Signature VT foods/drinks are anything with maple syrup (maple cremees, aka soft serve, are definitely our signature dessert), craft beer and hard cider, cheese, chocolate, poutine (which we get from Canada), the Vermonter sandwich (ingredients vary, but generally something like turkey, cheddar, and apple slices) and a lot of farm-to-table stuff. If you're ever visiting, go to Yates Family Orchard in Hinesburg and get the Supremee, which is a fresh cider donut with maple cremee and caramel-drizzled apple pie filling on top. It's out of this world!!!

We don't really have any "cities" by CA standards - our biggest city is Burlington with 40,000 people. Much of the state is very very rural. But we are within a few hours' drive of Montreal and Boston, which are both awesome. A little farther away are Quebec City and NYC. Since we don't have a coastline, Maine and Cape Cod are popular summer beach destinations.

Most people here love winter because of skiing and other winter sports. I'm more of a summer person and think summers here are great, albeit short.

Nature: lots! It's a great place for hiking, skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, swimming, hunting, fishing, boating and more, depending on the season. Lake Champlain forms a lot of the western border and is really pretty. Nice views are everywhere, we're definitely spoiled in that regard. Mountains are plentiful, although not nearly as high as they are in CA.

Also, a few people are definitely pranking you, especially regarding our supposedly weird obsession with potatoes? Yeah, not really a thing. A lot of what you're asking is just stuff you could easily Google, so I get why some might think your question silly, but I always enjoy sharing.