We actually slept the first 12 hours of this semiquincentennial! Perhaps it was because of the cloudy morning? Regardless, we made up for it with a very busy afternoon and beautiful early evening.

We had some company while we had our coffee outdoors – what a surprise!

It would have been nice if they left us some eggs for breakfast (brunch)!

We went into downtown Manchester around 3 pm and stopped in at the Lost Marble Brewery.

Not long after being seated, the sky opened up and the downpour began. We waited it out with a Caesar Salad and a surprisingly good NA brew they carry from the Best Day Brewing Company.

After the rain stopped, we went in search of an easy walk and ended up at Hapgood Pond in the little town of Peru. The description from the list we have is as follows:

Hapgood Pond (Peru, VT): Located 14.6 miles east (about a 22-minute drive) via VT-11 E in the Green Mountain National Forest, this 50-acre woodland area has a beautiful 1-mile loop. It is an easy terrain perfect for a quick, scenic stroll. [1, 2, 3]

I would insert “moderately” before the word easy, and eliminate “quick” altogether 🙂 It was, however, beautiful!

After crossing the bridge, our trail continued alongside this stream. We came upon the campground – beautiful sites, but dry camping only. The campground was full, and it was easy to see why. Soon we were back at the parking lot, happy to have completed the one-mile loop without difficulty.

We were back at our campsite in Dorset around 7:15, grilled some dinner, and made plans to go to the Arts Center tomorrow.