Vermont, 1999
Katy and I took a trip to Vermont during the week of August 9th to August 16th, 1999
Typically, we waited until the last minute to decide exactly where we would be staying. I searched the net for Bed and Breakfasts in Vermont, and came up with a short list of interesting-looking places. Our plan was to stay in the northern part of the state for the first few days, and then to head down to Springfield, VT for Stellafane, the annual Amateur Telescope Makers convention.
Moose Meadow Lodge
The Moose Meadow Lodge seemed to offer everything that we were looking for - an interesting lodge, a location within driving distance of various attractions, but still somewhat away from the hustle and bustle of typical tourist fare. Luckily, the lodge had a room available, even with just three days notice.
After spending four nights there, I can recommend the lodge without hesitation. The owners - Willie and Greg - ruined us for other B&B's. The accomodations, food, and they way they interacted with the guests was absolutely stellar. Katy and I will definitely be going back in the future.
Monday
After picking up Katy in Boston, we drove to Waterbury. The dirt road that leads up to the lodge is steep, but easily navigable, even in an underpowered Ford Taurus. We were greeted by Willie, one of the co-owners. He showed us to the "Duck" room, which was to be ours for the next few days, and then led us on a tour of the grounds.
The building itself is styled after lodges from the old Adirondack "Great Camps", with log construction, lots of exposed beams, and "woodsy" furniture. The interior is filled with hunting and fishing trophies.
Here we see the front of the lodge.
And the living room area.
Which is adjacent to the kitchen/dining room
And there is even a small spiral staircase ( currently occupied by a moose )
Willie suggested that we walk up to the "Sky Loft" - a small building about a 20 minute hike through the woods. While doing so, we stopped at a pond on the lodge grounds.
A slight delay ensued while Katy investigated a nearby hammock.
While continuing our stroll through the woods, we were reminded to yield to the local wildlife.
Finally, we made it to the sign pointing to the skyloft. Notice Rich's expression after hiking.
The loft itself is a small building with glass on every side. It looks out over the lodge ( although you can't see the lodge itself ). Inside, there is an elevated sleeping platform, and some furniture to relax on after the hike up.
Katy decided to try out the sleeping platform, which is accessed by a chain ladder.
After managing to get her down again, we checked out the view.
You can just see Waterbury in the distance.
Tuesday
Over the next few days, we visted a few of the local attractions. There is a Gondola lift up one of the ski slopes in nearby Stowe. Being young and energetic, we decided to take a one-way trip to the top, and then hike back down to the bottom. It doesn't look very difficult from the bottom, does it?
So, we took a lovely ride to the top, and check out the scenery.
Of course, then we look down the slope...
OK, well, perhaps it was a bad idea. It only took us about an hour and a half to walk down, but we were complaining about the pain in our knees after about the first 10 minutes. We used the excuse of, "Let's take a picture of the butterfly!" to take a rest.
The hot tub in the lodge felt REALLY nice that evening.
There were two other guests in the early part of the week - Cathy and Charlie, from San Francisco. Here they are, along with Willie's co-owner, Greg ( sitting, in the white shirt ).
Wednesday
The next day, we stopped by the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory. We hadn't realized that it was so close when we chose to stay in Waterbury, but, heck, we may as well take advantage of the free samples on the tour, right?
While Katy and I waited, she decided to pretend she was 10 again.
Next, we stopped by the Morse Sugar Farm - a local producer of Maple Syrup. They had an interesting display showing how maple syrup is collected and processed. The old sap buckets are still around, though.
One of the most interesting features of the farm was its collection of, ummm, art.
I'll bet you never thought that Elephants could be found in Vermont, eh?
Not to mention fine art like the Venus De Maple...
And this piece is certainly inspired ( or is that inspidered? )
Thursday
Today we stopped by a local art store and craft shop. Katy really wanted to ride an elephant made out of an old tire.
We also drove to the Cabot Cheese factory. Unfortunately, we seem to have forgotten to take any pictures.
During our last evening at the lodge, Willie and Greg suggested that we all have a pot-luck dinner together. The evening started out with some tasty food contributed by everyone.
However, we were soon joined by Greg's country cousin, who took a shine to Katy and Cathy.
Then, some REALLY strange members of the family arrived....
We got along pretty well, though - both of us having the same opinion of having our pictures taken.
Friday
We regretfully left on Friday morning to drive down to Springfield for the Stellafane convention, which might be more accurately called "StellaRain" this year. The mirror-making demonstrations were quite interesting. We even were caught on film just before helping out with the "Big Mirror."
Saturday
Today was spent mostly at the convention lectures, but we did manage to catch the Telescope Competition, in which people submit their homemade telescopes for judging. The funniest one was the Lego telescope, with its accessories.
