Day 9 - New Conway, New Hampshire
As forecast, today is, once again, dry and sunny if slightly on the chilly side (this is how things should stay, all being well, for the remainder of our trip) as we left Vermont behind and headed in to the fifth and penultimate state of this trip, New Hampshire. However, before we left Vermont we had a couple of stops.
As we travelled slightly south and east we dropped in to Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, an 8th generation farm that has over 5000 maples tapped. One of the family, Burr, gave us an illustrated talk on how they do what they do and dished up some amazing facts including that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup. A tasting session followed and a lesson in how to make Maple Snow (maple syrup drizzled on crushed ice). Inevitably the farm store and gift shop awaited to round off the visit. Another vehicle that looked like a refugee from the Cars movie sat outside (a Nuffield tractor, made by Morris, as was, in the UK):
Our final stop in Vermont was in the state capital of Montpelier - the smallest state capital in the USA with a population of just 8000 and the only state capital in the USA without a Mcdonald's - where we were treated to a tour of the state house by our guide, Michael who, judging by the way he presented, probably wanted to be an actor once upon a time (maybe he was?) as his quiet and gentle speaking voice assumed Shakespearean tone, volume and gravitas once he launched in to his "show":
By the way, that is real gold leaf on the state house dome - it is currently being reapplied, having last been done in 1976, as part of a $2M renovation scheme.
Lunch on the go followed courtesy of the Montpelier Farmers' Market - crispy organic pizza slices and pomegranate iced tea.
Onward eastward then and over the border into New Hampshire and the spectacular White Mountain National Forest. As we had missed out on a gondola ride up Mount Mansfield yesterday we stopped at Cannon Mountain (4100 ft high) and took the cable car to view a panorama across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in the USA and, looking north, Canada:
As we continued towards our accommodation for the next two nights, the North Conway Grand Hotel, we stopped at a viewpoint adjacent to the Bretton Woods hotel, famous for the post-world war 2 economic summit and the subsequent Bretton Woods Agreement, with Mount Washington, the highest peak in north east America (6289 ft) clearly visible in the background:
I meant to mention that we started dinner in both the two previous evenings with Vermont's fabulous Cheddar Cheese and Beer Soup (almost as good as the Massachusetts Clam Chowder that we had grown accustomed to ordering earlier in the holiday). What a winning combination!
And finally, sign seen in the Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks......
As we travelled slightly south and east we dropped in to Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, an 8th generation farm that has over 5000 maples tapped. One of the family, Burr, gave us an illustrated talk on how they do what they do and dished up some amazing facts including that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup. A tasting session followed and a lesson in how to make Maple Snow (maple syrup drizzled on crushed ice). Inevitably the farm store and gift shop awaited to round off the visit. Another vehicle that looked like a refugee from the Cars movie sat outside (a Nuffield tractor, made by Morris, as was, in the UK):
Our final stop in Vermont was in the state capital of Montpelier - the smallest state capital in the USA with a population of just 8000 and the only state capital in the USA without a Mcdonald's - where we were treated to a tour of the state house by our guide, Michael who, judging by the way he presented, probably wanted to be an actor once upon a time (maybe he was?) as his quiet and gentle speaking voice assumed Shakespearean tone, volume and gravitas once he launched in to his "show":
By the way, that is real gold leaf on the state house dome - it is currently being reapplied, having last been done in 1976, as part of a $2M renovation scheme.
Lunch on the go followed courtesy of the Montpelier Farmers' Market - crispy organic pizza slices and pomegranate iced tea.
Onward eastward then and over the border into New Hampshire and the spectacular White Mountain National Forest. As we had missed out on a gondola ride up Mount Mansfield yesterday we stopped at Cannon Mountain (4100 ft high) and took the cable car to view a panorama across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in the USA and, looking north, Canada:
As we continued towards our accommodation for the next two nights, the North Conway Grand Hotel, we stopped at a viewpoint adjacent to the Bretton Woods hotel, famous for the post-world war 2 economic summit and the subsequent Bretton Woods Agreement, with Mount Washington, the highest peak in north east America (6289 ft) clearly visible in the background:
I meant to mention that we started dinner in both the two previous evenings with Vermont's fabulous Cheddar Cheese and Beer Soup (almost as good as the Massachusetts Clam Chowder that we had grown accustomed to ordering earlier in the holiday). What a winning combination!
And finally, sign seen in the Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks......
Comments
Post a Comment