Vermont Relocation Vacation {10/14: Parks, Disc Golf, Lake Champlain, Cider Donuts, Pascale's House}

I only had one pic (that Gregg took) on Tuesday (the 13th), so I'm just going to sneak it in right here. It's beautiful! But we didn't do much photo-taking on Tuesday otherwise. It was a school/work/hangout at home rainy day. Sometimes you need one of those every once in a while. We did talk with my grandparents on facebook messenger and caught up on The Great British Baking Show bread week that we had missed on Friday. A good day.

We've started planning our adventure days by the forecast and Wednesday (October 14th) looked to be perfect (warmish, sunny, calm) so we set out to play. We didn't have a super busy itinerary this time; our goal was just to be outside! We ended up first in Essex Junction at Pearl Street Park where we found a fun family-friendly disc golf course through the trees around the edges of the park. (Thank you UDisc app, yet again, for finding us not only a playground, but an awesome course to play together!) We played till we were hangry (literally) and then hopped back in the car heading toward Shelburne (while eating sandwiches we had packed for just this situation). 

The woods were gorgeous!

One hole took us around the pickleball/tennis courts
and another went past the basketball court.

We had a bit of a hike to get to hole #7.
I didn't mind it one bit!

Our next stop was Shelburne Orchards on Lake Champlain for . . . you guessed it, cider donuts. Here they had a drive up system so we didn't even get out of the car! Verdict: they were good, but not super cidery tasting and really sugary on the outside. Not our faves as far as cider donuts go, but a delicious donut anyway! We continued on down the road a few miles to Charlotte Beach which had a park and another disc golf course and tons of perfect skipping rocks. And a bonus covered bridge! We spent a good long while soaking up the sun on the playground and the beach. It was a marvelous way to spend the afternoon! 

A playground fit for the monkey bar queen!

Spinning webs.

Partner swing.

On the shores of Lake Champlain.

I walked across this sketchy "bridge"
over knee deep stagnant water to get
a good outside view of the bridge.
(And I didn't get wet!)

I tried to walk out on those rocks and logs
to the little island the kids were playing
on (they did it themselves with no splashes,
by the way) but I slipped off a rock and got
both feet soaked in ankle deep (but clear) water.
Wet feet for the rest of the day, darn it, but
it didn't dampen my mood, thankfully. ;)

The kids had fun collecting shells.
We saw a sign warning about zebra
mussels at the beach, so maybe that's what 
these are? I really have limited shell
identification skills.

Gregg's former coworker Pascale invited us to come see her land while we were in her state, so we left Charlotte and headed back toward Stowe, but made a impulse pit stop in Waterbury Center at Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Everyone came inside this time and we got to see the cider being pressed and the donuts being made. Fun place! (Of course we bought a half dozen here - these ones are still our faves of any we've had yet!)

Cider tasting!

Watching the cider press was really cool.
They had a hose that squirted out apple mash
onto a platform. Then the cloth was wrapped over
the layer and another platform was added to the top
with another layer of apple mash squirted over
the top and on and on. Then it placed in the press
(the red machine on the right) and out comes
the cider into a trough below!

We loved watching the donut machine cranking out
the good stuff.

Reminded us of Homer Price!

Pascale lives on 300 acres just outside of Stowe Village. She led us around her property on gators (Sam and Cal were SO excited for this and had been asking for days when our visit and gator ride would be) to tour the wilderness. What a place! She and her husband have been building bike trails all over the hills and through the trees. And since it's 2020, they've named the trails things like "Ventilator" and "Isolation" and "Flatten the Curve". She even had a friend make some nice wooden signs to mark where you're at. What a hoot! We parked near the C19 (get it?) trail and hiked up a little ways till we got to the "attraction" she wanted to show us: an old double chair hanging in a tree. Of course we had to get a photo. :) As we walked back down the hill, Cal and Sam noticed a creature up high in a tree. We got closer and discovered it was a little porcupine! We drove back toward her house (which is a restored barn!) but first stopped at "The Bridge House", where I think her inlaws live? (We're not sure exactly, but it's also on the property and she spends a lot of time there with the family.) Luckily, no one was home and she led us on a little tour around the home. It was incredible! It's a full-size replica of a covered bridge! And everything inside was custom made for the house in Vermont by Vermonters. They're quite proud of it and I don't blame them. It was amazing. Beautiful views, beautiful home(s), tennis court, swimming pond, apple orchard, miles of trails and roads through the woods and fields . . . livin' the dream, Pascale!

Pascale and Cal were in the lead gator.

Gregg drove the second gator with Sam
and me as passengers.

Passing 'Flatten the Curve' trail.

Double chair on C19.

They loved this part!

We passed this lovely pond (one of many).

Here's the Bridge House. It's really a bridge!

Bridge House views.

Back to the Barn House. This is where
Pascale and her husband Jim live.