Brattleboro, Vermont: Rain, Rumors, and Really Weird Mushrooms

okay, so i’m pretty sure i’m running on fumes and lukewarm coffee. i just got back from brattleboro, vermont, and honestly? it was… a thing. the air felt thick, like wet wool, and the humidity was clinging to everything - 97% according to my phone, which is probably lying. the pressure was 1029, which felt like someone was gently squeezing my eyeballs. i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing.

seriously, the weather was a mood. constant drizzle, the kind that makes everything look blurry and slightly melancholy. it wasn’t bad, just… persistent. like a really insistent friend who won’t let you leave. i’m talking about 2.88 degrees felt like -0.27, temp_min 2.88, temp_max 2.88, and a ground level of 996. i don’t even know what that means, but it felt important.

i was there mostly because a friend - a very unreliable friend - swore there were some seriously bizarre mushrooms growing in the woods outside town. and you know me, always chasing the weird. i spent most of my time wandering around, trying to find them, and mostly just getting lost. i stumbled upon this tiny record store, ‘vinyl vibes,’ which was a godsend. they had a whole section dedicated to obscure krautrock - seriously, the guy behind the counter looked like he’d been listening to it since the 70s.

i overheard some pretty intense gossip about the old mill down by the river. someone told me that it’s haunted by the ghost of a clockmaker who went mad trying to build a perpetual motion machine. wild, right? i also heard that the town’s mayor is secretly a competitive cheese sculptor. i don’t know how true that is, but it’s way more interesting than the official story.

let’s talk gear. i’m a touring session drummer, so my bag was basically a black hole of sticks, cables, and half-eaten granola bars.

Sturdy Boots: Absolutely essential. The ground is muddy. Like, really muddy.
*Waterproof Jacket: Duh.
*Camera: Obviously. I was trying to capture the light, you know?
*Notebook & Pen: For scribbling down weird mushroom sightings and drunken conversations.
*Portable Charger: Because my phone died approximately every two hours.

i found this amazing little cafe called ‘the speckled spoon’ - seriously, the name alone is worth a visit. they make this incredible lavender latte that’s basically liquid happiness. check it out: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-speckled-spoon-brattleboro

i also spent an afternoon exploring the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center. it wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was a decent way to kill some time while waiting for the rain to stop.

speaking of weird, i found a whole patch of these giant puffballs - like, the size of basketballs. they smelled faintly of wet dog. someone warned me that they’re poisonous, but honestly, i was too mesmerized to care.

if you get bored, boston is just a short drive away.

i also checked out the Putney Books & Stationers - a total haven for bookworms. they had a surprisingly good selection of used paperbacks. https://www.putneybooks.com/

and let’s be real, the whole town just felt like it was holding a secret. like it was whispering stories to anyone who would listen. i think that’s why i liked it so much. it’s not a place you go to do anything, it’s a place you go to be*.

oh, and one last thing: don’t trust anything you hear from the locals after dark. seriously. i heard that the old lighthouse keeper still wanders the cliffs, searching for his lost love. or maybe he’s just really, really lonely.

check out TripAdvisor for more info: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g33659-Brattleboro_Vermont-Vacations.html

honestly, i’m exhausted. i need a nap and a gallon of coffee. brattleboro, you were… something.

Brattleboro, Vermont: Rain, Rumors, and Really Weird Mushrooms

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About the author: Lucas Grant

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