Vermont is a tasty place

On the way to our next stop in North Central Vermont, we made a stop at the Teddy Bear Factory to see what Nana could buy for Izzy. But our favorite stop was Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Yummo. Took the factory tour which includes a generous sample. The gift shop was very fun and reasonably priced and I managed to find some gifts. Met some fun folks at the cute little campground in Marshfield. We were close to the capitol, Montpelier so we took a drive through the main street to see the gorgeous gold capitol dome. Montpelier is the smallest capitol city with 8000 people.


On Wednesday we headed up to the ski resort town of Stowe, which was established in 1765. They were replacing the cupola on the court house as we drove through Main Street. It was going to be a hot day so we hit the bike path first. Lovely 5.5 mile path that winds through trees and meadows, following a pretty little river. Along the path near town were several sculptures and an old covered bridge. My favorite sculpture was the 20 something, giant yellow spoons hanging on both sides of the path. Stopped at the Shed restaurant along the path and had a yummy lunch on the deck. By that time it was getting pretty warm so we stopped at the Cider Mill for a little more tasting and shopping. Bought Mimi a catnip filled blanket that she went crazy for.

Next stop was the Hope Cemetery. Why you ask, did we go see a Cemetery? It is in the town of the local granite quarry and is filled with huge, intricate headstones and crypts. Some in the shape of cars, hearts, arches, flowers, anything you can think of. And there were so many. A great place to explore but too hot to walk around too much. Back inside at the Cabot Creamery for the factory tour there. And of course more tasting. Bought some interesting tuscan spice flavored cheese. We finished the day with a short hike up to the Owl's Next which is a cute stone tower on top of Owl Mountain with views of Kettle Pond and Groton Lake along with the Green Mountains. Even with the bike ride and the hike, I think the tasting added a few pounds but boy was it fun.