Oct. 9-10 Middlebury, VT

Oct. 9 We traveled to Middlebury today where we will spend our last two days at Lake Dunmore campground. It's a nice campground - this tree was outside our RV. We went to a marble factory this afternon. Joe and I had been there on a bus tour years ago, so it was a little redundant. That night we went out with six other couples to a fabulous restaurant called Fire and Ice. It was excellent. The whole place was filled with old photos and other memorabilia, plus there was a full size boat similar to a Chris Craft boat (like the one Henry Fonda drove in the movie "On Golden Pond"). The food was superb. Joe and I had prime rib - yummy good.

Oct. 10 We took another scenic trip around the hills of Vermont. It was breath-taking. My camera battery had died so I didn't get any photos. Yankee RV treated us to yet another lunch, at a place called Rosie's. We can thank the RV tour company for all the extras pounds we're bringing home; they have fed us too well. We passed by the Inn that was used in the filming of The Bob Newhart show, also stopped for a glass blowing demo and a bowl factory.

Our other new friends are Bill and Jane from Traverse City Michigan. They've carted us around several times on the trip and we all got along so well. They had taken us on the

Van Trapp lodge trip and a tour of the capitol city, Montpelier. Today they took us into the little town of Middlebury to see some of the quaint shops, a waterfall and the beautiful Middlebury College campus. The college was your typical Ivy League school with grand marble buildings and lush landscaping. I heard that all you need to get in is about $30,000.00 a year and a lot of smarts.

To end the day we walked over to Lake Dunmore at the campground. It was just perfect with the colorful trees reflected in the water.That evening we had a talent show. Joe even did his hambone and of course I did a hula. There were other people who shared their talents with us.

The final morning together the Tour Co. provided breakfast before we all departed.

What a perfectly delightful adventure we have had!

Oct. 8 The Van Trapp Lodge, Stowe VT

Oct. 8

Today we had a very special treat. We went to Stowe, VT to the Van Trapp Family Lodge (Van Trapp - “The Sound of Music”- Julie Andrews as the young Nun, Maria, who was hired to be a nanny to the 7 Van Trapp children.) When the family fled from Austria, during Hitler’s reign, they eventually chose Vermont as their home because it looked so much like Austria. We had a delicious breakfast buffet in the lodge. Then we saw a touching film with Maria Van Trapp telling parts of her life story and of her return visit to her home in Austria. She has since passed away. Watching her tell her life’s story was even better than watching the movie. I know there were only a few dry eyes in the audience. We were honored to be able to see this film because it is only shown to guests of the lodge. The Yankee RV Tour folks were given special consideration. Next to the lodge was the family cemetery where the Baron, Maria and three of the children are buried. The youngest daughter, also named Maria, lives in a home near the lodge. This experience alone was worth the price of the trip. And to look out over the beautiful hills surrounding the lodge, you could just imagine Maria and those children singing …..the hills are alive with the sound of music……

We then went to an apple cider mill and on to a sugar farm. The Morse Maple Farm visit was really quite interesting and the owner Burr Morse was hilarious. He had that dry Vermont humor and a unique storytelling style. He narrated a slide show about sugarin' and we laughed till our sides hurt. Then we went inside for a "sugar on snow" demo where we dripped maple syrup onto ice and made little maple sugar pops - then we ate them! Of course nothing could top that except a maple flavored ice cream cone. Yuuuummmm!

Joe and Burr

We bought a copy of his book and of course lots of maple syrup.

Oct. 5-7 Woodstock, VT

Oct. 5

Today was a free day so we roamed around Woodstock with some of our new pals, David and Shirley. It’s a beautiful little town with interesting architectural styles and tons of charm. Had lunch at a popular restaurant in town, even had live music. Shirley and I went on a tour of the museum which was well worth the price and the time.

David then drove us around some of the scenic roads and we discovered a maple syrup farm that Joe and I had visited years ago on a bus tour through New England.

We then stopped at a darling place called “Fool’s Hill” that had cute little yard animals (stuffed) scattered across a large hillside. They were roasting corn over a huge outdoor grill and the shop had all sorts of homemade goodies.

Oct. 6 Colchester, VT

Colchester is near Lake Champlain. David and Shirley took us to explore the islands in and around this area and it was gorgeous. I can see why this is a very popular place for summer vacations, especially for people who love boating. This trip proved was full of surprises. We found an old Quaker Cemetary. The graves were marked with simple rocks placed in the ground. Very few had markings that were legible. There was one very large rock in the center of the cemetery but we didn’t know what it represented. We then stopped at a small, or what appeared to be a small, general store. It had everything from fishing gear to toys to china and even had a café serving clam chowder and fresh homemade pastries. What a find! (Lake Champlain behind us, no my hair wasn't big that day - it's the wind)

But that wasn’t all. A few miles on, we passed a produce stand with a variety of squash and other vegetables. David is quite the chef so he had to stop! A few other people were there shopping and we discovered that it was an open market operating on the honor system. You selected your items, wrote down your name and what you got, weighed the items and figured up your total from a chart listing the prices. You then put your money in a container. There was no one tending the store except a big ole, lazy hound dog sleeping next to the pumpkins. (I can’t imagine this system working in Columbus.)

We stopped at the ferry landing to watch the ferry that runs between Vermont and New York. It’s only a 12 min. ride but we saw very big trucks, even a tanker truck, drive onto it. Guess it’s cheaper and quicker than driving around the island.

Oct. 7
Today we went to the Shelbourne Museum which is an outdoor museum covering about 50 acres. It is one of the most extensive and diverse collections of art and Americana. It houses the actual steamboat “Ticonderoga”. I heard that they had to build a railroad track specifically for moving the ship to its location at Shelbourne. They then tore up the tracks. There was one museum with a special exhibit of Mary Cassatt paintings and another house with a huge exhibit of quilts. There were hundreds of old carriages in two large barns. It was all so overwhelming! To really see what this museum contains you might want to look at their web site http://www.shelbournemuseum.org/ .

Oct. 2-4 Vermont

We arrived in Woodstock Vermont yesterday and went on a drive to Quechee Gorge lookout. I don't remember the exact depth of this gorge but standing on the bridge it looks REAL deep. We then went to Simon Pierce Glassworks to see some gorgeous glassware and pottery. Also had a glassblowing demonstration.

We went to the Rock of Ages granite quarry, (which personally sounded a little dull to me) but it turned out to be quite fascinating. At the site, with the current rate of extraction,they have enough granite left to last them 4,350 years. The huge cranes could lift a total of 220 tons at a time. The quarry is 50 acres of 600 foot deep granite - the world's largest dimension active granite quarry.

We then went to the Hope Cemetary where the graves are marked by extrememly diverse,

sometimes ornate, extravagant tombstones, masoleums and crypts. It was an amazing sight.

Of course the one restriction is that you must use the grey granite from the local quarry. There were some intriguing stories behind some of these headstones.

Our drive today was beautiful with rolling hills and adorable little villages dotting the landscape. The leaves here are not as brilliant as in the North Woods of New Hampshire. Don't really know if the peak is yet to get here or if there is an abundance of evergreens in these mountains. After all they aren't called The Green Mountains of Vermont for nothing.

We stopped by a shop called Scotland By The Yard, a retail store that sells woolen goods from Scotland. There was a fenced area next to the shop with sheep that were "baaaing" at us. We enjoyed watching them for a while, but when they realized we didn't have food for them, they wandered off.

Also went into the Randolph Music Box Shop which had a dizzying array of music boxes. Some were large with multiple disc players - priced at $13,000.00. Maybe, if the stock market goes back up........

Having supper in the rig tonight. Needed a break from the busy schedule. When you don't have a hair dryer, you use what you have, in this case the little floor heater.

Oct. 1-2 New Hampshire

Oct. 1 Glen, New Hampshire

Last night we finally had some “down” time, so Joe and I walked all around the campground. It’s a great place with a river running along one side. We heard a train coming so we stood on the banks of the river and waved at the passengers. They all waved back – sort of a quaint, storybook-like feeling. Also got our laundry done since they have a state of the art laundry room and I got some computer work done.
The weather has turned a little sour on us. Have had a steady shower, a bit heavy at times but not enough to spoil our outings. We went on a car tour of the Kangamangus Trail today. There were some beautiful views but we really couldn’t see them for the cloud cover. Did get to get out and walk through some neat covered bridges.

Drove on to Conway alongside the Swift River and stopped in Lincoln for lunch. The couple we rode with today invited us to go to supper with them tonight and now we’re just chilling out in the rig. Tomorrow I’m going out for breakfast with a few of the ladies and Joe is going to a railroad/model train place with some of the men. Everyone’s been so nice to “cart” us around (since we didn’t tow a car with us) and it gives me a chance to look at the scenery.

We’ll be here one more day and then on to Vermont.