Chris Hurd

The return of warm weather makes hangin' out on my front porch with its eye popping views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains dreamy. Lazing and pondering ALL that we have to fit in before the inevitable return of YOU KNOW WHAT...

Here we go with my biased and utterly incomplete Fun List of things to do in Charlotte VT this summer. Oh, this really is THE BEST time of year in this amazing little town:

• Wow, this little gem is worth the price of admission. Right now. Don't miss out! For the next two weeks, you have to see it to believe it. The firefly display in the meadows across from Mount Philo State Park is psychadelic. The southern 60 acre meadow at the intersection of State Park Road and Mt Philo Road is where the evening's silent fireworks display takes place. Imagine undulating waves of blinking lights acre after impossible acre. You won't regret it! (let your eyes adjust to the dark for 30 mins prior for the full affect)
• Breakfast sandwich at the Old Brick Store and a latte on the front porch catching up with familiar faces.
• Tennis at the town courts followed by a running plunge off the town docks into Lake Champlain
• Rick's Barbecue Shaved Pork Sandwich for lunch at the Little Garden Market
• Hanging on my front porch for no reason at all
• Uncle Sam's for your dose of burger, fries, shakes and, last but absolutely not least, a cremee
• Take your bike on the Charlotte to Essex NY ferry for a lovely ride and a meal on the NY side. Essex is alive and charming in the summer.
• Hike up Mt Philo for the best sunset hang out around
• Berry picking at the Charlotte Berry Farm
• Join one of Charlotte's CSA farms (Community Supported Agriculture) for yummy, healthy, local, organic vegetables all summer
• Pizza on a picnic table at Pizza on Earth on a warm, summer evening. Wonderful!!
• Bicycling Charlotte's roads. Sublime.

PLEASE add your own favorites to this list by placing your comments here at Hurd's The Word. If you have questions about buying a home or property, please call me at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or go to my website at Charlotte Vermont Real Estate.

Wow!

This IS the year for Lake Champlain. We will all be celebrating the 400th year since Samuel de Champlain first explored our region on his daring expedition. Lots will be happening so don't miss out!!! Have fun and we'll see you there!

• Burlington Vermont Celebrates Lake Champlain (July 2nd - 14th)
• Independence Day Fireworks Celebration Burlington Waterfront (July 3rd) (tip: get there early)
• Sailing Regatta for Lake Champlain (July 25th)
• Lake Champlain Maritime Festival (August 14, 15 & 16)
• Take A Sailing Lesson at the LCCSC on the Waterfront in Burlington VT
• Take your boat to the Basin Harbor Club for the day or overnight
• Sunset and Cookout at North Beach in Burlington VT
• Take One of the Lake Champlain Ferries for a Sunset Cruise, Full Moon Rise or both!!
• Rent a Kayak or Canoe at North Beach in Burlington Vermont
• Dinner & Drinks & Sunset at Splash Cafe on the Community Boathouse Docks in Burlington

PLEASE add your own favorites to this list by placing your comments here at Hurd's The Word. If you have questions about buying a home or property, please call me at 802.238.5256, email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or go to my website at Burlington Vermont Real Estate.

Unashamed and completely subjective with additions all the time (hopefully with a few by you). Grab a friend, your spouse, a significant other, your child(ren), all of the above and celebrate summer in Shelburne, Vermont:

• Large Triple Latte, 2%, with a shot of vanilla, extra hot and a Apple & Cinnamon Muffin while sitting on the steps in the morning sunshine at The Shelburne Wine & Coffee Shop.
• Paddling up the LaPlatte
• Vermont Symphony Orchestra and/or Mozart Festival Concerts at Shelburne Farms
• Cycling Shelburne's backroads
• Playing Tennis at the Town Courts
• Dinner at the Inn at Shelburne Farms before a concert (don't forget to place your blanket on the ground before dinner so you have great seating for the music)
• Walking the trails at Shelburne Farms
• Outdoor Summer Concert Series at Shelburne Museum
• Running into familiar faces at the Shelburne Supermarket
• Dinner on the patio at Sauce Bistro on a warm evening
• Saturday's Farmer's Market
• Being in anything that floats on Shelburne Bay
• Summer Trains into Burlington
• Go to the Shelburne Meat Market and pickup their incredible Marinated "House" Tips for grilling at the Shelburne Beach just in time for a sunset

PLEASE add your own favorites to this list by placing your comments here at Hurd's The Word. If you have questions about buying a home or property, please call me at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or go to my website at Shelburne Vermont Real Estate.

My completely random, highly subjective FUN LIST of things to do this summer in the Queen City. Enjoy and, MOST OF ALL, have fun!!

• Vermont City Marathon (Memorial Weekend)
• Burlington Discover Jazz Festival (June 5th - June 14th)
• Burlington's International Waterfront Festival (July 2nd-14th)
• Independence Day Fireworks - Burlington Harbor (July 3rd)
• Hanging out & people watching on the Church Street Marketplace
• Sunsets and a cold drink at the Community Boathouse or anywhere along the waterfront
• Concerts everywhere
• Dinner at an outdoor cafe
• Biking along the rec. path on Lake Champlain
• Saturday Farmer's Market in City Hall Park on College Street
• Watching Thunderstorms lumber across the lake from behind the Coast Guard Station
• Take a lesson or rent a boat at the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center

PLEASE add your own favorites to this list by placing your comments here at Hurd's The Word. If you have questions about buying a home or property, please call me at 802.238.5256, email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or go to my website at Burlington Vermont Real Estate.

Elements of community differ amongst people.

Last week while attending the National Association of Realtors Green core curriculum course in Montpelier, the topic of “Smart Growth” was discussed. “Smart Growth” is the notion that a community has certain elements that contribute to its sustainability, resiliency and vitality. These elements include the following essential components as outlined by The Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative:

• Maintaining the historic development pattern of compact village and urban centers separated by rural countryside,
• Developing compact, mixed-use centers as a scale appropriate for the community and the region,
• Enabling choice in modes of transportation,
• Protecting the state’s important environmental, natural and historic feature, including natural areas, water quality, scenic resources and historic sites and districts,
• Serving to strengthen agriculture and forest industries and minimizes conflicts of development with these industries,
• Balancing growth and the availability of economic and efficient public utilities and services,
• Supporting a diversity of viable businesses in downtowns and villages, including locally owned businesses,
• Providing for housing that meets the needs of a diversity of social and income groups in each community.

Of course, these are the goals. The Gold Standard.

Armed with new sensitivites relating to Smart Growth and what comprises Green Homes, I have been mulling over communities that come close to meeting these criteria. It is quite the process I must say…

I have been taking a closer look at Shelburne Vermont in the days since my course last week and she seems to plug into the Smart Growth equation pretty darned well.

If I were to be actively considering a place to live, Shelburne Village would be VERY high on my A-list.

A budding local organization called Transition Towns (this organization originates from the UK) is taking root in Shelburne and in Charlotte among other Vermont cities and towns, nationally and globally.

This group’s centerpiece is the notion that “Peak Oil” has been achieved on our planet and the complexities confronting us by way of Global Warming/Climate Change compel us to re-think our patterns. We see current fuel prices creeping back up again. No new refineries coming on line in decades is a sign the oil industry isn'’t even willing to invest in itself. What does that tell you?

Transition seeks to build local resiliency at the town/neighborhood level. Its goal to strengthen community via an interconnected awareness and reality that we must transition to a new notion of community, sustainablity and resiliency in the face of exponentially growing challenges.

Of course, there are many elements to these assertions and it will be in our collective best interest to open constructive dialogue with a plenitude of diverse voices around these important matters. Start by reading Rob Hopkins book entitled “The Transition Handbook.” In his book, Hopkins lays out the challenges and solutions in a format that is virally spreading across the globe.

Ultimately, if you accept these notions, Transition Towns is all about dealing with these matters now before we’re forced to or before it’s too late.

“Smart Growth,” “Green Homes” and “Transition Towns” are part of an emerging new vocabulary leading us down a path of enormous opportunity and hope. I urge you to read the following link/article from the New York Times Magazine Earth Day Edition from last month about the Transition Towns Initiative.

Call me at 802.238.5256, email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com or post your comments at Hurd's The Word or go to my website at Charlotte Vermont Real Estate.