A Weekend in Kansas City

We stopped in Kansas City to visit our friend Theresa once again.  We had a great time last year when we stopped here, and she had some fun plans for us this time as well.

Our first stop was the Kansas City Farmers Market.  This continues to be one of the best farmers markets we’ve been to, although due to the lateness of the season, it was somewhat smaller than during our last visit here.  But the spice guy was still there and Hector stocked up on some fun spices.

There are also various ethnic eateries surrounding the market, and we had some yummy Middle Eastern food for lunch.

Then we went for a drive in the surrounding country.  We stopped at a The Farmer’s House Farm Market in Weston.  Proceeds from The Farmer’s House Farm Market are used to expand programs at The Farmer’s House, a non-profit whose mission is to offer an opportunity for youth and adults with developmental disabilities to learn practical vocational skills in a community integrated hands on work environment.

The market has special activities for the fall, and there were lots of kiddos around.  As for us big kids, we enjoyed the cut-outs and the costumes.

Weston Bend State Park just outside the city has various easy but pretty hikes throughout the park.  We hiked on a trail that had views of the Missouri River and lots of trees.  Even though the fall colors hadn’t reached their peak yet, it was still a really beautiful hike.

We also visited Pirtle Winery, one of many wineries in the state.  Many of Missouri’s wines are sweet, and we prefer drier wines, but we did like a few of these wines.  The blueberry wine, while pretty sweet, was actually quite good with extra sharp cheddar cheese from Vermont.

We headed back to town to visit Oklahoma Joe’s once again.  This restaurant is located in a gas station – yes a working gas station – and is fabulous.  Anthony Bourdain listed Oklahoma Joe’s as one of “thirteen places to eat before you die.”  Check.

Angel had a short visit at one of the local dog parks and then we drove over to an overlook that features The Scout, a famous statue that depicts a Sioux Indian on horseback surveying the landscape.  The statue was dedicated in 1922 as a permanent memorial to local Indian tribes.  And there’s a lovely view of downtown from the statue.

The next day was our 35^th wedding anniversary and we planned a quiet dinner so we could get an early start the following morning on our westward drive.

So Hector and I went out to a romantic dinner that evening to celebrate our anniversary.  It’s been a wonderful and happy 35 years!  And this extraordinary journey is the best anniversary gift we could wish for.

And it was great to see our dear friend Theresa again and enjoy her hospitality in fun and beautiful Kansas City once again.

~ Brenda

The Gateway to the West

Continuing our westward drive, we made an overnight stop in St. Louis, which was about halfway between Louisville and Kansas City,  where we were headed next to visit a friend.

This was our first casino overnighter, and we chose the Casino Queen because it was centrally located and accessible to a little touring and dining nearby.   I was impressed when a security person immediately drove over to check us out.  He was very courteous and directed us to the specific area where we should park.  It was a gravel lot, level, and fairly large.  There was one other RV and one truck already in the lot in the early afternoon when we arrived.

It was Hector’s birthday and we planned to visit the Gateway Arch and go out to a nice dinner in the evening.  We settled in and walked Angel on a big grassy field behind the gravel parking lot.

Next we headed over to the Arch, which I’d never seen.  It’s an impressive and lovely symbol of the role of the city of St. Louis in the westward expansion of the United States.

The Gateway Arch is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which is a memorial to Thomas Jefferson, who bought the Louisiana Territory in the Louisiana Purchase and made westward expansion possible.

The Memorial encompasses a total of 91 acres, which includes the Old Courthouse, Luther Ely Smith Square and some surrounding streets (managed as easements).  The 62 acres that include the Gateway Arch structure and the surrounding landscape were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

The Arch itself is made of steel and concrete, stands 630 feet high (63 stories) with a span of 630 feet at ground level between the outer sides of the legs, and weighs 17,246 tons.  It’s really quite beautiful.  And the story of its construction is also fascinating.

The Museum of Westward Expansion, located inside the Arch, preserves some of the rarest artifacts from the days of Lewis and Clark.  The exhibits explore the world of the American Indians and the 19^th century pioneers who helped shape the history of the American West.  The museum was fascinating although it closed before we were able to get through it.  Definitely worth a longer visit.

We returned to our temporary “campsite” to change, and gave Angel her second walk on the nice grassy area behind us.   There is an RV campground (owned by the Casino) on the other side of the field, but it  was closed for the season.  But we still enjoyed the field.  So far, I was pretty happy with our free overnight.

The birthday celebration continued at a barbecue restaurant that evening.  The restaurant had the second World Series game on.  It was fun to see a small crowd of St. Louis fans rooting for their team, who won that game (but ultimately not the Series).

The birthday boy had his fill of barbecue and free dessert and we headed back to Island Girl.  A couple of other RV’s and trucks were camped for the night.  Both the lot and the field were (very) brightly lit, so Angel got an evening walk on the grass.  We’d planned to have a drink at the casino (we don’t really gamble), to patronize the place offering us a free night, which is a “rule” we normally follow.  But, alas, we were too tired and pooped out.  So, I’m hoping this nice review of our overnight at the Casino Queen will slightly make up for that 🙂

The following day, we continued to head west, following the footsteps of many before us.

~ Brenda

Louisville and the Big Bat

As we headed back to Denver to visit friends, re-organize after our first year, and take care of doctor’s, veterinarian, RV and car appointments, we scheduled a couple of stops to visit more good friends along the way.

After visiting our niece and her fiancee in Cincinnati, we drove to Louisville, Kentucky to visit our good friends, Jim and Jane, whom we hadn’t seen in quite a few years.  We were very excited to see them and their daughters, Katie and Sarah.

Since we were there during the week, we got together in the evenings for dinner and catching up.  One night Jim and Jane hosted us for dinner in their lovely home, and Katie prepared a wonderful dessert.

Another night the family joined us for dinner on Island Girl.  This was the first time they saw Island Girl and I think the girls really liked her.

One day, Jim met us in the early afternoon and gave us a brief tour in and around downtown.  We visited some funky shops and saw some quirky Colonel Sanders stuff.

We then decided to visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.  Hector and I are baseball fans and thought it would be an interesting place.

The first thing you see when you arrive at the museum is the World’s Biggest Bat – how could you possibly pass that up?  The bat, which is made of carbon steel, measures 120 feet long, is 9 feet in diameter at the base and 3 feet 6 inches in diameter at the handle with a 6 foot 6 inch diameter knob.  And it weights approximately 68,000 pounds!

At the museum,  we learned about how bats are made and actually got to see part of the process.  We also got to hold some bats that were once used by baseball greats.

The Louisville Slugger is the official bat of Major League Baseball.  There are 8,000 variations of bats, but today’s players typically choose from about 300 popular models.

Major League players order approximately 120 bats per season, and approximately 1.8 million Louisville Slugger bats are made each year – about 3,000 bats per day at the factory and 5,000 per day in peak spring training.

Initially all bats were hand-carved, now the process is (mostly) automated with computerized settings that allow for customization to Major League players’ specifications.  Players today use more lightweight bats with thinner handles than in earlier years.  It was really interesting to learn about the evolution of the bats,  what types of bats players used in earlier years vs. today and to get an insight into this very specific part of the history of baseball.

We also took a quick look at historic Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is held.  You can almost smell the mint juleps …

Louisville was another whirlwind stop, but our connections with our good friends after not seeing them for many years was as strong as ever.  And it’s great to see the girls grow up to become such smart and interesting young ladies.

Then we continued our westward journey…

~ Brenda

Attack of the Fruit Flies!

Continuing on the “things that had never happened to us before” trend, we had a fruit fly infestation while in Niagara Falls.  

One day after heading out for a morning excursion,  we arrived at the coach only to find a large community of fruit flies around our kitchen area.

We turned to the RV forums for help, since we find these forums extremely helpful.  And we discovered that a few fruit flies from bananas we bought had apparently bred in our plumbing.  We were at a campsite that had no water nor sewer, so we’d been using the faucets sparingly to conserve water from our fresh water tank.  And one day was apparently more than enough time for the fruit flies to multiply into quite the swarm!

According to the forums, the best solution for getting rid of fruit flies is to place apple cider vinegar with a piece of banana and some liquid dishwashing soap in various cups and distribute them throughout the coach to trap the flies.  The people in the forums also recommended that we keep drains closed while not in use.

After a few days of following all of those instructions, the fruit flies were gone!  But after having all of this gooey liquid stuff throughout the coach, Hector and I were into deep cleaning mode.

So when we arrived at our next stop, Louisville, we rented a carpet cleaner.  We’ve discovered that because of all of the dirt that gets into the coach the carpet needs to be cleaned about every six months.  It is amazing just how much dirt the carpet cleaner gets out.

After some other deep cleaning, Island Girl was nice and spiffy and the fruit flies were forgotten!

~ Brenda

Nat, Zach, and Cincy

We camped at beautiful Four Mile Creek State Park while visiting Niagara Falls.  Our campsite faced Lake Ontario, so we’d parked Island Girl with her windshield in and open to a view of the lake.  And on the day of our departure, we were rewarded with a brief glimpse of a tiny Toronto skyline, only visible on clear days.

That morning we were supposed to get an early start on our long drive from Buffalo to Cincinnati and were all set to go.  Best laid plans.

Well, it rained pretty hard the night before and the person driving Island Girl, who shall remain nameless, took a “shortcut” out of our campsite.  Said unnamed person thought it would be easy to drive around to the next vacant campground and avoid backing out.

That’s when I heard an unhappy sound while returning from my walk with Angel.  And I looked up to see Island Girl facing out on the campsite next to ours.  And what was the sound?   Tires…stuck…in…mud.  And 29,000 pounds on top.  Oh boy.

Fortunately, a gentleman I’d met while walking Angel came by to let me know that he’d been stuck in mud a few days earlier and the campground staff sent a tractor to pull him out for free.  So I went to the office and asked for help.

A short time later the tractor came by, and after a few adjustments pulled us right out.  But now we were running an hour and a half late!  Oh well, it could have been much worse.

And the campground gets BIG points for the free tow (we tipped of course).

Fortunately, the rest of our trip was far better.   We had an uneventful 500 or so mile drive to Cincinnati.  A longer drive than we usually do in a day.

After a late arrival, we headed to town to our niece Natalie’s and her fiancée Zach’s townhouse.  They live in a cool urban setting near downtown Cincy called Over the Rhine.  This neighborhood boasts among the world’s largest collections of Italianate architecture, rivaling similar neighborhoods in New York City, Vienna and Munich in size and scope.   It’s also one of the largest historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

We all went to dinner at a gourmet hot dog (read that not too cheap) restaurant.  I don’t often highlight restaurants on the blog, but I thought the Senate was well worth the prices.  And I actually ordered poutine, which turned out to be the best poutine I ever had (apologies to Canadians, and especially Quebecois).

Late the following morning we went to Findlay Market, the state’s oldest continuously running public market. We just love farmers markets.  Hector loves to cook so we decided to eat in the next two nights, and bought lots of fresh ingredients for our dinners.

That day we’d not brought Angel along so we headed back to the campground to freshen up, take Angel for her walk and feed her.  And returned for a fabulous dinner cooked by the chef extraordinaire, Tio Hector, with assistance from our niece Natalie.  Afterwards we went to a blues club and another nightclub for some music and a little dancing.

The next day we brought Angel along for a whirlwind tour of Cincinnati; a brief driving tour of the city and a walk on the riverfront.

That day we had lunch at another noteworthy place, Terry’s Turf Club, a very cute old-fashioned diner with great food and lots of cool neon signs.

Then more touring to a lovely park followed by cooking at home by the chef and his assistants, and the Broncos football game, which Hector was very excited to see.

Our little “grand-nephew”, Calvin the cat did not take well to Angel’s visit, and hid downstairs most of the time.  He ventured hesitantly up the stairs one time, got to the next to last step, and headed back down.  Such a cutie.

Cincinnati was quite a surprise for us, it is a medium sized city but has big city amenities.  We had a really fun visit with Nat and Zach and as a bonus got to discover a little bit of Cincy.

~ Brenda

Niagara Falls

Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve wanted to visit Niagara Falls.  And even though we lived in New York City for awhile, my family didn’t have the opportunity to take the trip at that time. Later in life, other places captured my interest, and I moved on.

But now that we’d spent some time on the east coast, it was time to take care of this childhood wish.  So Hector and I planned a short stop in Niagara Falls on the way from Southern Vermont to Cincinnati, Ohio.

Four Mile Creek Campground in Youngstown, New York, just north of Buffalo, was quite lovely and our site looked out over Lake Ontario.

Niagara Falls is actually three waterfalls, American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls on the American side, and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side.

Walking into the park from the parking lot on the American side, I was surprised to immediately hear the sound of the falls, and to actually see them shortly after that.  I’m used to hiking to waterfalls and had no idea what to expect.  But this area is very developed with a sidewalk along the side of the Niagara River and by the waterfall, parking lots, gift shops etc.

In spite of the highly developed surroundings, the falls are a very impressive sight.  The sound alone makes you appreciate the power of the water tumbling down from the river.   And the rapids just above the falls are pretty impressive as well.  But at times the falls seem surreal in this “theme-park” like setting.

We purchased tickets for the Cave of the Winds, one of the “attractions”.  The name of the attraction refers to a cave that collapsed years ago.  The attraction now includes an elevator ride down to a series of walkways designed for a very close look and feel of the American and Bridal Veil Falls. 

The highest portion of the boardwalk is about ten feet from Bridal Veil Falls.  And since the walkways would be damaged by ice in winter they are torn down and rebuilt every season!

A rain poncho and rubber sandals (mandatory) are included with the entry to Cave of the Winds, but I highly recommend wearing a rain jacket underneath the poncho.  If you climb to the top walkway, it’s a very, very wet experience, so it’s also important to be mindful of camera equipment.

It was a very cloudy day but we signed up to go out on “Maid of the Mist” boat cruise anyway, a longtime tradition at Niagara Falls. 

These boats cruise past the American and Bridal Veil Falls (too rocky to get too close to), and over to the Canadian side, where the boat stops for a few exhilarating minutes right in front of Horseshoe Falls.  Horseshoe Falls are known for the mist they generate, sometimes creating a cloud above the waterfall.

It’s relatively short, but highly recommended.  And in spite of the ponchos you WILL get absolutely drenched.  So plan accordingly.

Maid of the Mist boats leave from both the American and Canadian side and have the same exact route, but the tickets from the American side are a little less expensive.

While on the boat, we heard the “Miracle of Niagara” story of a boy who’d fallen off a boat above the rapids (there is literally a line way up river where the water goes from calm to rapids).   He came down the rapids and falls unprotected except for a life vest and was rescued by someone on the Maid of the Mist.  And survived.   Unbelievable.

A tradition of people who intentionally went down the falls started in 1829 when someone who called himself “the Yankee Leapster” jumped from a high tower to the gorge below the falls and survived.  Then, in 1901, a 63 year old teacher was the first person to go over the falls in a barrel.  It was a publicity stunt and she survived.

We’d heard that the views from the bridge across to Canada and from the Canadian side were even better than the views from the American side.  So the next day, we walked over to Canada across the bridge, figuring that going through immigration and customs on foot would be much easier than doing so in a car.  Especially since we always carry a lot of “stuff” piled up in our car.

And we were right, after the approximately ¼ mile walk across the bridge, it only took a couple of minutes to get through immigration.  And there were some great views from the bridge.  Not to mention that “walking to Canada” was kind of cool.

There is a bus you can take that tours the falls and a couple of other sites, it’s one of those “hop on, hop off” affairs.  We didn’t want to pay extra for stuff we weren’t going to see, so we took the approximately one mile walk over to Horseshoe Falls.

On the way, there are great views of the American and Bridal Veil Falls.  And Hector and I agreed that Horseshoe Falls were even more impressive than American Falls.   Surprisingly, the Canadian side is just as touristy (if not more so) than the American side, and we opted out of the “attractions”.  So we just walked around to different viewpoints to gawk at the falls.
And we learned more about daredevil traditions.  Wire walking across the gorge began in 1859 and continued through 1896.  Then, in June, 2012, Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk across the falls in 116 years.  He walked across 1,800 feet of tightrope near the brink of Horseshoe Falls, further upstream than previous walkers.  According to Mr. Wallenda, it was the longest unsupported tightrope walk in history.  He carried his passport on his walk, and was required to present it when he reached the Canadian side of the falls. Amazing.

Walking back towards the bridge to the U.S., we stopped by the Skylon Tower to explore the possibility of riding to the top, but it got really cloudy once again, and we held off for a possible return trip that evening.  At 775 feet in height, I imagine the view must be fantastic on a clear day.  While in the tower, we succumbed to a touristy activity, having a photo taken of us “going down the falls”.

It was quite a full day but we still maintained the possibility of returning later that evening to see the falls lit up with colored lights.  And once again getting through immigration on the U.S. side of the bridge was a cinch.

That evening it rained quite a bit, and we didn’t return to Canada.  But I finally got to see Niagara Falls and they were beautiful.

~ Brenda

Falling Leaves in Southern Vermont

We stayed in the town of Arlington in Southern Vermont on our last week in the area.  Again we headed south in order to chase the peak colors.

Along the way, we saw more beautiful covered bridges, we never got tired of seeing them.  In total, we saw dozens of covered bridges all over the state.  So charming.

There was a corn maze/garden store near our campground.  It was a little one for kids, but I’d never been in one and wanted to see it, and Hector humored me. 

So we just had a silly time, drinking cider from the farm, walking around the maze and looking at all of the Halloween characters throughout the property. Somehow we escaped without being eaten by the dreaded Pumpkin Rex!

The cloudy days continued, and many of the colors were muted.  After the storm and more windy days, we found a number of areas that were ”post-peak” – with many bare trees and leaves on the ground.  But we continued to chase the colors, heading further south on various drives, on one occasion crossing over into Massachusetts.

We visited another farm, the Merck Forest and Farm Center.   It’s a non-profit organization with  a 62-acre farm a 3,100 acre managed forest.  The center offers demonstrations, apprenticeships, workshops and school programs. 

Visiting the farm is free, and many of the buildings are open to the public.  The farm center has 30 miles of trails and allows primitive camping anywhere except for the trails for $5 a night, and also has some cabins that they rent.  They make organic pure maple syrup and offer other farm fresh products.  While visiting, Angel met a sheep and some piglets.  She was just fascinated.  She was especially interested in the chickens and bunnies, who ran for cover when they saw her.  

We hiked along one of the trails to a beautiful view of the Adirondacks.

After the farm, we stopped at an interesting building with a sign out front saying “The Roy Egg Shop”.  We weren’t quite sure what it was or whether it was open, then the proprietor, Mr. Roy Egg, came out and welcomed us in.  He’s a longtime artist and gallery owner and the building is his farmhouse style gallery.

Mr. Egg had a nearby road named after him – “Egg St.” in honor of his chicken paintings and woodcuts.  He also has a prize-winning painted egg archived in the White House Gallery.

He is a very colorful person and took time to tell us about the building (several hundred years old), his paintings (he’s done landscapes, lots of chickens and some other animals), the Vermont/New York border (it runs through his house!) and other fun stuff.

When we left, I asked him for a recommendation for some good local cheese, and he recommended a farm down the road that makes some award winning cheeses.  Consider Bardwell Farms had an open barn door on the property with a refrigerator that was stocked with cheeses for sale. 

Purchasing the cheese was set up as an honor system asking people who took cheeses to leave cash or a check in a cash box.  There was also cut up cheese in the refrigerator for people to taste.  And they were wonderful cheeses.  We bought three types.  Then we visited a while with the goats at the farm.

And where would all of this farmland be without tractors.  We found an incredible antique tractor collection on a large piece of land in the area with a convenient road that drove alongside the various vehicles.

 

The southwest area of Vermont around Bennington had more beautiful farms rustic buildings.  One pretty scene after another.

The last place we visited was Okemo, a small ski area.  Hector actually skied there after a business trip in the 80’s.  We had a picnic halfway up the mountain and drove to (almost) the top.  Once again the trees at the top were already bare.

So even though we did not see peak colors in Southern Vermont it was still really beautiful.

And we learned that peak colors are very elusive; you don’t “catch” the peak, the peak catches you.

~ Brenda

Where to next?

Chasing the Peak in Vermont

Continuing on our leaf peeping quest, we headed to central Vermont.  Our plan was to “follow the fall south”.  The Lake Champagne campground in Randolph Center had beautifully manicured grounds and a lovely view of the mountains.

The weather was quite variable while we were in this area.   And one day the tail end of Tropical Storm Karen came through with monsoon like showers and strong winds.

But we also had several sunny days.

On Saturday, we headed back to Montpelier, the capital of Vermont, for their farmers market.  This time we took Angel to the market which was another really good one.

Lots of organic produce, grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, more great cheeses and maple syrup and LOTS of varieties of apples.  And Angel got some nice roast beef – yum!

We toured around some more along the beautiful roads of Vermont and saw more charming covered bridges along the way.

And, of course, many scenic little towns along the way.  Each with at least one pretty little church.

 

Then more covered bridges.  It’s incredible how many of these bridges there are.

One local I met while she was photographing a bridge shared that this year Vermont has not had as many red trees as they normally have in this area – she said the red color was at about 75%.

The conditions needed in order for the most intense colors to be revealed include:  rain in the spring and summer (which she says they almost got too much of), then a series of clear, sunny days and cooler temperatures (night and/or day) in the fall.  This fall there has been quite a mix of cloudy and sunny days, and the weather has been warmer than usual.

With all of this farmland, there are many very interesting and rustic barn buildings around.

While Hector was photographing yet one more covered bridge, a bunch of cows appeared.  They are rotated from one field to another to maintain the fields and so the cows can always get some fresh grass.  The guy that was herding them called out to each cow (there were about 30) by their individual name!

And, speaking of cows, we visited one more farm, Sugarbush Farm.  They make maple syrup as well as cheese.  There we learned quite a bit about the process of making maple syrup.

Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S.  Maple syrup is considered Vermont’s first agricultural harvest of the year and is considered “seed money” for many farmers who use the sale of their maple products to purchase seeds to plant when the weather warms up and help keep their farms going.

The production of maple syrup is a sustainable activity and one that keeps the beautiful maple trees in the state – approximately 25% of the trees in Vermont are sugar maples.  Lucky for us since they are so beautiful in autumn.

Vermont was the first state to pass a law to establish purity and quality regulations for maple syrup, and their syrup is 100% natural.

It takes four maple trees, at least 40 years old, to yield enough sap in six weeks (40 gallons) to produce one gallon of maple syrup.  No wonder it’s expensive!

Then on to another ski town,  Killington.

We brought Angel along, and stopped for a short hike down the Queechee Gorge on the way there.  It’s a smaller gorge but pretty scenic with lots of trees and fallen leaves along the way.

One more stop along the way was the town of Woodstock, which had some cute little shops.   Here we discovered the Vermont Flannel Co., which had nice quality flannel clothing.  I bought a robe to prepare for the colder weather we’re about to experience the next few weeks.  Very warm and furry.

Killington is a pretty large ski area (for Vermont).  The trees at the bottom were very pretty but the top was definitely post-peak.  Peak colors are very elusive.

Killington was getting ready for the Killington Hay Festival to be held that weekend, yet another fall festival.   People from various businesses construct animals out of bales of hay to display in front of their storefronts.  There were some pretty elaborate ones.

While driving around we stumbled upon a wedding inside of a covered bridge!  There were people on both sides directing traffic and asking cars to drive by as slowly and quietly as possible.  What a romantic idea to have a wedding in a covered bridge.

Next, Southern Vermont.

At this time, we’re in Kentucky headed towards Denver via Kansas City, and catching up on blog posts.

~ Brenda

The Farm and the Museum

Two great places to visit while in Burlington are the Shelburne Farms and the Shelburne Museum.  Both are located in Shelburne (on the outskirts of Burlington), and are separate entities but there is a family connection that links them.

Because I’ve lived in cities all of my life, I’m very interested in farms, how they are run, what the day to day life is like etc.  I’d read that the Shelburne Farms was an interesting place to visit, and convinced Hector to go.

We took a guided tour of the farms (you can also tour the property via various walking trails).  This tour takes you around the property on a wagon pulled by a tractor, pretty charming.  And the tour guide provides information about the farms’ interesting history.

In a nutshell, 3,800 acres of land, located on the shores of Lake Champlain was purchased in the 1880’s by Dr. William Seward Webb and his wife, Eliza ‘Lila’ Vanderbilt Webb, who had inherited $10 million from her father, William Henry Vanderbilt.

They’d planned to create a model agricultural estate and their plan was initially a success.  In addition to a horse breeding facility, the property had a dairy, a pheasantry, a piggery, yachts, golf links, 25,000 square feet of greenhouses, state-of-the-art electrical and communications systems, and hundreds of employees.

Around 1910, the farm operation began to shrink, and the couple’s heirs (Dr. and Mrs. Webb’s children) struggled to make it profitable.  They sold and leased various parcels of the land.  As they continued to struggle to maintain the estate and pay taxes, they considered selling some parts to big companies.

At this point, their children (Dr. and Mrs. Webb’s grandchildren) came up with a plan to create a non-profit, which they founded in 1972.  The remaining 1,400 acres of the farm are now used for conservation education “to inspire a sense of stewardship around the environment”.

The organization offers education programs for students, teachers and others.   Children of all ages can learn about sustainability and their connection to the natural and agricultural world.  Much of the land is under conservation easements, and there have been various renovations and rehabilitations of the buildings.

The non-profit is funded through tours such as the one we took, sale of the (delicious) cheese made on the farm, the gift shop, the inn that is now located on the original family residence and the programs.

The tour includes a partial tour of the inn and its grounds and provides an insight into their cheese making and their programs.

One of the children’s programs has the children harvest vegetables from the garden, milk the cows and make cheese, grind wheat berries and make dough, then make a pizza with their fresh ingredients.

The grounds of the farms are lovely and have a gorgeous view of Lake Champlain.   A fascinating place.

In 1913, James Watson Webb, the oldest of the four children of Dr. William Seward Webb and Lila Vanderbilt Webb, married Electra Havemeyer.  The couple received the southern portion of the Shelburne Farms estate as a wedding gift.

Electra (great name!!) Havemeyer Webb founded the Shelburne Museum at this location.  Electra’s parents had been collectors of European and Asian art.  Electra became a collector in her own right, but with a focus on American art and architecture.  The Shelburne Museum “is one of the nation’s finest, most diverse and unconventional museums of art, design and Americana”.

Electra collected 18^th and 19^th century buildings from New England and New York and relocated more than 20 buildings to Shelburne to house the museum collections.  The museum has a total of 38 buildings (25 are historic) housing 150,000 artifacts.

We decided to visit the Shelburne Museum after reading about it on fellow fulltimer, blogger, island girl and new friend, Mona Liza’s blog.  She and her husband visited the museum this last summer and wrote an intriguing post about it.

The collections are truly amazing and include:

About 225 carriages and horse-drawn vehicles from the late 18^th to the early 20^th centuries, including a Conestoga wagon, a wide variety of sleighs, a “school bus”, stagecoaches and farm and trade vehicles.

A 1946 gift of 28 elegant carriages from the estate of Dr. and Mrs. Webb was what prompted Electra Havemeyer Webb to create the Shelburne Museum.

The barns where the carriages are housed are also quite unique:  one, a 1901 80-foot diameter round barn, is one of only two dozen built in Vermont, the other, a horseshoe-shaped barn, completed in 1949, was modeled after a unique horseshoe-shaped dairy barn in Georgia.  It’s 283 ½ feet long and 32 feet wide.

We’ve never seen such a complete cross section of carriages and sleighs with all their different uses. Formal ones, sporty ones, public transport, business uses.  It is also interesting to note many design details that carried forward into the age of motor vehicles.

Then there is an exhibit devoted to the golden age of the circus in America.  The horseshoe-shaped building that houses the collection was conceived in 1950 and constructed on site in 1965.  Its unique shape was purposely adapted to the artifacts it contains.

The main display that runs the length of the building is of a hand-carved miniature Arnold Circus Parade, measuring 525 linear feet. It’s carved on a scale of one-inch to one-foot and is the equivalent of one of the two-mile long processions that used to travel routes up to ten miles long.

This miniature recreates the pomp and pageantry of the extravagant processions that once heralded the arrival of the circus during the Golden Age of the circus between 1870-1950.  It took the artist 25 years to create with the help of five assistants.  Wow!

The building also houses antique circus posters and a complete set of beautifully restored carousel figures.

And an intricate 3,500-piece miniature three-ring Kirk Bros. circus, which is considered a masterpiece of American folk art.  A brakeman for the Pennsylvania railway created it during his work breaks for his four children.  He used a simple penknife and foot-powered jigsaw and spent forty years to complete it!

There is an operating vintage 1920s carousel outside.  Something about carousels brings back happy memories of my childhood :).

Then there is the Ticonderoga, a 220-foot Lake Champlain steamboat that’s a National Historic Landmark.  Electra had not intended to collect a steamboat, but she was persuaded to save it from the scrap heap.    And she spent millions relocating it to the museum and renovating it to its 1923 glory.

What was fascinating to us about the Ticonderoga was how luxurious it is.  The boat was basically a ferry that made day trips across Lake Champlain from various points in Vermont to various points in New York.  But it existed during a more glamorous era.

The woods, fabrics and other materials are luxurious.  The Ticonderoga is the last walking beam side-wheel passenger steamer in existence.

Thank you, Electra for rescuing and preserving this beautiful example of another era.

A railroad exhibit with a 1915 10-wheel steel locomotive, a fully equipped railroad station and telegraph office and a private luxury railcar used by Dr. Webb and tons of other railroad themed items.

A log cabin designed to resemble an Adirondack hunting camp.  It contains lots of game heads, hunting trophies, woodcarvings, and Adirondack-inspired furniture.

A fully stocked general store with a barbershop, post office and taproom and an Apothecary Shop with patent medicines (still contained in the flasks) and medical equipment.  Amazing!

The Electra Havermeyer Memorial Building – furniture, art, even original molding from the founder’s New York City apartment were relocated to a faux house built for the purpose of showcasing them.  Some excellent old west bronzes were on display in one of the rooms.

An antique toy collection.

A weaving and quilting display.

They even had a covered bridge!

We spent almost an entire day at the museum and didn’t see everything.  For example, we didn’t see the firearms collection which apparently is pretty extensive.  And we missed a number of art, furniture, and decorative arts collections because we simply ran out of time.

We left right at closing.  The tickets to the museum  are good for two days, and, even though we managed to see quite a bit in one day, we can certainly understand why!

~ Brenda

The Adirondack Mountains

Burlington’s location by Lake Champlain is ideal for a side trip to New York.  And, upon the recommendation of a friend (thanks, Rebecca!) we decided to take the ferry over to the Adirondack Mountains.

There are several ferries crossing the Lake to New York, but we chose the longest route, which was also the closest to Burlington.  This ferry is considered the most scenic.  But because of the cloudy, rainy weather, we waited it out for a few days, and wound up taking the ferry on the final day of its season (the other two ferries continue year-round).

We’d learned recently that there is a “sea monster” that is said by some to inhabit Lake Champlain, who’s been nicknamed Champ.  There have been hundreds of reported sightings.

The first reported sighting was in 1883 by Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney, described as a gigantic water serpent about 50 yards away.  The first sighting of the Loch Ness monster occurred 50 years later.

One theory is that Champ may be a plesiosaur (same theory as the Loch Ness monster), because both lakes have a lot of similarities; over 400 feet deep, and both formed from retreating glaciers.

Others believe that people are mistaking common species or other objects for a “monster”,  or that it’s all a hoax.  But the marketing department in Burlington has taken full advantage there are a number of cute sculptures of Champ around.

The ferry ride was very pleasant, although we did not see any prehistoric creatures, and we met some nice folks.

Once across we travelled some pretty country roads headed to Whiteface Mountain and Lake Placid.  It was a beautiful drive with the colors not quite at peak but still lovely.

There is a road to drive up to the top of Whiteface Mountain and there is also a gondola that takes you to the top.  We had Angel with us, so we couldn’t do the gondola and there was a huge traffic jam at the entrance to the road to the top so we bailed.

We continued to Lake Placid, Hector and I were eager to see the town where the 1932 and 1980 Olympics were held.  Lake Placid is a very cute town.  The lake setting is quite striking and there are gorgeous homes surrounding it.  But it was pretty congested and crowded.

So we continued our dirve to check out some of the Olympic sites.  Our first stop was at the ski jump ramps, which are free standing and built on top of the mountain.  The previous ski jump we saw is in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and is built into the mountainside. The ones here were even more impressive.

Standing next to the ski jump ramps makes you appreciate just how crazy the ski jumpers are.  Amazing!

Next, we drove over to the bobsled track area and found out that they offered bobsled rides on the old Olympic track.  Not my cup of tea, but Hector was pretty excited.

We arrived there just in time to take the last ride and he signed up.  It’s pretty pricey, but a once in a lifetime experience for him.

Cowabunga!!!

As he was transported to the top, I was feeling a bit nervous about having the responsibility of capturing a photo of the bobsled as it made it to the finish line.  I knew I’d only have a couple of seconds to take the photos. Happily, I got a couple of good shots!  That’s Hector in the middle between the driver and the brakeman.

Hector loved his 42.54 second ride and that made me happy.

It was time to drive back and we made it just in the nick of time for the ferry ride back.

Although it was a very short tour of the area, we really enjoyed seeing the beautiful Adirondacks and Lake Placid up close.

And Hector got to ride the bobsled, something he’s always wanted to do.  Not bad for a quick day trip.

~ Brenda

Vermont’s Champlain Valley

Okay, it’s official.  We LOVE Vermont.  Granted, she is wearing her beautiful autumn petticoat, but it’s not just the beautiful mountains and quaint towns we love, it’s the people and the vibe.  Huge focus on the environment and a pervasive local food movement.

We stayed at North Beach State Park in Burlington.  From our campsite, we could walk to the “beach” at Lake Champlain, overlooking the Adirondack Mountains in New York.

Burlington is a college town and has been called one of the most livable small cities in the U.S.  Downtown has lots of restaurants, bars, art galleries and shops.  There’s also a pedestrian mall with more shops, street vendors and performers.  And of course, there is the waterfront at Lake Champlain.

As we went for one of our leaf peeping drives in the area, we found more of the charming covered bridges that Vermont is famous for.   In fact, Vermont has the largest number of covered bridges in the United States, there are just over 100!  Sadly, during Hurricane Irene two years ago, two covered bridges were destroyed and many sustained some type of damage.

But back to Burlington.  We toured the town, located the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop 🙂 and did a little shopping,

The next day we went to the farmers market, a good size market with lots of great food.   Lunch options included Peruvian, African, Indian and others.  And we found more great cheese and many options from local farms that focus on sustainability.  Many of the offerings were organic as well.

That evening, we went to that most traditional of Vermont activities:  the reggae party cruise ;-).   We noticed announcements about the cruise at the farmers market.  It sounded like a one time deal, as opposed to the typical tourist cruises, and was featuring a singer who was “actually from Jamaica”. We love being on the water and we love reggae, so it was a perfect combination.

We realized that the party was going to take place not on a regular tour boat but on one of the car ferries that goes over to New York – interesting.  It had been raining on and off since we arrived in Vermont, but fortunately, this was a perfect afternoon for a sunset cruise.  Clear and calm. 

And so we set off with lots of college students and a few other older fogies like us. Well, as a genuine island girl I must say the reggae music was just ok, but the setting was fabulous.  We watched the sunset from the party ferry, had a few rum punches and danced.  A great time.

We continued our leaf peeping by driving out to some other areas near Burlington, including Stowe, a very well known ski area.  The back roads of Vermont are stunning.  We often would just turn down a random road to see what we would find and more often than not would be rewarded with a beautiful scene.