One of My Favorite Covered Bridges in Vermont Washed Away Due to Hurricane Irene

I spent the morning with my family cleaning up my yard in suburban Boston after Hurricane Irene swept through the area on Sunday. There were more than 5 garbage cans filled with downed branches, including one massive limb that fell two feet from our car and could have caused extensive damage. All in all, we were fortunate as ole Irene was tired by the time she reached here. Vermont took the brunt of the storm in New England. I was saddened to hear that one of my favorite covered bridges in New England, the one that sits over the Ottauquechee River in Quechee, best seen while dining at the Simon Pearce restaurant, was swept away by surging water. In Rockingham, the 141-year-old Bartonsville Covered Bridge was washed away by the raging Williams River. Those bridges are irreplaceable.