Oct 17, 2012 - Stowe, Vermont

Stowe, Vermont, is a tourist-oriented town. We're here in between the summer crowd and the winter crowd. Stowehof lodge is a quirky Alpine lodge originally built in the 1940s. We sampled various other tourist offerings in the area today. At the Morse Farm Maple Sugar Works, we met Elliott Morse, brother of the owner, who was our tour guide. We agreed he could have a second career as a standup comic. He told us that maple syrup can be collected only a few weeks each year. Because their family needed some other means of income, they tried...

Oct 16, 2012 - Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont

We covered quite a few miles today and ooh'd and aah'd at the colors in the foliage. From Massachusetts we drove on up to New Hampshire, where Vince navigated right to the state capitol building. Some of the group scattered to get quick looks at the capitol. I was drawn to a beautiful maple across the street that was resplendent in its fall wardrobe, with brightly colored mums at its base. Then we moved on into Vermont and up to Stowe. At the Stowehof Inn we found the elevator to be out of service so some of our travelers had to be...

Sep 13, 2012 - Cider, ice cream and cheese--eating our way through the heart of VErmont

September 13, 2012-Today we are ride-sharing, which means that we take our own cars or trucks but try to limit the number by sharing the ride. We joined Ernie and Sheila, who also have a 5th wheel, in their truck for the ride share. We began at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, which features a working cider press with a tour and cider donuts. They were really good. From there we went to a glass-blowing demonstration at a local glass shop. Then we went down to Ben & Jerry’s factory in Colbyville (about 4 miles from our park) to take a tour of the...

Sep 12, 2012 - Getting the essence of Vermont

September 12, 2012- We had a bus tour today in the area around Montpelier. We started at Morse Farms maple sugarworks where we had an introductory lecture (more like stand up comedy of the dry Vermont slow-talking humor) from the owner Burr Morse. He used a slide show to explain to us how they collect the sap from the maple trees (they used to use buckets, now they use plastic lines and a vacuum to suck it out—“Nobody has proved it hurt the trees-yet.”), then we went over to the gift shop/sampling area for some maple syrup samples. We had...

Sep 11, 2012 - The tour officially starts

September 11, 2012- Susan and I got a slow start today. Around 10:00 we finally got moving and headed up to Smuggler’s Notch . This was a narrow area up in the Green Mountains above Stowe where the ski areas are. We looked over the area, then came back down and stopped for lunch at Pie Casso. This was a pizza place that Susan had spotted on the way up the hill. It looked to be fairly new with a modern stainless steel and maple look to it. We had one of the best pizzas we have had in a long time—the tomatoes were as if they had just been...

Sep 10, 2012 - Getting ready day

September 10, 2012- Not much to report here. We spent the day working on trailer maintenance, grocery shopping, and visiting with our fellow caravaners. The one big event was the repair of our water pump. We couldn’t get the water pump to work (it was running but we weren’t getting any water in the coach), and Ken Adams our wagonmaster came over to check it out. I pulled stuff out of the bay, he crawled in and looked at our water pump and the hoses leading to it. He traced the hoses, then came out and asked me what the white hose leading...

Sep 9, 2012 - Made it to Stowe

September 9, 2012- We are here at Gold Brook Campground in Stowe. We awoke this morning at TriState RV park to a beautiful sunlit morning, which made it a little hard to get started. I had a chance to explore our park a little, discovering that we were nestled in a little spot next to the Delaware River and almost under a bridge. This would be a good place to spend a day or two just relaxing, but the road called us again. Our drive was uneventful, but we have discovered that there are many fewer truck stops up here than on the Interstates...

Sep 3, 2012 - A Hike, Cider, Cheese, Ice Cream, oh My!

From beautiful Stowe, Vermont … Monday, September 3, 2012 “Happy Birthday, to my wonderful husband!” I think I can speak for Charlie when I say that he had a fun filled birthday in Vermont. Our day began with a delicious breakfast provided by the B&B in their dining room. The staff brought out a cupcake with a candle on it and sang Happy Birthday to Charlie. Charlie ordered a ham and cheese omelet (made with Vermont cheddar, of course), and I had the Belgium waffle. Everything was really delicious. We then set out on our day. We got in a...

Sep 2, 2012 - Travel to Vermont

From beautiful Stowe, Vermont … Sunday, September 2, 2012 Thankfully, it was yet another beautiful day on this trip. After enjoying another tasty breakfast at the Neptune Diner, we left Oneonta, New York just before 10:00am. We traveled on interstates for the first couple hours of the trip and then opted for the scenic route on S.R. after we crossed into Vermont. We climbed and climbed in elevation, and the mountain views were beautiful. We passed through so many charming mountain towns. We saw a lot of cars on the side of the highway,...

Jul 28, 2011 - The Von Trapp Family Inn

We toured the Von Trapp Family Inn and property today. It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the upper 60's to low 70's. The tour started with a presentation on the history of the von Trapp Family given by Charlie who has worked at the Inn for 36 years. The family has a rich Austrian history with several family members serving in the Austrian Navy. Captain von Trapp--as seen in the Sound of Music--was a Naval Officer. The Sound of Music is basically a true account of the Maria and the von Trapp family. She did marry the Captain...

Jul 27, 2011 - Stowe and Smuggler's Notch

The campground is near Stowe--about 3 miles south of town in a large green field. It was a farm at one time but it now has trees and lots of green grass. It is really nice. Stowe is a wonderful New England town with a small downtown with the court house, church, and various stores and inns. Very easy to walk around and feel relaxed. We went to the Visitor's Center and got great info of activities in Stowe. Visit Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory, drive to Smuggler's Notch and visit the Von Trapp Family Inn. So after lunch we drove up thru...

Jul 26, 2011 - On to Stowe, Vermont

Today was a driving day to Stowe, Vermont--only about 125 miles but it included a ferry ride across Lake Champlain and the road went thru many small towns in New York and Vermont. In Vermont, the speed limit on most highways except the Interstate is 50 mph. That lets you see the beautiful green country that is Vermont. Temps are in the mid 70's and wonderful!