Road paving operations nearing completion on Route 4 in Killington.

Road paving operations nearing completion on Route 4 in Killington.

What a beautiful day Vermont experienced today. Beautiful blue sunshine, light breezes, temperatures nudging 80 degrees... just a perfect late summer day.

Mary and I have some business contacts in Montpelier that we needed to see, so today was declared "Road Trip". Off into the Vermont countryside we went.

We travelled down Route 4 from Killington through Bridgewater, Woodstock, and Queche on our way to Route 89 north. We took a brief diversion into West Lebanon to ship an oversize package before heading out on the highway. If you did not know about "Irene", you would quickly think that Vermont had taken President Obama's economic stimulus package for "Shovel Ready Jobs" to heart. There was road construction in some spots, but in general there was free flowing traffic from Killington all the way to the New Hampshire border. It was a beautiful day for a ride.

Montpelier is a beautiful little city. By population, some claim it is the smallest state capital in the United States. With the little gleaming golden dome of the state house, it is just the perfect little city for a lunchtime stroll.

We took a quick lunch at "Chef's Table", a restaurant run by the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) and staffed by students. When we do road trips, we are always looking for new ideas to bring back to the inn. In this case, they had some nice bistro tables which we though would fit perfect in the Great Room Lounge back at the inn.

The Vermont countryside along Route 89 was as beautiful as ever. The leaves are definitely starting their fall progression from a verdant green to falling down. It will be quite a while before the colors approach peak. But then again, quite a while is measured in weeks and days at this time of year.

Mary and I know we are very lucky to live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The only thing missing from today was that I could not convince Mary to drive me to Montpelier in her Mustang convertible, with the top down of course. That fall foliage ride is for another day.

Where ever you may be, keep it in the fairway, and start studying up on the PGA Leaf Rule for fall golf.