One fun thing about Vermont this year compared to last is that we're able to see friends and family without a quarantine period for them to enter the state. We are taking advantage of that! Laurel and Bret live in Connecticut and had a long weekend (we originally were going to do this over Monday-Tuesday when the kids were out of school, but the weather looked better on Saturday, so we shifted our plans a bit) so they came up to visit the evening of Friday, 8 October through the morning of Sunday, 10 October. We stuffed them on the couch bed and on mattresses on the floor upstairs and had a right good full-house party! We spent Saturday giving them a grand loop Blanchard highlight tour of Northwestern Vermont and we had a blast, even with all the extra leaf-peeping and holiday weekend traffic we encountered.
Our first stop was the Island Line Rail Trail starting in South Hero. This is the trail that goes about a mile or so and then is stopped short by a cut in the road that is only crossable on the bike ferry. We chose this route specifically for the thrill of riding the boat around the gap and everyone loved it. On the other side of the gap we continued our ride along the Lake Champlain Causeway for another mile or two till we found a wide spot to park and climb down on the rocks out of the wind to eat our lunch. Then we rode back, waited forever for our turn on the ferry (it was much busier than last year - a fact we soon found to be consistent through all our stops!), rode back to our cars and headed to our next stop: Ben & Jerry's.
The roads were clogged and slow-moving once we got off the freeway in Waterbury, but we slowly made our way to Ben & Jerry's and found a spot to park clear up the hill by the flavor graveyard. The kids were excited to play on the park and the parents were excited to use the bathrooms and then we all met up in the line for ice cream. We had a long time to think and talk and dream and plan what flavors we would try. Cal got
Cherry Garcia with caramel sauce (I didn't even know you could get toppings, but she knew what she wanted and told the worker all the details!), Sam got
Half Baked in a sprinkle-topped sugar cone, and I got
New York Super Fudge Chunk . . . twice. Yep, I was like the little kid whose ice cream plopped off her cone onto the dirty sidewalk and I just sat there with a sad face and stared. Bret jumped up, ran to the front of the line and got me a replacement, in a cup, and saved the day!
After Ben & Jerry's we headed up the road a couple miles to Cold Hollow Cider Mill. It should have taken just a few minutes, but we were moving slowly in back to back traffic (both directions) all the way there. We lucked out and found a close spot just as someone was pulling out, and headed in for donuts and souvenirs and cider samples. They had a second donut maker set up with an outside viewing area and we spent quite a bit of time admiring that process before and after we went in the store. Unfortunately the cider press was not running that day either, so we had to make do with watching the movie about the process while we sipped our samples. Oh, well.
After Cold Hollow, our plan was to sneak through the back way of Stowe to avoid the main, always busy, intersection. It was a zoo getting out of the parking lot for Cold Hollow so we all got split up and then lost service, so we just hoped for the best in getting to our next spot: Smuggler's Notch. Somehow the McClungs ended up right behind the Farrers only a few cars behind us and we all made it up and over the notch and met up again on the other side. It is such an amazing pass, but I didn't get any pics because we didn't stop. Just picture tons of yellow leaves and giant rocks nearly blocking a super steep and windy road.
Our last stop was the Burger Barn in Jeffersonville, which also had an hour-long line. But we waited anyway and ate our yummy burgers in the dark. The kids were wild and running all over the grass like crazy people, but having a grand time. We chatted and ate and then loaded up and drove back to Jay Peak in the dark. What a day!
 |
| Off we go down the Island Line Rail Trail! |
 |
| Flag up to let them know we want ferry service. |
 |
| Sign reading while we wait for the boat. |
 |
We saw lots of sailboats pass through this channel while
we waited. |
 |
| Ready to ride! |
 |
| McClungs are loving the bike ferry experience. |
 |
Cohen and Melia liked it too, though this pic probably
doesn't show that much enthusiasm. ;) |
 |
| Off we come on the other side. |
 |
| I had to chuckle at the Boston in 231 miles sign. |
 |
| We had a hard head wind on our journey out into the lake. |
 |
| A good spot for some lunch! |
 |
But the return trip was super speedy since the wind
pushed us along back to the ferry. |
 |
| Montreal 87 miles! |
 |
Sam slept the whole way from South Hero
to Waterbury! |
 |
| We made it to the head of the line! |
 |
| Worth the wait! |
 |
The playground was full of bouncy spinny
toys, which I'm not sure is the best plan
for kids after they are filled up with ice cream.
(I saw evidence that at least one person didn't
handle it well off the side of the playground.
Ew.) |
 |
| Watching the donut maker at Cold Hollow. |
 |
When we passed through here earlier in the week with
just Christine and the kids, this field had a few people stopped
and taking pics. Today, it was full! People and cars everywhere! |
 |
| This is a Stowe Mountain Road leaf-peeper jam. |
 |
Cute church in Jeffersonville with the light
hitting just right. |
 |
Burger Barn menu.
We got the Barn Burger, the Minuteman Philly
Burger, and the Samuel de Champlain Burger. |
 |
Burger Barn Menu part 2
and Sam got a corn dog. |
 |
| The clouds were glowing like a rainbow! |
 |
And the sunset was spectacular while we waited for
our food. |
 |
A Sunday morning family porch pic before
the Farrers headed back south. Such a fun time
spent with them! |
Bike trails are my favorite! I can’t believe the traffic for leaves!
ReplyDelete