Woodstock Farmers' Market

After paddling on Lake Sunapee, we headed to the Woodstock Farmers' Market for lunch. Can I just say they have amazing sandwiches and if you are in the Woodstock, VT area, you cannot pass this place up?

After you get your food {either before or after you hike, bike, paddle or sight see}, you can take it out back and sit and enjoy the view of the river while you eat.

Seriously, don't miss out on these sandwiches.

Daniel ordered Moonlight in Vermont, hold the apples and mayo. 

I had John's Hillbilly Steak and Cheese, with everything please. Both were amazing.

We also tried oogave Natural Sodas. Daniel had Watermelon and I had Key Lime. They were delish and you couldn't tell that there was zero sugar in them.

Sophie Learns to Swim

Tuesday night of our vacation, we headed to Woodstock, VT with intentions of grabbing sandwiches at the Woodstock Farmers' Market. Unfortunately they stopped serving sandwiches at 4:00PM. So we drove back to the White Cottage Snack Bar that we had seen just up the road.

The Snack Bar had one window where you could order all things ice cream related and another where you could order food {mostly fried}. I went with the Fried Scallops and French Fries {a Vermont favorite according to the menu board} and Daniel ordered a Fish Sandwich. Our meals were a bit pricey, but good for "snack bar" fare.

I splurged on a waffle cone with a scoop of Maine Black Bear, a scoop of Caramel Caribou and a scoop of Moose Tracks. This cone was totally worth the $4 price tag.

One of the things we really liked about the snack bar was that you eat outside and there was a place for dogs to roam and play in the river. 

Daniel and Sophie ventured into the water and before we knew it Sophie was actually swimming for the first time! When we first got her, she refused to walk across running water of any kind or get anything other than her paws wet. This was quite the accomplishment. 

She didn't panic until she made it into the current {which was not swift}. Daniel had her on the leash so she was fine, but she clung to a rock in the middle of the river for dear life when she got there!

We are so proud of her. This makes us feel better about our future plans to stick her in a canoe with us...

Quechee Gorge

After our long day of hiking we opted to sleep in and take it easy. Over breakfast we discussed what we learned about hiking Mount Washington and what we could do better in the future.

For lunch we made our way to Dana's By the Gorge. After reviewing the menu, we asked our server how big the burgers were. He said "big" so we decided to split the Danaburger. Unfortunately our server's idea of "big" and our idea of "big" are not the same.

Since the burger was not as big as we anticipated, we opted to try the Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp for dessert – Daniel had never heard of rhubarb before and now he is a fan.

Overall, we really enjoyed Dana's.

After eating we made our way down to the Quechee Gorge to view "Vermont's Little Grand Canyon." I feel like every state tries to claim their own version of the grand canyon... 

It is a pretty canyon that is best viewed from the bridge. You can hike about a mile alongside it, but we were content with the bridge view {we get a break since we just climbed Mount Washington}.

Sovenier From Vermont...

One thing we have noticed in Vermont is the abundance of Subarus {we fit right in}. The other thing we noticed is the plethora of canoes and kayaks atop of these Subarus {and other vehicles}.

On a whim, Daniel decided to check out local Craigslist postings. We have been considering buying a canoe for a while, but haven't found the right opportunity yet. Well, that opportunity presented itself on day #2 in Vermont. Initially we went back and forth because of having to haul it home, but on the plus side we can use it while we are here.

We found a great deal on a Mad River Canoe in LondonDerry, NH {just outside of Boston}. Daniel contacted the seller and left a message. We didn't hear back right away so we decided to go hiking. We were 30 minutes from our trailhead when we received the call that the canoe was available. Score.

We turned around and headed south. The canoe is 16-feet long {so it will accommodate Sophie}. It has only been used a few times and the paddles and a Yakima roof mounting system came with the boat. We are stoked to get it on the water.

I Wanna Go Hiking

Our first day in Vermont, we were still recovering from travels, so we took it easy. After breakfast at the Farmer's Diner, we visited a local strip mall selling various items. 

First up was the Cabot Cheese Shop. They make some seriously good cheese. There was an entire table devoted to cheese samples. Daniel says that this is a called a loss leader – meaning the free goods are sacrificed in hopes that you make a purchase. The cheese was delicious, but I wasn't compelled to buy. Daniel however, after eating several spicy kinds of cheese {including jalapeno and chipotle} found himself buying a bottle of apple juice, so I guess it worked on him.

Next up was an antique shop – lots of lots of little booths with old stuff for sale. While wandering the aisles I overheard a kid impatiently say, "I want to get out of here. I want to go hiking already!" I feel the same way kid...

After leaving the antique store {not really our thing} we made a pit stop at our house where we researched local trails before finding ourselves heading for Woodstock, VT to hike Mount Tom.

Mount Tom is 1,250 feet high and offers great views of Woodstock and the valley below. The Faulkner Trail totaled 3 miles. It was a good way to end our first day in Vermont.

Food From Here

Our first dining experience in Quechee was at the Farmer's Diner. Their mission is to increase the economic vitality of local agrarian communities. Set in a dining car of a train, it is a quaint little place. 

We went for breakfast and Daniel immediately decided on the Chocolate Chip Pancakes while I stuck with my benchmark of eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and whole wheat toast.

The plate of pancakes was ginormous. They were almost like eating cake for breakfast. The only negative was they brought Daniel about 2 tablespoons of syrup in a little metal container. When he asked for more {after using what he had}, the waitress informed him that it would cost an additional $2 for the extra maple syrup. According to the waitress, "Organics are up." We are all for supporting local farms, but there is no way that 2 tbsp of syrup was near enough for three rather large chocolate chip pancakes!

My meal was scrumptious. We would definitely recommend this diner – just beware that if you buy pancakes, you might want to sneak in your own syrup container...

Scarified

 

When I get tired, I get silly. I lose all ability to think or act rationally. Sometimes this leads to uncontrollable giggling. As we drove our final leg into Quechee, Vermont, I was doing the driving and I came across a sign that said "scarified." 

I asked Daniel if the sign we had just passed really said "scare-i-fied." In my mind there was no way that that was a real word. It totally sounded made up. In my silliness, I started using the word in sentences, mostly I think I just annoyed Daniel. He proceeded to tell me it was a real word and that it meant to break up, loosen, or roughen the surface of a road. The road we drove over after the sign was one of the bumpiest sections of road I have ever driven and it definitely had me "scare-i-fied."

Scarified seems like the type of word you wold come across when playing Balderdash.