We are on the road around 9, out of the city easy peasy, and through the border in no time (the border patrol guy takes one look at our passports and says “wow, these are super-sized!”).
We drive toward Burlington through the Lake Champlain area, stopping at the visitor’s info center where the ladies there were so very helpful! The lake and brightly colored leaves are beautiful around here.
We meander down the two lane highway, skirting the lake, looking for a picnic spot. All the parks are closed for the season. So, we ended up waiting to eat until Burlington, where we sit on a great park bench over looking the water. Cool!
Full from our sausage and cheese, we begin our Vermont culinary tour (well, culinary is a stretch, but….) as we head to the Lake Champlain chocolate factory for their tour. It’s a very informative half an hour, all about where they get their chocolate, how it is made, their products and their new artisanal chocolates they are developing. It’s not actually a “tour”, since we are sitting on a viewing platform, listening to the lecture and looking at the factory through a huge plate glass window, but its still pretty interesting. And of course, the chocolate samples are great, but the actual chocolate for sale is so pricey we pass (yeah, well, what can I say?).
And yes, those are chocolate bunnies on the left! They’ve been making them for months and storing them in their warehouse for Easter. Unbelievable!
Next, we head to the hotel to check in, knowing the room won’t be ready but wanting to make sure we get a room with a refrigerator. We organize that, then move on to the next stop on our tour: the Magic Hat brewery.
Here, we take a self-guided tour through their wacky place. Very fun – love the way they market and promote themselves. They’ve got some great memorabilia in there too! Like all their beer signs, a spin wheel of a bunch of their beer taps and this spooky sort of Buddha looking huge face hanging in the hall. Oh, and the Mardi Gras cut out…yeah…odd..but..hey..it is Magic Hat at its finest!
After watching the bottling process (which can mesmerize you for hours!), we end up back downstairs in the tasting room where we both find some beers we really like (yep, even I had a couple I’d drink!).
Six pack later and we’re out the door back to the hotel to check in.
Organized and rested, we head to dinner at the Upper Pub café, the bar portion of the Windjammer restaurant in the Best Western. You’d not think of going to a hotel to eat, but this place was great! We shared a pork burger (Long Trail Ale brined pork loin, ground with pancetta, pepper jack cheese & sautéed vegetables, topped with tarragon aioli – I’m trying to recreate the recipe!!!) and a maple chipotle pulled pork sandwich that was just fantastic! And too much food!
We haul ourselves back to the hotel and collapse on the bed! Tomorrow the long road (ha!) to White River Junction!
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