August 18-21 - Vermont

As expected, we ate our way through Vermont. So many yummy factories. Surprisingly, Barb's long-awaited pilgrimage to Ben & Jerry's did not meet expectations but it was interesting enough & capped off with free samples of brownie cheesecake ice cream. Cold Hollow Cider Mill was an unexpected treat. We tasted the #4 donuts in the U.S., made with apple cider & not sicky sweet. Definite thumbs up. Couldn't resist buying an apple pie since they were making them in front of us & the place smelled heavenly. Also bought a delicious maple smoked cheddar cheese. A side road trip took us to the Trapp Family Lodge, as in the Von Trapp family from "The Sound of Music". The location definitely could have reminded them of Austria. Further down the road, we happened on a beautiful drive & short hike through woods & large boulders. Our campground was on an island in the middle of Lake Champlain. We had a beautiful view of the lake & it inspired us to drive around all the Champlain Islands. The towns were pretty sleepy but the shoreline views were amazing. And we found cinnamon creme chocolates. Possibly the best chocolate we've had, but it's a small operation & they don't ship so we'll have to be happy with the one we ate there. Lake Champlain Chocolates in Burlington came as close as possible on the yummy scale. We saw them make truffles & molded hollow chocolates in their factory. It was very interesting & the tour was filled with SO MANY samples. We ended our great Vermont visit with a concert at a local vineyard. The band was really good, playing mostly 60's & 70's music. We brought our chairs & bought a bottle of wine. The concert ended when the sun went down & we saw a beautiful sunset over one of the bays. We're defecting to Canada tomorrow for a visit to Quebec City & beyond. Not sure what we'll find for internet but will update when we can. Yes, we know they have internet in Canada, but we will be staying in relatively remote locations.
P.S. Happy birthday Steve!