Wonderfully detailed Waterbury Village vintage home - Just Reduced to $212,900!

This vintage home still has all original wood trim, tin ceilings, switch plates, and 5-panel solid oak doors throughout. There are ceiling fans in each of the 3 bedrooms, and the original claw-foot tub in the 2nd-floor bathroom.

• 3-season porches front & rear
• New Roof 2006
• Whole house new electrical in 2008
• Ideal for 1st-time home-buyer tax credit (you'll have to be under contract by April 30th!)
• Close to Rt. 89, making it perfect for commutes to Burlington, Montpelier or Stowe

Take a look at the complete listing, with more photos at Realtor.com. Then, call me to arrange a visit!

Lake Elmore: Back on the market after a Winter hiatus

This exceptional custom lakefront 3-story home is back on the market at $589,900.

• It's 2-years new
• It's equally suitable for full-time, year round living and as a second- or vacation-home
• 25 minutes to Stowe Village; another 10 minutes up the Mountain Road to the Resort
• If you've got school-age kids, this is an important and valuable feature: Lake Elmore is a "Homeowner School Choice" town. Because Elmore doesn't have its own schools beyond elementary, residents' children can choose to go to Junior and Senior High in Stowe, Morrisville, Hyde Park; or, any other public school, worldwide! (you have to pay for the transportation to France...)
• 3 Bedrooms, 2 ½ Baths, 2,750 square feet
• 71' Lake frontage
• It's got tons of features, too numerous to list here

 See the original blog entry, with more photos here, and then take a look at the complete listing on Realtor.com.

Then, give me a call to arrange a tour -- it could be yours to enjoy this summer!

Congratulations to Chris Francis of Stowe!

Stowe, VT (April 9, 2009) On Wednesday, April 7th Chris Francis, owner of Ye Olde England Inn, was named the 2010 Vermont Travel Person of the Year at the Vermont Travel Industry Conference held at the Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa in Stowe, Vermont.

Francis began his career in the travel industry the summer of 1983, when he purchased the Ye Olde England Inn while on vacation with his wife Lynn. They had traveled to the states from England to catch the Americas Cup Races in Newport, Rhode Island. After, Chris and Lynn made their way up to Stowe, Vermont. It was during this visit that Chris decided he would like to own an inn and pub there, was interested in the lodging property San Souci and made an offer using his credit card. On the way back to England, he was notified that the offer was accepted and on November 4th, 1983 the Ye Olde England Inn officially opened.

Francis’ devotion and dedication to both Stowe and Vermont has kept him actively involved in the community. He has been on the board of the Stowe Area Association for 25 years and its president for 8 of those years. Francis is also the force behind many of Stowe’s car shows including The British Invasion. This event attracts hundreds of British cars and thousands of visitors to Stowe and to the state of Vermont each summer. Francis is known for his wit, negotiating skills and peacemaking and most importantly his strong advocacy for Vermont and the town of Stowe. 



The Vermont Travel Person of the Year exemplifies an ongoing dedication to what makes Vermont such a special place to visit. The award is presented to an individual who contributes significantly to Vermont’s travel and tourism Industry.

Source: Stowe Area Association

Personal Note: Ye Olde England Inn: Best and biggest beer selection you've ever seen, and great pub food!

These Just in...

Carl Wrighton, a fellow patroller, just sent me these photos, which he took of me on March 25th. Just a week and a half later, I'd already forgotten that he'd  taken them!

On my way to West Slope with 10 pieces of bamboo with disks to close a jump and a feature with 5 X's

Skiing the race course on upper Main Street

Thanks, Carl!

Photos of the Day - March 25

Season 7: Last day -- and what a beauty it was. We had lunch on "the beach" at our patrol station: hamburgers and hot dogs on our charcoal grill. With that wonderful grilling aroma wafting between our station and the top of the Sensation lift, we were the envy of our guests!

My last day just before 1st line check

Butternut Mountain Farm, March 20

Lucy and Dave Marvin finally built the addition they'd been wanting to at their certified organic and kosher Butternut Mountain Farm Sugar House in Johnson, VT. To celebrate, they invited their friends to join them for a ham and baked beans and "Sugar on Snow" feast around 5:00 p.m. And, every guest received a quart mason jar of just-produced syrup. We had the best time -- we learned more about sap running and sugar making than we imagined!

One vial per barrel of maple syrup produced,

from the first of the season through today, March 20th.

The second row looks like it's Grade A Fancy.

Here's Dave showing us how the sap runs into the 2nd floor

of the Sugar House. The round 'tags' are wooden disks,
and indicate the sections of the sugar bush from
which sap is running.

The Butternut Mountain Farm Sugar House.

The new addition is the "2nd building back."

Be sure to visit the Marvin's Country Store on Main Street in Johnson, VT, right next to the Johnson Woolen Mill. Open 7 days a week, year round - except for the usual holidays.

Wow: you can buy Butternut Mountain Farm maple syrup at Amazon and  Williams-Sonoma, too!

St. Patty's Day Photos

7:16 a.m. - on my way to work

From the Sensation Catwalk looking south to Stowe Village

Mt. Mansfield from the Sensation Catwalk

Looking up the Catwalk to Sensation top

Photo of the Day - March 8

4:15 p.m. - All lifts closed

Photo of the Day - February 25

Building a feature on West Slope for an upcoming 'big air' event

Photos of the Day - February 22

Toboggan ready to roll

Inside my station

Waiting to start Sweep

Photos of the Day - February 10

I was scheduled to do an early line check for races schedule to start at 8:00 a.m. This Piston Bully was still hard at work at 7:27 a.m.

Catching up...

Ok... I'm so far behind, I'll start with an update here, then I'll catch up with everything since the beginning of February.

• See my knee update here
• I'll post a bunch of photos I took since February 3rd
• During the entire month of March, I spent every Tuesday and Thursday evening, after patrolling all day, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., in an EMT refresher class
• I continued working with and showing homes and land to many of my real-estate clients
• My 7th season as a ski patroller ended last Thursday, March 25th
• Last Saturday evening, my wife, Fran, and I attended the Mt. Mansfield Ski Patrol 75th Anniversary Celebration at Spruce Camp at Stowe Mountain Resort. More than 300 people were there, including most of the current and past patrollers from 30 to 40 or more years ago! More here.
• I took my EMT recertification exam (written and practicals), with many of my fellow patrollers, this past Monday, March 29th
• I received my Happy Letter from VT EMS yesterday -- I passed with a score of 87%. My EMT license is now valid for another 2 years, until the end of February 2012
• I'm now going to focus my time exclusively on local-area real estate.