Quechee - a Balloon and some Syrup

Woke very early after dreaming that the Brady Bunch had reunited (as they were 30 years ago) but in Australia. So I had come all the way here and they reunited in Australia! 

Just lay in fabulous king sized bed watching TV and playing computer games until Darrick called to say ready. I was going to go on - get this - a hot-air balloon ride over Quechee Gorge. Don't know what inspired me but there we go, the hour is upon us.

Drove down to the cafe where we were meeting then we drive off to an open park area to set up the balloon. It was meant to be a sunrise thing but the fog was strong again so we had to go later. 

There are two couples holidaying together from Wisconsin and a younger girl whose husband was one of the two 'ground' guys and she was going for her first ride, actually everyone was going for their first ride and three of us are not keen on heights.

The female contingent decided a final 'restroom' break was in order so we went across to the Simon Pearce Glassworks nearby. Watched a bit of glass blowing while we were there. Then back to sign the I-won't-sue-you-if-I-fall form before hopping into the basket. 

After a few jumps to get it started, the basket slowly lifted into the air - a very smooth and gentle rising and the ground just drops away from you. Bit apprehensive at first but that gave way to, "this is pretty cool". Couldn't look directly down, though.

It was still foggy. We went up and into the fog/cloud. Came out above the cloud and that was amazing - we were literally on the clouds! 

Drifted along looking at the tiny homes and farms and trees, golf course, roads. Up to the gorge, which was pretty spectacular.

The group was fun, Darrick had some funny stories, including one when air traffic control told him to move to a certain height - which is difficult to do in a balloon - because a leer jet was coming at him. He couldn't move, had to wait while the leer jet came at him, then turned at the last minute, waving. Also of the couple who either forgot, or didn't care, that they weren't alone...

The wind was up a bit and we drifted a bit too far past the landing spot. We had gone past landing spot plans A, B and C and ended up with plan D - the ground guys grabbed the rope and literally dragged us up Darrick's own driveway and we landed in his backyard!

Down came the balloon and into the van...

Back to the Trapdoor Cafe for mimosas and quiche and cake. And that was the balloon ride! It was pretty spectacular and I'm really glad I did it.

Next I went back to the glass shop for a look at the dam and waterfall - pretty cool.

Then was going to drive into Woodstock. I followed Darrick's directions but missed a step and went for an unexpected drive - which was really pretty, so that was fine.

Made it into Woodstock - a lovely town. Had a walk around there.

Stopped for a really good burger. Then went into a general store to get more batteries. Great shop - they sold everything. Loved the section that had alcohol next to the kids toys and then alcohol next to the winter rain gear...

..with bird houses hanging from the ceiling. Saw a guy kneeling down and looked to see what he was doing. Saw this...

..so had a bit of a cuddling.

Off to the next stop - Sugarbush Maple Farm, to see how the syrup was made and try some samples. Lovely little farm out on a hill all by itself.

First, inside for the samples. They tap the trees and drain the syrup, adding just water (if I remember correctly) to make the product for sale. There are four different levels, the later in the season, the more dense it is. I tried all four levels and definitely preferred the first one, but didn't get any, it would be a bit awkward to travel with.

They also had cheeses for sampling. Then through to the jams, pickles, mustards, etc, room to try more stuff. All delicious and I would buy if I wasn't travelling. Through to the...gift shop. Then outside to see the animals.

Then up to the maple forest to see the way they tap and tube them to get the syrup.

And while there, saw a chipmunk! Managed to snap this one - with the camera, not its neck or anything.

Last stop was to the Quechee Gorge, from ground level. Parked and walked along the bridge and actually got worse vertigo than from 4,000 feet up in the balloon!

Everyone is so polite here - I was waiting to cross the road and the cars just stopped to let me walk across - both ways. That doesn't happen often! 

Went back to the Worthy Kitchen for a little macaroni cheese before coming back to my suite. I do NOT like driving on the dark!

Quechee - Crunch and an Upgrade

Stowe to Quechee

Came out this morning to this...

..fog.

The two things I thought I would do while it was still early and before the, apparently, huge crowds arrived, was Smugglers Notch and Emily's Haunted Bridge - a covered bridge called that coz that's where Emily threw herself into the river (as we learned last night).

Didn't fancy either in the fog - Smugglers Notch, because it's a narrow, steep drive and I wanted to be able to see the scenery. The bridge - well, it's haunted. And I wanted to be able to see it. So  I waited til 8 for the coffee shop to be open and asked when did the fog usually disperse. Not til 10. Okay. 

Spent some time searching for the money I had put 'in a safe place' when I took it out - obviously it's better to take out one large amount than lots of little ones coz you pay for each transaction. I was sure I had out it into the bag in the suitcase - coz that would make sense - keep it separate from the purse so if one goes, I've still got the other. Couldn't find it, kept looking through, thought I'll empty the bag later and search everything. Was looking for some stamps in the pocket where I keep the purse and there was the money - right next to the purse, so that theory worked well. Anyway, got the money now. Just couldn't find the stamps... Just retread this paragraph and it doesn't make a lot of sense! Oh well.

And, randomly, there was a kids show on TV while I was searching. On came the most disturbing things ever seen on children's television. They were meant to be cute, singing about recycling in a cute way, but have a look...!

That would give you nightmares!

While waiting for the fog to clear, I decided to go to the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory tour first. It's ten minutes out of town and takes thirty minutes. It was great! 

We were greeted by the guide -who was 12!...

..then up a staircase painted with cartoon cows with mooing being played. Into a little viewing room to watch an introductory movie on how Ben and Jerry created their business and made it successful after going halves in a $5 correspondence course on how to make ice cream. Very funny and well put together movie. 

Then into the factory itself. As it's Sunday, the factory is obviously not operating but they show another funny and informative video while the guide explains how all the machinery works. They don't allow photography - like Willy Wonka - in case there are any spies, like from Haagen Daas!

Then into the tasting room where today's tasting flavour was triple caramel crunch. It was yummo! From there you could wander around on your own, through the top ten wall where they have the top best-sellers (I guess, didn't really check that). Love the flavour name Cherry Garcia. Then out the back to the graveyard, where flavours that have been discontinued have a headstone with funny rhymes.

This is a headstone - I cut the top off accidentally.

Back into town to check out of Butler House. This was a great place too - brilliant location, right in the middle of town. It is a self-contained apartment, not a B&B. there is a Mexican restaurant right downstairs which is great to order takeaway tacos, not so great if you don't like loud chatter going on til late - didn't worry me. Slept through it all.

Next on today's agenda is a drive through Smugglers Notch Pass - so named because smugglers used to pass through it with alcohol during the Prohibition and hide it in caves. It's part of the Appelation Trail. The drive up is really pretty. The roads narrow and the trees almost enclose them. It becomes one lane as it gets near the top so the driving is slow and careful.

There is a parking area and parking on the shoulder of the road. And it's packed! Managed to find a spot and clamber up to have a look at the caves. 

It reminded me of Hanging Rock. Went further up the road to Smugglers Notch ski resort and then started back down again. Very pretty.

Driving back to town, I passed a farmers market so stopped in to have a look. So cool, all stalls with local produce and a band playing. Tried some cheese. Saw a stand with maple soda but at $4, it was a bit too much for something I was fairly sure was going to be horrible.

There was pumpkin chunking somewhere but I couldn't find it. 

Next stop is Emily's haunted bridge. 

When I get there, there's Mimi and Mitch (how perfect are those names!) who were on the lantern tour last night. We had laughed lots and so when I drove up and saw them there, we all laughed again. Apparently I had been a topic of conversation at their breakfast table - the brave Australian girl touring so far all by herself! Had a look at the bridge, saw where Emily went over, Mimi asked if I'd send them an update of my travels, so we swapped addresses, laughed some more and parted ways.

Here they are - perfect Kansas folk. Mitch said to say, "howdy, y'all" to the "folks back home."

Stopped at a place advertising vegetarian food for lunch - the Green Goddess. Ordered a grilled tofu wrap which was maple ginger marinated tofu with red onion, tomato, greens and lemon tahini dressing and it was delicious.

At lunch, I had the single travellers best friend - the iPad, for updating this blog. Since Philadelphia I have been taking notes so I remember stuff I want to write and remember. And I discovered it was good if I could get stuff written during the day. So when I have a coffee or a meal, I write this. If I miss a day of writing, it'll all be over - I'll miss one day, then another and another. There was one day in New York after the theatre, it was well after midnight and I'd written two thirds of the day, imported a photo, did something wrong and deleted the lot. Had to begin again! I think I finished about 2am that night.

Anyway, back to today. After lunch it was about 2 so I decided to head off to my next spot - Quechee, next to Hartford, Vermont. It was a relatively short 1.5 hour drive. Some pretty stuff along the way...

Arrive at Inn at Clearwater Pond and it's on beautiful grounds...

With two lovely rescue dogs giving their greeting.

It's a true B&B where the guest rooms are in one section of a private home. So it's not an inn, but a B&B. Tina, who runs the place, had been such a help, though email, in helping me plan this New England leg of the trip so it was nice to meet her.  We went upstairs and she said she had a policy where if one of the bigger rooms was free, then a person would be upgraded at no extra charge. So I went from this (bad photo but you can see)...

To this...

It's gorgeous!!! Looooove it! And two nights.

Went down to Worthy Kitchen for a vegetarian lasagne - very different, it was kale, chard, roast leek and tomato and was delicious too. Back to watch some Law & Order SVU.

There is limited Wi-Fi here. I have a SIM card but I can't get it to work. If anyone has an idea what I'm doing wrong, can you email and tell me? I'll go downstairs and stand in the one particular spot where the Wi-Fi works and check emails in the morning.

Stowe - a Notch and a Lantern

North Conway to Stowe

Was up early so I decided to have a walk around. I was going to have a look at the nearby mountain so walked in that direction, ready for a wee hike. When I got there, the mountain was steep enough for them to have put on a chairlift so I had a look and kept walking.

This is what I walked out of the lodge to...

Followed by this...

Walked through a bit of the town the back to the lodge for breakfast. Those who know me know of my dislike of sitting with strangers at meals, however I did know going into the B&B route, this would be part of the deal. And it is nice swapping war stories with people, seeing where people are from, where they are going, where they've been

Around the table this morning were five Germans and, randomly, a Dane - who guarded Mary and Frederik when he did his compulsory military service and now lives in Greenland. The two young couples were doing the hiking thing. The old couple were nice but, "it's no better than the mountains at home" and, "I can't find a beer to suit my taste - like the one at home." Maybe they should have stayed home.

After breakfast, headed off to find Black Bear Highway leading to Kancamagus Highway - a popular scenic road. Too much pretty! It's all part of the White Mountains - don't know why they're called White - unless it's a snow/winter thing. Here's some shots along the road...

There are heaps of bike riders, going up the hill! And the odd one or two coming down the hill. I wonder if they go na na na to the ones going uphill.

There are numerous places to stop and look at the pretty...

Into Fraconia Notch State Park for more pretty. Decided to walk to the Flume Gorge. They have three options - walk the whole way (2 hours), bus and walk long (1.5 hours) or bus and walk short (40 minutes). I did the short! 

Bus went through one of the covered bridges...

On the bus was an Indian group who either didn't understand English or didn't care coz they spoke over the recording of information played on the bus. Even the stare didn't stop them - shut up already! Had to ask the bus driver which direction to take. Then headed up the path and another couple from the bus decided that this would be the place for a smooch - no one could get passed. Really? Here? Now?

Up into the Flume, which was really beautiful, then back to the visitors centre for a sandwich which was truly horrible.

Back into the car and up to the Basin, whic was a fabulous place where the water has carved the rock into a basin shape. Here, as at the Flume, there were people (Indian or Pakistani) who were going off the track to stand on the rocks for photos. Was just waiting for one to go in. 

Back into the car (again) and through the rest of the Notch - just gorgeous.

Out the other end and set the GPS for Stowe. It's only 1.5 hours away - that's just a hop, skip and a jump compare to the 5.5 and 4 hours the last couple of days. Left New Hampshire and into Vermont - which, of course, is VerMONT, not VERmont. Seems more open countryside here, less mountainous. Still beautiful. Arrive at Butler House and my little studio.

That's the bed up on the right, folds down at night.

Went next door for coffee and tried the chocolate/peanut butter marble cake - surprisingly yummy. There's a wedding in the church across the road. I'm thinking it might be the one at the inn I tried to get a room at but couldn't because they were booked out for a wedding. Imagine staying there amidst all that! I'll take my little studio.

Went for a stroll into town - so pretty.

This is Butler House.

I went to speak to the girl in the shop downstairs, asking her what the local theatre company as like. I had seen a sign saying they were doing Pirates of Penzance at the local hall and thought I might have to pop along. She mentioned a lantern tour they used to do, I thought that sounded like more fun so I looked it up and it was on tonight so I booked for that instead.

Down to the visitors centre (which is literally a stone's throw from here) and waited for 8:00. Sean handed out and lit our lanterns and began with a bit of history of Stowe. Then around the back into the graveyard for the first of the ghost stories - Emily, a young girl who threw herself off a bridge when her lover failed to turn up for their elopement coz his parents found out and locked him in the house.

As he was telling the story, I noticed a girl in old-fashioned garb walking behind us and then we heard some ghostly singing. Turned out to be Mabel from Pirates of Penzance warming up... Perfect timing.

There is a bridge Emily is supposed to haunt and Sean told the story of a guy who thought he was making up a bunch of lies but his wife and two daughters believed. They went to the bridge after the tour and were standing there looking at the moon when they noticed there were five shadows on the ground. The women ran off screaming and the father made them come back and see that it was not real. As he said it was rubbish, the fifth shadow appeared, moving towards him! Next day, he accused Sean of setting up some lights and making the shadow appear.

Along to a number of other sites and their history - the village green, the oak tree (native American history), the inn. The inn also had a ghost story - Michael Boots Someone, who haunts one of the rooms at the inn - not the one I'm staying at, thank goodness. 

He told the story of one girl who organised a tour for her wedding rehearsal and put her mother-in-law-to-be in the haunted room and she heard tapping on the ceiling (tap dancing, not tapping coz Boots learned to tap - in prison of all places. It was great fun and informative at the same time.

Could easily spend more time in Stowe.