Delta Park, Chocolates & Whales Tails, Burlington, VT - August 15

Delta Park, Chocolates & Whales Tails, Burlington, VT - August 15


We set out to find Delta Park, but the navigator took us to an area just above it. We walked a short distance when we could see the trail that we wanted under the bridge we were walking over. So, we left and found the correct area.

It was a short walk to the shore of Lake Champlain where we went in search of shore birds. There wasn’t a lot there, but it was a nice walk along the lake and as we ventured closer to the reeds over the spongy terrain, we saw a few birds and some frogs. There were a couple of other birders there as well. One of them stopped to talk to us and he said that in a couple of weeks the migratory birds would come though and the place would be full of birds. 

 Leopard Frog

 Least Sandpipers

 Leopard Frog

 Great Blue Heron

From there we went to the first chocolate factory; Vermont Nut Free Chocolates. They didn’t have any factory tours, but they offered a free chocolate. We bought a few things and left to go to lunch.

We stopped at a “local” restaurant called the Spanked Puppy Pub. It was filled with locals and it had a large menu of pub fare and lunch specials. It was “comfort food” for sure. I haven’t had fried chicken in eons, so I tried theirs and Greg got the Shepherds Pie. The chicken was the crunchiest I have ever had in my life. (quite good) Greg said his was good, despite being a bit “different”. 

Next we went to an area of Burlington called Church Street Marketplace. It was a couple of blocks that are closed to traffic and had and eclectic bunch of shops and restaurants as well as some historic buildings. There was an interesting wall mural that had lots of local history. Not a surprise to find that Vermont is a “Bernie state”. We had some ice cream at the same chocolate company where we were going to do the factory tour. It was the most tasteless ice cream we have ever had. Should have gone to the Ben & Jerry’s that sits on Cherry Garcia St. 

 no, we didn't ride them

 ice cream stop

Our next stop was at Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory. We just missed the last factory tour (we have seen quite a few in the past so no biggie). We tasted the chocolate which was much better than the ice cream we had in their other store. So, we bought some for later.

Our last stop was not a pre-planned stop. As we were driving into Burlington, we passed an unusual site. I was looking out over a meadow with mowed paths and people were walking their dogs and then I saw 2 black whale tails. Greg saw them at about the same time and we both looked at each other and said “why?” We didn’t think too much more about it, but at lunch there was some local art on the walls and one was the two whale tails. So, Greg looked it up and found it was called Reverence and is a sculpture created by Jim Sardonis in 1989 that depicts two tails of whales "diving" into a sea of grass. It is meant to symbolize the fragility of the planet. The tails were made from 36 tons of African black granite and stand 12 to 13 feet tall. They originally were at the entrance to a conference center, but they were sold and moved to Technology Park in South Burlington where Ben & Jerry's ice cream has its corporate headquarters.

The area was also listed as a birding hot spot, so we decided to go check it out. We walked around the area for a while and did see some birds, but nothing new. 

 Canada Geese

 Savannah Sparrow

It was a short drive back to the hotel and we had dinner there. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BKWwYU9z187k6kT79


Tomorrow, we are planning the Rock of Ages Granite Quarry & the State Capitol.