Simple directions from Boston to Mike's
You want to go west on route 2, from 128 (or as the newbies call it
I-95 :-) that's exit 29, Route 2 west. From this point it's between
two and two and a half hours (more or less, depending on how you drive
and how badly I wrote the directions).
- Go a long way west on Route 2 until the split for I-91.
- Take I-91 North into Vermont.
- Take exit 2 off I-91 in Vermont and get on Vermont route 9 west.
- Just before Wilmington, 17.2 miles from I-91, is the junction with
Vermont route 100. There is a large flea market at this
intersection (just past the turn) on weekends in the summer,
and snowmobile registration in the winter. If you get to
Wilmington, you went too far, just go back a short distance on
route 9 to Route 100 (from the "Welcome to Wilmington" sign,
it's less than a mile back to route 100 south.)
- Follow 100 south 3.6 miles to the first paved road on the right,
this is Wilmington Cross Road. It's also the only one on that
side with a "T" sign before it. The street sign is easily
visible as you approach on route 100.
- Follow Wilmington Cross Road to the stop sign at the end (2.0
miles), then go straight across that intersection (the
intersecting road is route 100 again, but it followed a
slightly longer way to get there) on to Goodnow Road.
Note: If you miss the turn for
Wilmington Cross Road you will
pass through Jacksonville (about 6 miles from route
9), in that case continue to follow Vermont route 100
up the hill and keep an eye out for Wilmington Cross
Road on the right and Goodnow road on the left.
Goodnow is the second left after the school, at the
highest point on Route 100 between Jacksonville and
Whitingham. There is a sign for the intersection that
looks a little like a stick figure with one arm raised
(stiffly), the raised arm is Goodnow Road. Turn left
onto Goodnow road and you are back on the original
directions.
- Goodnow road is about half a mile long, go to the far end.
Note: from the point where you get on
Goodnow road to my house is only 2 miles. This is the section
where most people who get off the directions do so. If you go
2 miles from here and you're not at my house yet, you missed a
turn. The rest of the directions mention every intersection,
don't go through one without noting what the directions say to
do.
- Goodnow Road merges into Town Hill Road. Turn right and pass the Brigham
Young Memorial (Whitingham is the birthplace of Brigham Young,
founder of the Mormon Church) and the ball fields on the left,
and the town "common" (playground and military memorials) on
the right.
- Shortly after the memorial (you've traveled about a quarter mile
on Town Hill Road) the main road turns left and becomes
Poverty Row (Town Hill Road continues straight down the hill,
don't follow that). The sign for Poverty row is visible.
- Poverty Row is about half a mile long, go to the far end. There
are a couple of dirt roads off Poverty Row, do not turn onto
these. Poverty Row ends at an
intersection with other paved roads.
- At the end of Poverty Row, continue straight onto Burrington
Hill Road, the street signs here are not as visible. Do
not turn with the main road onto Kentfield Road.
- Almost immediately (maybe 100 feet), Burrington Hill Road curves
to the left, but you should continue straight (or slightly
right) onto the dirt road, this is Streeter Hill Road. The
street sign for Streeter Hill Road is not visible as you
approach it, as it will be edge on to you. But you can see it
on your left as you enter the road, or behind you if you go
past it (the latter is how I found it the first time :-).
- My house is number 517, it's the first driveway on the left,
about half a mile from the start of the road. There is a
mailbox with the number 517 on it on the right just before my
driveway, when you see that my house is on the left and you
are about to pass my driveway, which isn't very visible before
you reach it. There is a sign on a tree on the far side of
the driveway with the number (517) and name (Patton) on it.
If you get off the described route and need to stop for directions,
your ultimate destination is:
517 Streeter Hill Rd
Whitingham, VT
which is near the intersection of Poverty Row, Kentfield Road, and
Burrington Hill Road (all of which end at that intersection). That
should be enough for any local to get you headed in the right
direction, or you can call the house at (802) 368-7121.