What Happens in Vermont...Nothing!

[editor's note: I'm supposed to make the record accurate by saying that K's aunt isn't 85, as maybe reported in a previous blog. She's ONLY 79. 😂 ]

So, we have been here two days.  We are done. 

I'll say this about Vermont: nobody has ever raved about its fast-pace.  Including me. 

Here we go:

After breakfast at the bagel place, .2 mile from our lodging, the historic Middlebury Inn (which has been fine and geographically convenient), we went and picked up Aunt Em.  Who said she'd show us the way "around the mountains" (discussions of what constitutes a mountain will wait for another day). 

I will summarize this way: we ended up on multiple dirt roads (I didn't know they really existed anymore), one that said "road blockaded ahead" (it wasn't), wondered through a ski resort's timeshare condos to the point where we came to a dead end. I mean, dead.  Had to do a 3-point turn around. 

I was not allowed to use Google maps until she was lost in the ski resort.  Then we were okay. 

It's lovely country.  Reminds us of home in Pennsylvania -- rolling hills, farms, trees, and some small mountains nearby.  Of course the weather here sucks worse in the winter. 

Our first stop was in Warren.  I couldn't find it again on a map.  We went into a hippie shop, run by a woman who might be called Rita, who had flaming fake red hair, and was 73 (she told us so).  Rita told this joke (you know, we were old pals after 3 minutes); if the man is in the woods alone, without a woman, is he still wrong?  She said the obvious answer is yes.  Laugh if you dare. 

We have stopped at at least 4 country stores, the theme of the trip like Christmas markets were on the trip to France in January, and eaten ice cream in many.  Here they call soft serve "creemee" and even have a Vermont creemee passport (I know my friend from Carlisle will be interested 😂).  K is in love with maple creemee, something you don't get back home (she likes maple more than chocolate! Sacrilege!)

We ended up at dinner at the Waybury Inn, which is where they shot the exteriors for the Bob Newhart Show.  You know. the one with "my brother Darryl, and my other brother Darryl."  Darryl and Darryl lived near there.  

The food was excellent.  

Vietnamese salmon (not actually brought in from Vietnam)

Spare ribs (we decided pigs have extra 😂)

Then, back to the hotel. 

This morning we found a "real" breakfast place (for two, $50, without cocktails!!! 😡) over near campus (Middlebury College, Carlisle-guy :))...the french toast, on Texas toast, was worth the photo. 

And, yes, it was real maple syrup.  Where do you think we are, Bloomsburg?!?! 😂

On the way north, we stopped at Beau Ties.  If you don't know their stuff, well, I'm not surprised.  We were told they made a lot of money in masks in the pandemic.  Here's our new friend Liz from there --

Liz growled pleasantly to let you know you weren't petting her enough. :). It was kinda cute. 

Then off to a place I'd never heard of: Shelburne Museum. 

The woman who put the museum together, her name was Electra and her family made their money in sugar and railroads.  She must have had a lot of money.  There are 39 buildings on the campus, and 25 have been moved there.  The first was a one-room schoolhouse.  

The most impressive is the ship that sits in about the center of the 40+ acres.  It is the SS Ticonderoga (or just "Ti" to the locals), which is one of few side-paddle steamboats.  There was a movie about how they drug it from Lake Champlain to the site, which took 60+ days and a lot of moving of rails.  It's an amazing site. 

The museum was full of folk art, which isn't my thing.  But I did like the quilt exhibit, which made one wonder -- the one supposedly had 769 triangles.  It felt like math to me. ):

Then to the village of Shelburne, where we found...a country store!!!  Stunning.  The pic of the maple creemee is from there.  The title comes from K laughing at a magnet in there; it said "what happens in Vermont, stays in Vermont, but nothing happens in Vermont."  😂. She bought it, some maple sugar, some maple candy, and like a ten gallon thing of maple syrup (slight exaggeration).  But she likes maple. 

We then tried to find Lake Champlain on the way back and didn't so much fail as never got to a spot where there was a good money shot.  It is a big lake, some 600 feet deep at some points. 

Hotel, nap, clean up, and back to get Auntie Em for final dinner.  Indian.  Here are pics: we had their original/classic, korma and (the bright red one) tikki marsala.  

There was a cookie store "one minute away" walking, acc to "the google."  

Here's what I had -- their "lovewich."  It's a butterscotch and chocolate chip cookie.  Fresh made. 

And, that, my friends, is about it.  We go home tomorrow.  Rah effin' rah. 

I go home to begin practice packing for my next trip -- "our" next trip -- when we go on the BIG TRIP to Europe.  28 days.  Six countries.  10 rounds of golf.  I've lost track of how many airbnbs, hotel rooms, and cars rented.  Like the years we've been married -- alot.

Till then.  

North to Vermont

Hi everyone --

I wonder if you were ready for some more blogging.  Probably not. Then ignore this. 😀 

I wasn't sure there'd be anything blog-worthy right off on this trip, but here we are.

Let's start with yesterday, as we drove north from Bloomsburg and stopped for a quick sandwich before our 2:30 appointment at Ravines Tasting Room outside Geneva. 

It was supposed to be an ice cream stop (we ARE on something like vacation), but K wanted "protein" (you don't think ice cream has protein?!?!?), so we ended up splitting a sandwich. 

In a tale as old as time (or us olds think fairly new, bc "back in the day" you got better service), even though they were told NOT to put mayonaise on our chicken and ham wrap, it had mayo on it (I got extra to put on my half).  K gagged after the first bite and had to send it back; they made another. 

We decided part of it was a language problem: the young person at the check-in spot spoke fluent Amish, and softly, so we neither knew half of what she was saying.  I must have said "excuse me" three times just to make the sandwich order.  I realized it was partially the accent -- She told the guy behind me that she'd be back "shirtly" -- which isn't quite as good as the "don't call me shirley" joke, but it has potential. 😂

To Ravines.  The server had been there three years, and to K's delight, talked incessantly.  She didn't exactly pull the Miles from Sideways "latent notes of broccoli" thing, but she came very, very close.  And we found out she was from Brooklyn.  I know where she drank on Friday.  I know she prefers the Sauvignon Blanc to the Riesling, and thinks Chenin Blanc is wonderful.  She's been to Paris with...

You get the picture.  I wish I had filmed it. 

Then to Scout Winery.  Yes, that's really their name.  The server at Ravines is a member of their wine club (bc I know by now you want to know this).  The server there, the wife? of the wine-maker, was more sedate.  I don't think she ever mentioned broccoli, though I think she mentioned pineapple notes (we're in effin upstate New York, where the F do you think you are getting pineapple notes from??!/11? the can in the kitchen?!?!!?).  But I know she went to Hobart and Smith rather than Middlebury (one wonders) and her partner is the only one she knows of working in gamay.  It's a grape, if you don't know.  

Okay, here's the best part of the weekend, so far: we get to the B&B and I immediately realize I don't have my toiletry bag.  Never got it out of the bathroom.  Forgot all about it.  We are 3+ hours from home and today we were going in the exact opposite direction from home (almost due north v. almost due south).  Can I live without my meds for 4 days?  K says she didn't want to see me try. 

We went to dinner.  We scheduled this place on Friday bc...well, it's a funny story.  K found a place, I said ok, then...Tuesday I said "did you make a reservation?" and she said no.  Friday I said "did you make a reservation?" and she said no.  Why not?  I wasn't sure you approved.  "What do you think 'did you make a reservation' means?"  Well...I said "what do I have to do to make you think I approve?" "Make the reservation." ROFL. 😂😂

They had no reservations left.  So I found a place about 20 minutes from the hotel that was supposedly 4. 7 stars on Open Table with a lake view.  We get there and I look around from the parking lot.  Where's the lake?  No lake. 

We get inside and it's like a sports bar.  There are like 5 TV screens going -- a couple supersized -- in the dining room in which we were seated.  

Did I mention that this is our anniversary dinner?  The official answer to "how many" is either "nonya" or "a lot" (maybe all one word).  

So. 

But the food was pretty good and the wait person was very good -- attentive and the right amount of patter. 

Here's the food porn:

Bacon-wrapped scallops

Filet mignon. 

Prime rib.

[We don't get a lot of beef at home]

We were stuffed -- no dessert. 

Back to B&B, bed, sleep, indigestion, yaddity, yaddity, ya

Breakfast at the B&B was egg casserole loaded with sausage.  Not a sausage fan.  With a side of two strips of bacon.  In case your arteries weren't clogging fast enough.  I ate the bacon.  I was told it was worth noting that the casserole was made with biscuits.  Okay. 🤷. And the fruit cup had a "cream" in it that the host told us, way too proudly, that it was made of Cool Whip (do you hear Stewie from Family Guy saying it? 😂) and vanilla pudding.  Try to think of it as tasty.  😡

At this point you may be wondering what happened with the toiletry bag.  Well, K wants full credit for this idea: I called the appropriate pharmacy in Elmira -- the closest one to us -- which opened at 9, where the equivalent one in Bloomsburg didn't open till 10 -- and asked what they could do.  First she said I didn't have a prescription to fill, so she couldn't do anything.  Then she relented and said she'd give me 5 of what I needed when I showed up.  I thanked her profusely.

Bottom line is I got my meds with about a 3 hour detour, as opposed to a 6 hour one.  All is well. 

[It's tough being old]

We got to Middlebury, our final destination, in time for dinner, which I won't repeat because it wasn't not worthy.  WE'll hope for better in the next couple days. 

And, if you are wondering, K's aunt lives outside of town.  We've never been here to visit.  She's like 85, though still really spry.  So...

Note: it's supposed to rain most of the next two days.  Ah, well...

Till tomorrow.