Tuesday, June 29, 2010

birthday celebrations, part 2

Friday we zipped out of town to Vermont for the weekend. I love the Green Mountain State and Brendan hadn't been there, so it seemed just the place for a joint birthday getaway. Parker, however, was none too pleased to see us leave. He watched from the window as we packed the car up.



pre-departure snap


we've arrived!

We stayed at a bed and breakfast on an 18th century farm. 



There were chickens, goats, horses...all very delightful and farmy. The B&B was on the Battenkill River and had a few miles of walking trails on site. 



Saturday was Brendan's birthday and we had big plans. I tip toed downstairs to sneak us up some tea in bed, and then he opened presents and got some birthday skype wishes from the fam. After a very hearty farm breakfast we were off for a canoe trip on the Battenkill.

 


It was a lovely warm morning, and we had the river to ourselves for most of the 3 hour journey.



After a quick clean up, we were off to a local pub for the USA vs Ghana game. 


Sadly, the USA is out but it was a great result for the African continent. We resolved henceforward to support Ghana fully. 


That evening there was a birthday dinner, a candle blown out, and a wish made that will hopefully come true.



Sunday brought another walk, another fun farm breakfast, and another game of soccer (England's loss prompted further resolve to root for Ghana). We made a slow trip back home, stopping at all sorts of places along the way, including the famous Vermont Country Store.



This classic old general store-style shop has all sorts of things, ranging from the very useful to the very silly but still fun (I would put their Yodeling Pickle in this category).


The masks also fall into that latter category.


And, it being Vermont, there was plenty of maple syrup to be had.

We tried maple mustard, maple cheese, maple dips, and maple cookies.

There were more stops at farm stalls and country shops picking up goodies (I'll do a separate post on the food later on), and posing for a funny photo here and there.



Our final stop was just outside Brattleboro at a river we spied on the way up. We had a picnic lunch and a dip in the cool water before getting onto the highway. A great end to a lovely weekend.



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