Green Mountain Country -

VERMONT is a beautiful state known for its GREEN MOUNTAIN National Forest.

The countryside, lush with rolling hills, endless fields of wildflowers, crops and

 dairy cattle, is amazing in summertime. Throw in scenic golf courses, thousands

 of acres of mountains, hiking trails and ski slopes, historic covered bridges,

 maple sugar, cheese and ice cream - all that makes it a great place to visit

 prior to what is usually a cold, snowy winter.

Note the station weather vane!

Our late day stop in White River Junction was mainly to eat at a wonderful, lively 

restaurant named ELIXIR located in the old freight house. We called from the 

road and were able to get a late table which was so worth waiting for. 

White River Junction is just that, a train junction with the station and tracks right

 across from our window table. 

The host/owner was charming and engaged us in conversation about the history

 of the railroad there. 

The food was awesome, I chose the vegetarian risotto of the day and for me

 it was the best dinner during this New England trip.

If you head that way on your travels, know the restaurant is only open

5-9 pm Tuesday - Saturday, and best to make a reservation, it's a busy place.

White River Junction Street Art

A visit to Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory for a light lunch!

Lovely New England. . . . . . . . .

Flying into New Hampshire. 

The heavy clouds parted as we landed in Manchester yesterday.
 Hometown for Bob. Full of memories.

The sun came out. No humidity. It's green and fresh. Cooler.

I can breathe again!

We lived here in another time. Long ago. Perhaps we will move back.

New England, old England. . . . . . .how would I choose?

Heading to bucolic Vermont - another day of sunshine.

Tea time in Vermont. . . . .

While thinking about tea when brewing a cup yesterday, 
I recalled this recent stop in Vermont.

During our wander around town in the afternoon, we 

were directed to the charming Tulsi Tea Room - A Vegetarian 
Cafe & Tea Lounge on Elm Street, for our 4 o'clock cuppa. 

Tucked into an older house off the main street, we were 

welcomed warmly and served good tea. The menu also offered
great foods made with local products such as Rhapsody Organic 
Egg Roll, LaLu Farm Empanadas, Dosa Plate with Potato Curry, 
but our dinner reservation awaited elsewhere. 

I told them would definitely mention 

their business here in blogland. . .
so if in town be sure to look them up.

ALSO, while on the subject of tea, Joann at 
Scene Through My Eyes has a great post up on the 
history of English tea towels. 
Go see her embroidered beauties, they are amazing!

Montpelier, in the foothills of the Green Mountains, 

has the distinction of the being the smallest state 

capital in the USA, with a population of just 8,000 people.

A small town with big city amenities, it also has a lively 
arts and music scene. There are good restaurants, largely 

due to the presence of the New England Culinary Institute, 

It was there that we enjoyed a delicious dinner before 
heading to catch the late evening ferry across Lake Champlain 
to New York.

Eating at the source. . . . . . .Part I

We are somewhat fussy about what we eat when traveling, 

just as we are at home. 

We rarely eat fast food at anytime, but sometimes, when 

hunger strikes, on the road the options for a quick meal 

require searching for an exit with yellow arches. There 

I can at least get a fish sandwich being a non-meat eater.

On this road trip through New England we were able to 

find not only some great restaurants for dinner, such 

as the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, VT., 

Cotton in Manchester, NH, and our favorite Maine 

waterside restaurant, Barnacle Billy's in Ogunquit, but 

also fabulous factories where we could get samples 

of quality foods.

So, while 'food trucks' may be the latest rage, I'm all for

stopping at the source, the factory, be it for ice cream, 

cheese, or fantastic bread.

  

Ben & Jerry's - most people who love ice cream are familiar 

with this brand - and now that it's owned by huge Unilever 

it's available across much of the planet.

But, believe me, it really is still made in Waterbury, Vermont 
in Ben and Jerry's original small factory - we visited and took 

the tour. . . and of course had ice cream for lunch that day!

We also visited the tiny town of Cabot in Vermont, 
population 233, to visit the Cabot Creamery where 
cheddar cheese is made by 109 of those townspeople! 
Here I was all these years sticking up for the town of 
Cheddar in Somerset, England, not far from my home, where 
cheddar cheese originated.

Meanwhile Vermonters have been making great cheddar cheese 
for over 95 years when there were more cows than people in 
the state. 94 independent farm families joined together to 
create the Cabot Farmers Creamery Cooperative, not 
just to do business, but to preserve the highest standards 
of dairy quality that are the hallmark of the 
Green Mountain State. 

Today, Cabot Creamery is owned cooperatively by 
farm families throughout the Northeast, and produces 
quality dairy products, including the 'World's Best 
Cheddar' - the cheese that has apparently 
won international awards beating out England's cheddar! 

The movie, the tour of the creamery in action, the tasting 
room where there were so many versions of wonderful cheddar 
to nibble, and the shop where purchasing several 
different cheddars, not available in my local grocery, 
to bring home, was a great stop on the road.

Next time. . . . get the butter ready, we'll be spreading
some of the best breads ever!

Lake Champlain. . . . . . .

Last night we took an unplanned ferry ride across 

Lake Champlain from Vermont to Plattsburgh, New York.

Old style lakefront vacation lodgings - still very attractive when kept up so well.

Returning to Vermont today we drove down through the sunlit 

lake islands to Burlington, arriving back in Manchester, 

New Hampshire - our starting point last Tuesday. 

Our unplanned road trip turn into a lovely vacation - 

the countryside and coastal regions were all so scenic, 

the kindness of the near perfect late Summer weather was 

a most generous extra.

Always an interesting journey………..

No time to write much as we head even further north this morning toward the Canadian border. We didn't expect to get this far and don't have passports with us so will not be venturing into that lovely land, unfortunately!

More of New Hampshire included the Bretton Woods resort, Bethlehem with historic theatre and quaint shops, and a sudden drop in temps. which had me digging out a jacket to ward off the bracing mountain air.

Vermont was awesome and included a tour of the Cabot cheese factory, with nibbles - dinner at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier - and scenery to behold!

Looking out at Lake Champlain now and will be on the road after breakfast.

More later.