Tastes of Vermont

Roger here....  We started our tastes of Vermont a few days ago at the Cabot Cheese Creamery.  Two days later the epicurean adventures resumed with a 45 minute trip to Waterbury, Vermont to visit an ice cream store.  Not just any ice cream store --- Ben and Jerry's!

We arrived with the dogs during the late morning.  The crowds had not 
yet descended . I only had to wait 5 minutes to get on the half-hour  tour.   Since the dogs could not go on the tour, Dianne took them up the hill to visit the Flavor Graveyard.  This whimsical place pays tribute to all the Ben and Jerry ice creams that have been taken off the market:  

I have to admit that peanuts and popcorn ice cream does not sound all that appealing.  Evidently, it was not.

During the tour, the guide told us that Sugar Plum holds the record for the shortest time on the market --- three weeks.  







On her way back down from the "graveyard" Dianne snapped this photo of ingredient storage tanks.  A whole lot of milk, cream and sugar is continually pumped into the factory.

Dianne also took a photo of the solar farm that powers the factory.

While Dianne and the dogs were traipsing through the graveyard, I was learning all about Ben, Jerry, and ice cream production.  The tour started (and ended) in the gift shop.  Ben and Jerry were (and are) socially conscious people and very benevolent.  They actively support the social causes that they feel to be important.  Their views are evident throughout the property.  This three-dimensional mural espouses some of their values.  I like these guys.

The Ben and Jerry story started after their graduation from Penn State.  They were friends who decided to form a partnership.  Their first venture was to be a bagel store, but they could not afford the equipment to bake the bagels.  They then bought an abandoned gas station and began the production of ice cream.  The rest is history.

Cameras were not allowed in the production areas, but the process was interesting.  There were various stations for adding ingredients --- syrups, candy, brownies, nuts, fruit, etc.  Ben, in particular, was aware that big chunks of flavor were important.  Ironically, he has no sense of taste.  Texture was a key element for him.

At the end of the tour everyone received a small cup of the flavor of the day --- chocolate fudge brownie.  Yum.

Dianne and the dogs arrived at the scoop shop as I exited the tour.  It was time for some serious tasting.  Dianne and I both had double scoops of different flavors.  My favorite is still "Chocolate Therapy."  

Dogs get free ice cream at the scoop shop!

I felt really sorry for the little girl.  Her mom attempted to get the scoop off the pavement to throw it away, when the dad asked us if Bandido could have it.  We said, yes.  Bandido ate it in one chomp.

Bandido was a source of entertainment for everyone within sight as he pushed his small cup of ice cream all over the place trying to get as much as he could with each lick.    I finally picked it up for him.

Our next tasting stop was to be at the Green Mountain Coffee outlet.  Dianne went into the store while I waited by a gazebo in a park with the dogs.  The advertised samples did not materialize, but we now have a new supply of k-cups :-)

We were all on a sugar high after our morning ice cream.  It was time to move 10 miles down the road to Stowe, where the tasting continued.

Our only picture of the steeple of this beautiful white church.  :-(

We had intended to find the town's 5-mile hike/bike trail for a little exercise.  However,  the entire town was undergoing massive road construction.  The sidewalks were torn apart. We waited about 45 minutes before moving a quarter of a mile.  We certainly were not going to find a nice place to walk in Stowe.  

We abandoned our efforts and took the first left turn available.  It led us out of town.  We found a dog-friendly restaurant, The Blue Donkey, along the roadway and stopped for burgers.  The burgers were good, but a special treat was in store for Bandido and Poquita.  We ordered a burger for them to split.

Bandido says, "This is just the best day ever.  First ice cream.  Then a hamburger!"

As we were finishing, a young couple who saw us getting out of our car stopped by the table.  They asked if we were from Texas.  They were in Vermont visiting the young lady's parents.  We talked about the mess in town.  I mentioned that we had intended to hike on the trail.  They smiled, pointed and told us that it was right next to us.  We did not even need to move the car!  What luck!

We were able to walk the trail after all.  We headed away from town (dodging bicycles) for a long distance on the trail.  The weather and scenery were perfect.

In several spots restaurants, like this one, were accessible from the trail.

We walked until we decided it was time to turn back.  

We had to pass by Stowe again before moving on.  We sat still for about ten minutes before we were able to bypass the edge of town.

One last tasting remained for that day.  Growing up I spent every Sunday at my grandparents' house with aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Grandpa owned an orchard.  I was excited about visiting the Cold Hollow Cider Mill.  We took turns going in to wander through the fragrant smells and to sample the cider.  The taste of the cider transported me back to my youth.  I had seconds :-)  I went first, and told Dianne that she needed to go in, as well.  She returned to the SUV with two cups of artisan coffee to ward off the afternoon fuzzies on the trip back to the RV park.  

It was supposed to rain the next day so Dianne found a laundromat and grocery, while I worked on the last post.  There was still another day of tasting ahead.

A neighbor of ours from Retama Village in south Texas posted a comment about the unique places for beer tasting in Vermont.  She said that it was a great way to drive through the bucolic small towns and countryside while sampling a variety of craft beers along the way.  We had no real plans for what turned out to be a sunny and hot day, so I searched the internet to see if anything was nearby.  Bent Hill Farms was a town over from our RV Park on a narrow, winding, isolated road.  We were pleased with what awaited us.

  
Many of the ingredients in the craft beers from this taproom were grown on the farm.  We shared six small $2 samples while we sat at a window with a wonderful view.  Some of the ingredients included: coffee, chocolate, black currants, cinnamon, maple syrup, coconut, etc.  

Three Stoned Birds (red and black currents, cinnamon)     Nitro Stout (coffee, coconut)

  We ended up buying a couple of four-packs to squeeze into our cooler.  It was worth the trouble.

The "Three Stoned Birds" has nothing to do with pot, at least I think that is the case.  It likely has more to do with currants that birds eat that produce alcohol as they ferminate.  The "Maple Red Ale" was our favorite --- really tasty, but not overpowering.  

On the trip home we stopped by the local general store to pick up a couple of things.  These stores seem to exist in every small Vermont town, reminiscent of my youth in Indiana --- a step back in time.

Daily Walks....

We still have another day in Vermont; however, I cannot forget to share one of the daily joys that we had at Lake Champagne RV Park. 

We obviously walk Bandido and Poquita several times every day.  I soon discovered that those walks could be out of the ordinary for a private campground.  The well-groomed places to walk resembled hikes more than casual walks.

This series of photographs shows the one hour and fifteen minute walk we took the morning before the beer tasting :-).

We traversed meadows.  We made decisions regarding which paths to take.

We did not retrace any steps throughout the entire walk.  We were alone the entire time.

We entered dark forests that did not have mosquitoes!

We climbed hills that led to a huge hillside meadow.

We saw portions of our campground in the distance from the top of the hill.




We found a barn that expressed our feeling for this place.

"LOVE"

The next post will take us to the Ivy League.

Dianne's Teensy-Weensy Trailer Tip:

Airstreams are well-designed, and evidently designed for meticulously clean and careful adults, not the Norris menagerie.   

One of my favorite things about my dinette/bed area is the very large wrap-around window in the front of the trailer.   The center section opens completely up and is screened.   In New England we have enjoyed not needing the air conditioner and having our windows open.   

But that same large screen poses a problem when we want to leave the dogs in the trailer for those times we cannot take them along with us.   All it would take is one squirrel to get their attention and the big screen would be history, whether the window was open or closed.   

Shutting the curtains to block the view might work (assuming they didn't open the center velcro closure).   Our clever dogs seem to know when there is a squirrel or other varmint nearby, whether they can see it or not.   That would be "curtains" for the curtains, if you know what I mean; at least, they would no longer be pristine and white.

I puzzled over this for a long time before our trip, but came up with a solution that works well.   We had an old carpet protector runner that I cut to fit the width of the white curtains, both in the dinette area and in Roger's "man cave."  I used adhesive velcro strips on both the back top and bottom edge of the Airstream curtains and the matching velcro strips on the protector.  

Now when we need to leave them behind, it's quick and easy to stick the protector up and thereby protect both the bright white curtains and the large screen behind.  

Here's a photo of the protector in Roger's bed area after it's put on: 

When we return from our outing, it's a snap to remove the protector and fold it up for another day.

Pet Picture of the Day....  

Poquita actually looks dainty in this photo as she laps up her ice cream.  The photo is very misleading.  There is nothing dainty about Poquita when she is eating.