I wanted to take a minute and give a big fat shout out and THANK YOU TO AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY!
Click the page HERE (or above left: 9/2-9/19) to see information about the trip I am on, and the amazing car they have loaned me to drive! I’ve been from NJ to VT and all around the state, now en route to NH and still have not had to fill up the gas tank. Yay for Honda Hybrids!
In true sunny Vermont brochure fashion (it really is like on TV and in magazines!) we spent a full day out in the beautiful countryside meeting small town folks, finding fresh-grown local foods, and stopping at any roadside spot that struck our fancy. First stop was the West River Farmer’s Market in Londonderry:
It didn’t take me long to find some cheese that I loved:
Meet Farmer Mariah:
She was happy to tell me about her cheeses when I asked if I could take her picture. We bought some swiss from her and had it for an appetizer with dinner tonight. YUM!
After Mariah, I met Nick:
…who didn’t stop juggling:
…the whole time we chatted. He was fun and easy to talk to, with that infectious good energy that few have and you just want to be around. I think his branding/logo are fantastic, and couldn’t fit him more perfectly:
Of course I had to buy a jar:
(I know I talk about cheese and chocolate a lot as some of my big fav’s, but pickles have always been one for me too. When I was little I used to eat a whole jar by the time we got to the grocery store register.) This Mad Pickler makes some seriously de-lish stuff. I am taking my jar on the road!
It was time to stock up on goods for dinner, so I headed to the Clear Brook Farm tent:
Do you like how I snuck that one in? Yeah, that’s my little bro. I think he’s the cutest Farmer ever, and grows the best eats too:
We picked up some fresh corn:
…tomatoes:
…and a few other items.
Even though Farmer Brad was being a bit camera shy today, I snuck in a photo with him. Meet my brother:
We took our brown bags full of fresh produce and hit the road:
…stopping next at The Pantry:
We wanted to check out this recently opened cafe’ and grocery store that sells local goods. (Love that building!) It was packed with lunchers, and made the list for a revisit when I’m back in VT sometime.
It really was like a movie scene, I couldn’t have planned it better as this Farmer on a tractor rolled by 30 seconds after we stopped with a dog in tow. Little piglets were chasing this tractor. Seriously!
(Unfortunately the piglets ran away before I could snap a photo.)
Inside the farm stand I found homemade blueberry peach coffee cake:
…and 96 year old Arthur carving away:
Talk about a character! Arthur was quiet on the video, but was joking (dare I say flirting?:)- with me telling me about his craft:
…and age.
I spent only about 5 minutes with Arthur and I was wishing for 5 hours. Can you imagine what you could learn from a gent like this? Fascinating and sweet.
Garlic galore! Hanging, in bags, bowls and burlap:
I had originally planned for some big-time noshing at the festival, but after our first 8,734 stops- there was only room for a couple snacks. I opted for a pickle to keep with the theme of the day:
…and we tried some odd-sounding but surprisingly delicious garlic kettle corn:
(Thanks for the special guests pass Lyndie! We had a great time.)
Finally, it was time to call it a day. I managed to sneak in my hoped-for nap on a big cushiony porch swing which was much needed after all that running around. Where was that porch swing? You guessed it; at a gorgeous old Vermont Farmhouse that has this view at the end of it’s driveway:
An hour snooze and up to make a colorful and delectable dinner with all the fresh goodies we had picked up during our day out.
Oh Vermont, how we love you. A day of good memories made, and great company finding new adventures in my home state. It’s nearly 2am now as I type, falling asleep. Tomorrow I’m off to New Hampshire to explore towns I have never been before. Yay! More new adventures.
***Total miles driven today, day 2: 96
***Total miles driven since trip start (9/2/11): 340
…getting all organized for my transfer to the loaner Civic. Ahhh…the shiny and beautiful hybrid:
It was a bonus to meet the STI crew I’ve been talking to for a while now, and find out they were even nicer and more accommodating in person! They all helped me get the vinyl on the car and looking perfect:
They all cheered and got excited with me?! How cool is that?
Meet Vern, Paul, Daniel, Badri, and Gary:
No surprise I wanted to geek out about the car a little bit, so Paul was up for being my videographer too:
Thanks guys! You really made start to this trip fantastic. I appreciate all your help!
I was off to the races in this gorgeous car. Traffic wasn’t bad at all even though I made my way through the NYC area close to rush hour time. I decided to still have my traffic-jam dance party anyway. Spoiled with a gazillion XM Radio stations- are you kidding me? I’ll take some hip-hop and 90’s jams every day of the week please. I couldn’t resist making a video of my solo dance party too, when my total fav, Young MC; Bust a Move came on. I’ll save that video for someone else to find someday and blackmail me with. One can only geek out and post videos showing it all so many times in one day!
I made it to Albany, NY in perfect time for dinner at the highly-recommended Van’s Vietnamese:
Van’s doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the food was de-lish, and the service fabulous. I was stuffed silly for my last hour of driving to VT . Here I am! It’s actually 4:41am as I am typing right now so I am technically into day 2. I better get to bed because I have an early morning run calling my name again. Eat, run, eat, run.
After I run in the morning I’ll be heading to the oldest farmers market in the state of Vermont for my first time ever. (Unfortunately the location has changed because the hurricane wiped out the commons it’s usually on.) I’m looking forward to meeting the participating farmers and artists. (Apparently there’s a place near the market I need to get chocolate cake too. Yes, I know- maybe I should up my running mileage!) The second stop for tomorrow will be the Southern Vermont Garlic & Herb Festival. Yeah!
Maybe after that stop, my stinky breath and I will sneak in a nap…
I have updated all the pages above here, along with my personal Facebook page and the Blue Lollipop Road Facebook page, with lots of good info. and photos so be sure to poke around and check everything out again if you have been following for a while. If you are new here…thanks for visiting and welcome to the fun!
Based on Honda’s Facebook poll from a couple weeks ago, the top votes are coming in for a special spot in NYC and also the NC coast. (Um, is somebody reading my mind? How did you all know I love those places? Then again, I do love a lot of places…:)
Polls are still open, there will be more going up in the next couple days, and of course all will remain open while I’m on the road, so stay tuned. I could be ping-ponging around much more of the country than I thought. I’ve never been afraid of crossing several state lines, so I say bring on the challenge! It’s already been an adventure watching the ever changing travel meter move.
As of tonight, possible NJ to VT to NH to ME to NYC to NC to PA (I haven’t even told you about that one yet.)- to ?, then back to NJ on the 19th. Good thing I’m going to be driving a hybrid!
