I'm a firm believer in saving the best for last, and we did just that by spending a night at the Inn at Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield, VT. Dorothee connected with Round Barn head chef Charlie Menard on Twitter before we left Chicago and learned that much of what's served for breakfast at the inn is grown on site, and the ingredients that aren't are sourced locally and sustainably from a local farmer named Dave Hartshorn. So in a sense, we came for the sustainable food, but we stayed for the lush accommodations.

The first question that most people have when they hear about the inn is, "What's with the round barn?" According to Charlie, round barns were used by Quakers because, as he put it, "the devil can't hide in the corners" of a round barn. It also looks pretty neat. Charlie's kitchen is located in the round barn, as well as a lap pool, a gallery space, and a large event space (where Dorothee is posing in the photo below).

After we checked in and shot a short video, we came downstairs and found a spread of at least 10 local cheeses waiting for us. After munching on the cheeses and some fresh baked goods for a bit, Charlie took us on a guided tour of the Mad River Valley, showing us some of the sustainable food attractions in the area, and introducing us to his farmer, Dave. I'll post some more about what we learned on our drive with Charlie soon, but for now, feast on some pics of the Round Barn Farm.

-Mark