Vermont, Day Two:
Sep. 6th, 2009 12:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluecastleBreakfast served from 7-8. I rolled into our dining room around 7:20. Danish, cereal, eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, hash browns was the daily breakfast menu, with orange and cranberry juice, and thankfully, COFFEE.
Did not sleep well. Never do in strange beds, plus my mother makes odd puff puff noises as she sleeps. Kept me awake.
Departed hotel at 8:30 after greeting our local tour guide, Sharon.
Had about an hour’s drive wherein we were treated to a little lecture from Sharon about Vermont history before and after the Revolutionary War as we wound our way through picturesque small towns. Also asked to be on the lookout for Oreo Cookie Cows.
We had about an hour at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory.
They were late getting us in for the official tour, so it was a bit of a rush job, but we saw them cut out bear parts (20 per bear) and stitch bear parts, and dress bears, and finally, the bear hospital where they will fix any bear boo boos (except dryer-ing the bears). They even had a schtick about lawn-mowering bears…
The disembowled bears weren’t nearly as disturbing as the demo at the start of the tour about the kinds and types of bears they produce … which ended with a demo of this bear.
The old lady who the tour guide got to pull the bear’s face off was freaked out. Can you imagine a small child when you rip a bear’s face off in front of them?? They made sure to point out that with this particular bear, the eyes don’t say “made in Vermont.” Because of course, they couldn’t be, could they?
**they do get bonus points for having both a Captain Kirk and a Spock bear. The Spock bear had, of course, pointed ears. They were dressed in the TV era blue and gold uniforms, and if I’d had a spare $100 bucks…
Then it was off to downtown Burlington for lunch and a wander around The Church Street Marketplace.
Very cool. Had an upscale lunch at a place called The Three Tomatoes. Sat at the outdoor tables so we could watch the people go by.
Mom was amused by a guy with the afro riding a neon accented bike that sported an “Impeach Obama” sign. She also made sure to get a picture of the person sporting a Mohawk. The old guys in the seats behind us on the bus later on were talking about this person and wondering if the person thought they were “an Algonquin.” !!
Then back down the highway for overpriced, but YUMMY chocolate at Champlain Chocolates. They had a video to watch, and a glassed in production room, and LOTS of samples. I bought the “Taste of Vermont” sampler box with four pieces of chocolate in it …
Have only eaten the dark chocolate mint one so far, but it was very very TASTY.
They gave us Taster buttons and another square of the honey caramel on the way out. I wonder how many people thought all the dark chocolate they were giving us was too dark… it was a bit of heaven for me.
Then off to Dakin Farms, where my mother wanted to get bacon, and I ended up hauling home a motherlode of food:
The fourpack maple syrup sampler of the various grades of syrup, some cranberry chutney that is to die for, some mint jelly (I am weird and like peanut butter and mint jelly sandwiches), a bottle of hot sauce for my dad the cat sitter, a squirrel cookie cutter, and some postcards. Plus free maple syrup from a coupon picked up back at the chocolate place.
My mother came home with what she described as a lifetime supply of cheese.
(I should have gotten the maple butter. I regretted not getting it this morning when I was making toast. It would be awesome on toast I think. So I did get some maple spread at the grocery store. We’ll have to see how it stacks up.)
Then back down the road for about an hour. As we neared the hotel the tour guide (who has a theater background, natch, but tour guides and ski instructs these days) was singing us a song she wrote about her kids and some maple trees, and some guy sitting outside a seedy motel waved at our bus, and I was sorta taken by how kitschy Americana it all was, but how that was a good thing.
Dinner buffet included ham with raisin sauce, chicken alfredo, baked scrod, and strawberry cake.
We ate WELL … it was all good … if a bit stodgy …
Then after dinner my mad mother decided it was time to go and hunt for pinecones for the wreaths she’s making for Christmas presents. I rolled my eyes, but followed along dutifully. After wandering across to the far side of the parking lot we finally found a huge pile of cones under a tree, and all was right with the world.
Then, as mother more or less decided it wasn’t a good night for me to hit the pool, we walked over to the shopping center next to the hotel and went to Michaels for craft stuff and then a useless wander about Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
Back to the hotel to be regaled on the news that September 1st was the day same sex marriage became legalized in Vermont. There was much celebrating (and protesting) going on in Montpelier the capital. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream re-named Chubby Hubby in it’s Vermont scoop shops to Hubby Hubby.
Day three ended to the dulcet tones of MSNBC…
Did not sleep well. Never do in strange beds, plus my mother makes odd puff puff noises as she sleeps. Kept me awake.
Departed hotel at 8:30 after greeting our local tour guide, Sharon.
Had about an hour’s drive wherein we were treated to a little lecture from Sharon about Vermont history before and after the Revolutionary War as we wound our way through picturesque small towns. Also asked to be on the lookout for Oreo Cookie Cows.
We had about an hour at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory.
They were late getting us in for the official tour, so it was a bit of a rush job, but we saw them cut out bear parts (20 per bear) and stitch bear parts, and dress bears, and finally, the bear hospital where they will fix any bear boo boos (except dryer-ing the bears). They even had a schtick about lawn-mowering bears…
The disembowled bears weren’t nearly as disturbing as the demo at the start of the tour about the kinds and types of bears they produce … which ended with a demo of this bear.
The old lady who the tour guide got to pull the bear’s face off was freaked out. Can you imagine a small child when you rip a bear’s face off in front of them?? They made sure to point out that with this particular bear, the eyes don’t say “made in Vermont.” Because of course, they couldn’t be, could they?
**they do get bonus points for having both a Captain Kirk and a Spock bear. The Spock bear had, of course, pointed ears. They were dressed in the TV era blue and gold uniforms, and if I’d had a spare $100 bucks…
Then it was off to downtown Burlington for lunch and a wander around The Church Street Marketplace.
Very cool. Had an upscale lunch at a place called The Three Tomatoes. Sat at the outdoor tables so we could watch the people go by.
Mom was amused by a guy with the afro riding a neon accented bike that sported an “Impeach Obama” sign. She also made sure to get a picture of the person sporting a Mohawk. The old guys in the seats behind us on the bus later on were talking about this person and wondering if the person thought they were “an Algonquin.” !!
Then back down the highway for overpriced, but YUMMY chocolate at Champlain Chocolates. They had a video to watch, and a glassed in production room, and LOTS of samples. I bought the “Taste of Vermont” sampler box with four pieces of chocolate in it …
Have only eaten the dark chocolate mint one so far, but it was very very TASTY.
They gave us Taster buttons and another square of the honey caramel on the way out. I wonder how many people thought all the dark chocolate they were giving us was too dark… it was a bit of heaven for me.
Then off to Dakin Farms, where my mother wanted to get bacon, and I ended up hauling home a motherlode of food:
The fourpack maple syrup sampler of the various grades of syrup, some cranberry chutney that is to die for, some mint jelly (I am weird and like peanut butter and mint jelly sandwiches), a bottle of hot sauce for my dad the cat sitter, a squirrel cookie cutter, and some postcards. Plus free maple syrup from a coupon picked up back at the chocolate place.
My mother came home with what she described as a lifetime supply of cheese.
(I should have gotten the maple butter. I regretted not getting it this morning when I was making toast. It would be awesome on toast I think. So I did get some maple spread at the grocery store. We’ll have to see how it stacks up.)
Then back down the road for about an hour. As we neared the hotel the tour guide (who has a theater background, natch, but tour guides and ski instructs these days) was singing us a song she wrote about her kids and some maple trees, and some guy sitting outside a seedy motel waved at our bus, and I was sorta taken by how kitschy Americana it all was, but how that was a good thing.
Dinner buffet included ham with raisin sauce, chicken alfredo, baked scrod, and strawberry cake.
We ate WELL … it was all good … if a bit stodgy …
Then after dinner my mad mother decided it was time to go and hunt for pinecones for the wreaths she’s making for Christmas presents. I rolled my eyes, but followed along dutifully. After wandering across to the far side of the parking lot we finally found a huge pile of cones under a tree, and all was right with the world.
Then, as mother more or less decided it wasn’t a good night for me to hit the pool, we walked over to the shopping center next to the hotel and went to Michaels for craft stuff and then a useless wander about Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
Back to the hotel to be regaled on the news that September 1st was the day same sex marriage became legalized in Vermont. There was much celebrating (and protesting) going on in Montpelier the capital. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream re-named Chubby Hubby in it’s Vermont scoop shops to Hubby Hubby.
Day three ended to the dulcet tones of MSNBC…
