The Ethics of Cross State Travel to Vermont in the Time of COVID-19

You are right, in general people should avoid recreational travel. My wife and I had plans to visit my parents in Florida back in March. We cancelled our flights and hotel reservation out of an abundance of caution for us and them. The next month thousands of spring-breakers headed down to Fla, my wife and I were upset by this as it shows a general lack of consideration for the millions of Floridians in the danger age.
Cheers and maybe I will finally visit HF some time next year.

 

Need the TLDR version. Way to many words.

 

Don't go to Vermont (read: Hill Farmstead) until 2021.

 

America is founded upon pursuit of individual happiness, and I assume Thomas Jefferson meant pursuit of barrel-aged farmstead ales.

[shakes head] Jesus Christ I can’t understand why people can’t sacrifice literally the most inconsequential thing(s) for the greater good. “F*** your hospitals! Masks are infringing on my basic rights.”

 

Couldn't agree more. As someone who has been checking the website weekly for months to see if I'm allowed in I'm resigned to the fact that it won't happen anytime soon. But still I respect the rules and I'm not going to break them. After this week's update there are exactly 2 counties from all of NY, PA, NJ, CT, MA, RI and NH were leisure travel was allowed per policy and those counties represent a whopping 60k people. The Vermont rules are very strict but to this point they've managed COVID better than anywhere in the country.

Given how seriously the team at Hill Farmstead takes their commitment to the community and state you have to wonder when they start clamping down themselves if they continue to see this behavior. The retail shop manager was interviewed on a podcast recently and mentioned he already had been following up with people placing extremely large orders since curbside started trying to weed out potential resellers, etc.

 

But... but... Susan cans and Poetica 3 2L growlers!!

By the way, if you want to know where all the VT license plates are, come over to our side of the river and check out the parking lot at any Home Depot. I mean, sure, dying of Covid sucks but you start talking 6% sales tax and life gets real cheap real fast.

 

I’ll keep my distance in exchange for some Arthur and Mary.

 

I agree with this of course, but the reality is that not everyone thinks this way, and many people assume they are the exception.

Should HF not make special releases because it attracts to much traffic? There are a whole host of problems with that, but is it fair to say HF relies on out of state traffic to move product at the rate they do? Probably.

IMHO, the only way to really stop people from traveling is through laws/EO’s and enforcement. Otherwise people will keep assuming they’re they exception.

 

My wife & I had tentative plans to visit Vermont this summer before this whole catastrophe started roiling the waters this spring. We looked at the quarantine recommendations & decided we didn't want to be the assholes skirting the rules, especially after seeing some of the amazing selfish behavior around us.

Unfortunately, the people who need to see this will stop reading after a few words.

 

Northeast Kingdom? Seriously?!!!

 

It sucks but it needs to be done...
I miss hanging out at Blackback, tasting parties, visiting Montreal, but would miss myself or anyone near and dear being alive more.

 

Silver lining is that Canada might want us again. Let’s give them time to heal, but they’ll get there.

 

OP I assume that you are also making this impassioned plea to all your fellow Vermonters not to travel out of state lest they bring back Covid across virus proof borders and you yourself have not left the state of Vermont in past 10 months.

 

What needs to be done? Locking down? It’s just delaying the inevitable - everyone gets it. CDC director said the vaccine will be, at best, 60% effective. This winter is going to be bad for COVID, cases everywhere are spiking significantly.

 

Speaking for myself, I have not left Vermont for just under a year, and have no plans to do so soon. If something made going out of state necessary, I would be cautious, e.g. packing toilet paper and shitting in the woods rather than risking a public restroom, and not going out much at my destination. In fact this is pretty much how I handle the in-state travel that my job requires.

 

It's pretty simple. We don't want to be North Dakota.

 

Having been to North Dakota several times pre-covid I think the sentiment holds true in any time.

 

It's the name of a region of Vermont - pretty widely acknowledged at that.

 

whoa- just how many shits have you taken in the woods?

 

Your state may not have beer as good as Hill Farmstead, but every state has pretty good fucking beer at this point, so why the need to travel to a hospital under-served area?

 

None this week, but quite a few... I live on a dead-end dirt road 9 miles from the nearest town. If I'm working in the woods for a few hours TP is in my kit. And due to an unfortunate stomach bug accident a few years ago, I have TP in my personal vehicle and my work bag at all times. It has proven handy once or twice.

 

Vermont hotel and inn operators have some responsibility here too. I haven’t been up, but I know it’s a real *wink wink* check the box thing when it comes to checking in out of state guests.

 

Thats exactly what most of do when we visit hill farmstead from out of state. We stay in our cars, wear masks and only get out at the destination to load our beer.

 

I only travel out of state with a negative COVID test in hand (within 48-72 hours). I quarantine back at home until I have a negative COVID test in hand. Thankfully, this is possible with the local testing available to us here.

Edit - I have not been to Vermont

 

Explore your own state. I guarantee you haven’t been to every part of your state. Shit, I went from a Berkshires virgin to someone who has spent multiple long weekends there and I love it.

 

Do they have those dank farmhouse beers there tho?

 

It’s going to happen whether you like it or not.

 

There’s an incubation period of 7 days where you can test negative and still be infected.

 

It is up for debate...

 

This is irresponsible. Limiting spread is respecting other people's rights. It is not inevitable.

 

There is no substitution for Hill Farmstead since they are the best brewery in the world. In the Berkshires I suggest Shire Breu Hous. They make nice saisons, kettle sours, ipas which you may find in cans in the Berkshires finer liquor stores.

 

"we?". people have been pouring across the border without let up since this began. It started during ski season and at the height of sugaring season. People should act responsibly, but Im looking at the stats and am not seeing much of a rise. 21 new cases, 1 death in 3 months.
The Department of Health reported on its dashboard Saturday the 59th death from Covid-19 in Vermont, the first since July 28.
If anyone wants to buy a house in Vermont mine is for sale.

The department also reported 21 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total cases confirmed in Vermont since the beginning of the pandemic to 2,347.

New cases were reported in the following counties:

• Chittenden: 4
• Washington: 4
• Windsor: 3
• Caledonia: 3
• Addison: 1
• Bennington: 1
• Essex: 1
• Windham: 1
• Grand Isle: 1
• Lamoille: 1
• Orange: 1

 

Berkshires have some of the best breweries on the east coast, Brick and Feather, New City, Fort Hill...

 

Canada not looking to good itself: https://www.google.com/search?safe=...&ved=0ahUKEwiM2aLC8fLsAhUCZjUKHXC-CQcQ4dUDCAw

 

Agreed that everyone should take all precautions necessary when going anywhere. No big gatherings, masks inside and, in some cases, outside, hand washing, etc. It is certainly the people that are ignoring these guidelines that are spending this virus, not the people responsible following the rules, regardless if they travel across a state line. I’m sure some people here will just blame us Massachusetts residents and that’s cool, I get it. But, and this is an honest, not being a Masshole, question: should we shut down State Borders? I’m thinking New Hampshire and Vermont small businesses would say, absolutely no. Again, honest questing.

Mike

 

Honest question! Haha, not questing.

 

Why doesn't Hill just do what Tributary did with Mott the Lesser - Hold pick-ups for out-of-staters until it is safe for pick-up.

 

You can just leave New Hampshire out of this. We have no rules. We’ll lick your open sores for a buck.

 

Let’s not go crazy on the hyperbole here. Some solid breweries in the Berkshires and really all over the state, and all a pretty easy drive while the weather is still nice.