Buttercrunch and the Lemon LuLu, but don’t feel that you need to stop there. Plunge on into chocolates and other good tastes. Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Phone: 802-362-1560.

Cookery Store Welcomes Vacationers

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You may not have to cook while you’re on vacation, but that doesn’t mean you cannot think about it. J.K. Adams Kitchen Store on Route 30 in Dorset is a three-level cornucopia of tools and resources for the home chef. The staff of 12 people can tell you anything you want to know about cheeses from the neighboring farms to the intricacies of the newest coffee brewer. Throughout the year, J.K. Adams offers tastings of products and demonstrations of the latest gadgets. From time to time, the store sponsors themed cooking workshops offering techniques for home cooks. During the cold months, the Dorset Farmers Market operates an indoor market in this store’s facilities. Phone: 866-362-4422.

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Ranges Upon Ranges

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Where can you see panoramic views of the Green, White, Adirondack, Berkshire and Taconic mountain ranges in one trip? Easy. Take a drive up Skyline Drive to the top of Equinox Mountain near Sunderland for a spectacular sunset over the Adirondack Mountains to the west. The route starts at historic Route 7A.

Sip Among 360-Degree Views

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Wine tasting in southern Vermont means a visit to the Honora Winery & Vineyard in the Green Mountains near West Halifax. Honora's 200-acre vineyard and estate is nestled in Southern Vermont's Green Mountains. With spectacular 360 degree views of Hogback & Haystack Mountains in Vermont, Monadnock Mountain in New Hampshire and Mount Holyoke & the Berkshires in Massachusetts it is a great place to sit, relax, and sip from the harvest. Special events held throughout the year. HOurs: Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Phone: 802-368-2930

Up Watson, the Game’s Afoot!

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From April to October 2010, the entire town of Bennnington is hosting a Season of Mystery inspired by an international Sherlockian symposium of the Baker Street Breakfast Club in late June at Bennington College. The international conference is just a three-day event, but the entire town is developing a variety of Sherlock-themed and mystery-themed adventures for the summer and fall. There will be mystery walking tours, townwide scavenger hunts, a mystery playhouse on local radio, bicycle tours with people in Victorian costume, tales of Arthur Conan Doyle at a Victorian mansion, mystery book discussions at the library, a Sherlock Playhouse, and murder mysteries to solve. Call the Bennington Chamber of Commerce for details. Phone: 802-447-3311.

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Enjoy Views of the Mountains from Dover

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The Dover Town Forest Trail, located near Dover and on the eastern edge of the Green Mountain National Forest, offers an east, three-mile walk along a well-maintained trail that follows an old roadbed along a ridge to the Rock River. The trail offers views of Mount Snow and Haystack Mountain to the west and East Dover and South Newfane to the east. From the center of West Dover, take Valley View Road to Cooper Hill Road. Just before the Cooper Hill Inn turn onto Rice Hill Road. At the end of the road on the left is a small parking lot on Dover Town Forest land. This is a beautiful and not difficult walk through the best views of southern Vermont.

Great Waterfalls: Hamilton Falls near Jamaica

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Hamilton Falls near Jamaica is the most impressive in all of Vermont, but also dangerous, for climbing and swimming. The waters of Cobb Brook leap 125 feet down a steep rock face on their way to the West River downstream. It is a beautifully photogenic waterfall. To find it: Take Route 30 to West Townshend. Turn north on Windham Hill Road and drive for about 4.3 miles. Turn west on Burbee Pond Road and drive for about a mile and turn west on West Windham Road. Drive for about 2.8 miles and look for a point where the road makes a sharp bend to the right in a wooded section. There is a small sawmill on your right. Park on the left side of the road or in a small lot on the right side of the road a few hundred feet further. A worn and level trail reaches the top of the falls in a few hundred feet.