AlisonH
Filed under: Family
Thank you all for the kind words yesterday!
The Ben and Jerry’s plant was full of Ben and Jerry’s whimsical and colorful cartoons, both 3-D and painted on the walls; even the tubes in the factory were painted in lavender and the like, a very cheerful place. The tour guide clearly enjoyed giving out the free samples at the end.
From there, we went to the Cabot’s cheese factory store, the Lake Champlain Chocolates factory store–their hot cocoa is enough to get me back to Vermont right there–and a brief glance into the teddy bear factory next door just out of curiosity. Later, running an errand, our daughter asked if we wanted to take the short route or the scenic route. I laughed and answered, This is Vermont: it’s ALL the scenic route!
Which is true. I can see why she and her husband fell in love with the place so fast. It is just so gorgeous everywhere you turn–and this is with the trees bare for the winter, pretty much. Lacy bits of very white fog drifting through the peaks everywhere, black marbled granite to either side of the road as you drive, pine trees offering some green among the endless tree trunks and bare limbs of the highly forested views… Beautiful.
And then we took them out to Butler’s for dinner at Essex Inn last night, the restaurant of the New England Culinary Academy. I can just hear all the Vermonters swooning. As my father once put it, How many meals do you eat in your life? Now, how many do you remember? That was definitely one for remembering–and then the head chef came out and greeted us at the end of the meal: he’d seen our son-in-law go by, a friend of his, and came out to say hi. We got to thank him in person for the exquisite meal. And then after he left, an extra dessert mysteriously appeared at our places: the best dark chocolate truffles I have ever tasted, bite-size cheesecakes, tiny chocolate cookies.
He didn’t have to bribe us; sure, Vermont, we’ll come back!
Home tomorrow.
14 Comments so far
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Sounds yummy. Now I’m really hungry.
Comment by rebecca jc 11.16.08 @ 5:55 pmButler’s is one of the very best restaurants ever. I love that place!
Comment by no-blog-rachel 11.16.08 @ 6:28 pmWhen you get home, email me all about Vermont, and in return, I’ll send photos of the grandbaby.
Comment by Laura 11.16.08 @ 6:37 pmYou’ve inspired me. Once I move to Maine, I know at least one place I’ll be taking a road trip! 😉
Comment by Amy 11.16.08 @ 7:24 pmThank you for speaking so highly of beautiful Vermont. All the places you mentioned are ones I take guests to when they visit. They are all so much fun. Did you also go to Cold Hollow Cider?
The Inn at Essex just cannot be beat. It arouses the palate. Fantastic choice for dinner!!!!
Comment by Joansie 11.16.08 @ 11:51 pmJoan beat me to it. 🙁 But yes, if you ever make it here in proper fall, you really should go to Cold Hollow; that’s where I took my fall pictures last year, and the cider doughnuts are just…words can’t explain. 🙂
Comment by Kristine 11.17.08 @ 6:52 amApple cider doughnuts are among the best things ever made by human hands.
Okay, so are Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Cabot Cheese, but who’s counting? 😉
Comment by Jen 11.17.08 @ 9:50 amWish I’d known your were going to Cabot’s cheesery. I long for sage cheddar but balk at the mail order price from the one source I know.
Glad you have a fabulous time, and I wish you home safely.
Dad
Comment by Dad 11.17.08 @ 9:52 amBen and Jerry’s, yum! I used to live off their NY Super Fudge Chunk and Brownie Fudge in college.
Meals I remember – in Chicago, we went to this one Italian restaurant – chicken marsala, bit of wine, really nice bread, and a very rich chocolate cake for dessert. The waitress was wonderful; kids were wonderfully well behaved. Hmmm. Definitely a memory. Sounds like yours was one, too!
Comment by Alison 11.17.08 @ 9:54 amWow. That sounds like my kind of day — how fun! Travel safely, and welcome back home 🙂
Comment by Jocelyn 11.17.08 @ 1:38 pmThanks for taking us along on your trip! It made me smile to read about all your wonderful experiences!
Comment by LynnM 11.18.08 @ 6:32 amLovely! I think I have some destinations for my next trip to VT.
And I’ll chime in with the rec for cider doughnuts. Yum! Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) my local source is gone, but I pick them up at the Atkins Farms store when I get out to Amherst in western Mass. And let us not neglect the traditional doughnut frosted with maple cream- a perennial sugar house favorite. Mmm!
Comment by RobinH 11.18.08 @ 6:37 amLeave a comment
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