I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream

When in Vermont, a visit to Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury is always in order.  Delighting old and young alike, Ben & Jerry's is a fun and tasty excursion.  Factory tours are available and include a very entertaining movie in the Cow Over The Moon Theater documenting the history of Ben & Jerry’s. 

Following the movie is a tour of the actual production line where glass windows above reveal the working factory showing employees producing two flavors of ice cream.  Photos are not allowed during this part of the tour.  Our tour guide explained that they don’t want their trade secrets to get into the wrong hands, (although seriously Ben & Jerry, all someone would have to do is keep taking the tour!!)  Samples are then given and the guided part of the tour is concluded. 

The scoop shop features popular flavors currently available at retail as well as exclusive flavors only available by the cone or cup.  My husband went nuts for the Coconut Seven Layer Bar, while Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup was totally fine with me!

Looks real, not sure what to do with it!

There were some pretty neat items at the gift shop. 

Display set up in 2010.

The Ben & Jerry ‘bus’ was outside along with some cute photo props for the kids and us big kids as well. 

The flavor graveyard is a fun place to visit, and we spent an hour just wandering around and reading the gravestones! 

Several cows were resting on this gorgeous property tucked down under the mountains.  This is a perfect place for a picnic with desert just a short line away!  

Let's Go Sailing

Our yearly week in Vermont always includes a day trip to Burlington.  In the past, we have taken a short tour of Lake Champlain on the Spirit of Ethan Allen which is a commercial passenger cruise.  The boat reminds me of our own Block Island Ferry.  

My husband wanted to do this tour again, but since we had already it (twice), I started looking for an alternate plan.  There was a sailboat tour that looked appealing.  The sunset tour looked great, but when I  tried to book online, there was an age restriction of 13 and older.  David and Mikey wouldn't be able to go.  I called the company since we were only a year and two off.   If they wanted the full fare, fine.  But they said no and were not very nice to talk with.  Back to square one.  

I googled again and found another company, Let's Go Sailing.  I phoned and spoke with Captain Gideon.  He was booked for the sunset cruise, but would be available for a 4:30 cruise.  Sold.

Gideon's boat held six passengers but this trip out was just the four of us.  It was a beautiful day to go sailing, dry and nearly 80 degrees.  The lake was like glass, which was good as my husband was a little nervous when he saw the size of the sailboat.  

During the first hour out, Gideon let David, Jr. steer the boat.  We did a great circle as David kept turning the wheel!  But eventually he did get us out to the small island a couple of miles out from the Burlington shore.  

On the way back, Gideon gave Mikey a turn.  It took Mikey a couple of minutes to get his bearings as he got excited and kept letting go of the wheel.  Gideon was very patient and had Mikey handling the steering of that sailboat all the way back to Burlington.  As we approached the breakwater (rocks), with dozens of sailboats anchored around it, Mikey navigated the boat all the way to the dock and Gideon allowed him to take it right in.  

David and I so appreciated Gideon's kindness towards the kids which went above and beyond the norm.  We never told Gideon the boys were autistic, but I could see him watching them.  Early on, he picked up on their hand movements (stimming).  Gideon was extremely patient and tolerant, especially with Mikey at the wheel.  Mikey was so proud of himself and he just beamed with delight when we got back to shore.  

I can't thank Gideon enough for the patience and kindness he extended towards my sons.  It would have been a great trip regardless, but he made it so much more special for them.  They don't outwardly show a lot of emotion, but they  had an amazing time handling the boat and sailing in a sailboat for the very first time.  Next year's Vermont vacation will most definitely include another sail on Gideon's boat.  

Captain Gideon

Keep Calm and Drink Wine

When I think of Vermont, I think of majestic mountains, sprawling farms, black and white Holstein dairy cows, snow and ski resorts.  But more recently, Vermont has become home to over a dozen wineries.




On our second trip to Vermont in 2009, 
I stumbled upon the Boyden Valley

Winery table at the Smugglers Notch Farmers Market.  After tasting 2 reds and 2 whites (at 9am), I left with a bottle of Boyden Valley Winery's Barn Red.  Later that night, my husband and I snacked on some Vermont cheddar and smoked pepperoni with that wonderful bottle of wine.

The Boyden Valley Winery is located in Cambridge, VT, only a short ride from Smugglers Notch.   One afternoon we decided to take a tour and stay for a wine tasting.  And so began our yearly tradition of spending an afternoon at the winery when we visit Vermont.

This year we decided to go on the tour again and also partake in another wine tasting.  They have added more wines to their selection as well as their new creme liquors.

Mikey and David love to smell the  wines!

Boyden Valley Winery's cheese plate is fantastic.  There is a patio area where we take lunch for the boys (food allergies!), but my husband and I always get cheese plates and a bottle of wine.  But since we did the tasting this year, we just had the glass of wine that accompanied the plate.  I found a new favorite, the blueberry wine and my husband enjoyed the cranberry wine!

We always make it a point to stay a few hours every year.  There is a jungle gym the boys can play on, we walk around the farm to see the vines and take pictures of the beautiful scenery.  The property is gorgeous, the cheese and wine is phenomenal and it is a great place to just stop, relax and smell the wine!  

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Front of bridge, turning from Gold Brook Road (left turn over the bridge) to Stowe Hollow Road. 

Back side of bridge from Stowe Hollow Road

Since visiting Vermont every summer since 2008, we have visited the Gold Brook Bridge, better known as Emily's Bridge in Stowe, Vermont.  We try to pick a different region every year to seek out covered bridges and have now found over 80 of the covered bridges in Vermont, but we return to Emily's bridge every year.  

There are several stories which try to explain the legend of what exactly happened at this bridge.  One is that Emily's fiancee on their wedding day was thrown from his horse and he died.  Emily was heartbroken and hung herself on the bridge.  Another story is that Emily fell in love, bought a beautiful wedding dress, arrived at the church but the groom never showed up.  A jilted distraught Emily took the family wagon, beating the horses so that they were traveling at a high rate of speed.  She didn't negotiate the turn to the bridge correctly and she and the horses drove off the bank, plunging to their deaths on the rocks below.  A third variation has a homely Emily pregnant with twins.  Her father demanded that the man marry her.  He chose to kill himself rather than marry Emily.  She supposedly delivered the babies, then hung herself on the bridge.  One woman claims to have made up the whole Emily story to keep her children off the bridge.  

Experts that have visited the bridge have not found any compelling evidence of paranormal activity, but local residents and visitors report scratches on both people and cars that park in the bridge.  From what I've read, Emily's hostility is focused towards men.  I have read about men that were scratched and have seen photos they have posted on one of the several Emily's Bridge websites.  People also claim to have heard a woman screaming, strange noises coming from inside the bridge and banging noises of Emily hitting the outside of vehicles.  There are even reports of something being dragged on the tops of cars.  Wikipedia says most paranormal activity takes place between dusk and 9pm, while another website claims activity peaks from midnight to 3am.  

We visited the bridge on three consecutive days, August 8, 9 and 10, 2013.  On our second visit, August 9 at approximately 10:30 pm, my husband parked the minivan across the street on Stowe Hollow Road facing the front of the bridge.  He shut off the van, but left the lights on.   I took some photos as we all walked in the bridge, calling out to Emily.  All of a sudden the car lights went out and we were in blackness. My heart stopped for a second and then pounded.  My older son said the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, while my younger son was unfazed.  My husband, who emphatically denies the existence of anything supernatural said "whoa".  And within a few seconds the lights came back on.  We turned towards the car just in time to see a car passing on Gold Brook Road, temporarily blocking the lights from our car.  Whew.  We all had a good laugh going back to the resort.  On the third night we went to the bridge at approximately the same time, 10:30 pm,  and my Nikon would not fire until I was away from the bridge, but other than that, nothing eventful seemed to happen. 

On our first visit on August 8, we walked through the bridge - nothing happened.

Heading back home from Vermont, we stopped in Montpelier for dinner.  We were telling the waitress about the bridge and she had heard of it.  She said she never believed in ghosts, but that her mother and some friends went to the bridge.  They took some photos and when developed, they found a face in the photos.   I was a little bummed out because I had been hoping to see some kind of evidence of Emily. 

Once we were home and unpacked, I uploaded several days of iPhone photos on my computer.  I noticed on the series of photos I took that first night, there seemed to be a face on the left side of the bridge.  One photo showed the face pretty clearly, and on another photo with my sons and husband in the bridge, it looked like the eyes were following them.  One photo also looked blurred on the side where the face was and the rest of the photo was noticeably sharper.   Since it was dark and the photos were taken with the phone, they are not too clear.  I have put the original photos along with cropped versions.  They have not been edited or altered.  

Do YOU believe in ghosts?   Do you see a face too?  Are the lights playing tricks on me?  Or am I just seeing things?

Is this Emily?

Hazy on the left side but not on the right. 

Is she watching them?  Or me?

Our Love Affair With Vermont

Three Mountain Lodge - Jeffersonville, VT

When my sons were younger it was impossible to take them anywhere.  Michael, in particular was prone to severe meltdowns, seemingly arising out of nowhere, turning him from Dr. Jekyl to Mr. Hyde in one tenth of a second.  There was no advance warning, no specific trigger and any excursion had the potential of becoming a disaster for once Michael's tantrums started, David would get upset and have his own little meltdowns as well.  

Five years ago, one of my husband's colleagues offered to rent us his time-share condo at Smuggler's Notch in northern Vermont for a week in August.  Hesitantly, we chose to go, not knowing how the boys would react to spending a week in strange, unfamiliar surroundings.  

We shouldn't have worried.  David & Mikey loved our trip and this began our love affair with Vermont.  

We spent that first year checking out some of the local attractions, ventured to Montpelier for a quick lunch and a visit to the small history museum on Main Street.  We drove to Montreal where we toured downtown Montreal via a horse and buggy ride.  We found the Miller’s country store in Morrisville which we now visit every year. In Burlington, we sailed on the Spirit of Ethan Allen around part of Lake Champlain for a one hour sightseeing tour.  We also began our annual tradition of seeking out covered bridges, (which as of last year, we have been to approximately 80 of the 116 covered bridges in Vermont).  And the week flew by…  

Our first trip away, after spending the early years never venturing out other than for everyday living and school, was a resounding success.  Every year when my husband’s collegue gives us the opportunity to rent the condo before offering it to anyone else, we take it.  We have come to Vermont every year since 2008 and are almost done with our week for the sixth time!  I have some great places to show you in some future posts, but below are some photos I dug up from our first trip in 2008.  

Pit Stop in Quechee, VT

Cambridge Junction Covered Bridge, Cambridge, VT

Horse and Buggy Ride - Downtown Montreal

Vermont History Museum - Montpelier, VT

Lunch at J. Morgan Steakhouse - Montpelier, VT