Day Trip #1: Maxfield Parrish, 19th Century Silicon Valley, Designer Glass, Sculpture and Beer

From Dorset, take Route 30 through Manchester, and follow Route 11 to Londonderry. Turn north on Route 100. Go through Weston and Ludlow. About three miles north of Ludlow, turn right on Kingdom Road, which becomes Tyson Road. Take Tyson Road to Felchville, turn left on Route 106, and then turn right on Route 44 following signs for Brownsville and Windsor. In Windsor, visit the American Precision Museum, a restored 19th Century manufacturing plant. Learn how the machine tool industry, led by advances in the Connecticut River Valley, was the cutting edge of technology in the 19th Century.

Then go north a short distance on Route 5 to the Cornish Colony Museum, also in Windsor, and see works by the famous painter/illustrator Maxfield Parrish and his generation. Stop at the Simon Pierce Glass facility on your way north on Route 5, and then take a tour of the Harpoon Brewery.

Double back into Windsor and take the Cornish-Windsor covered bridge over the Connecticut River, and follow signs for Cornish and the St. Gaudens National Historic Site. Tour this fascinating house and grounds.

Return to Windsor and head south on Route 5 to Ascutney, and turn right on Route 131. Follow signs for Cavendish and Proctorsville. Pick up Route 103 and proceed through Mt. Holly to East Wallingford. Follow signs for Wallingford and Route 140. In Tinmouth, turn left on Mountain View Road. Continue south to Tinmouth Road. In Danby Four Corners, turn right on the Danby-Pawlet Road. Drive west to Pawlet, and turn left on Route 30. Continue into Dorset.

Note: The American Precision Museum is closed in the winter, and the Cornish Colony Museum has limited winter hours. Check before visiting.