On the road again.

We made our way back to GA where we are spending a week until it is time to go to FL and our annual Sept. WDW vacation. It's been hot here, it will be hotter in FL. I hope the hurricanes pass us by and we enjoy our time in the Orlando area.

Bragg Farm

Our last tour of the day was Bragg Farm Sugarhouse. We could not leave Vermont without visiting a sugarhouse and seeing how real maple syrup was made. Again, the sugaring process was not currently happening as sugaring is done in late winter/early spring, but we watched a video of the process, learned about the family history, and toured the sugar house with very friendly and informative gentleman.

Next was a syrup tasting, it was sweet. We learned about the 4 different grades of syrup and their different flavors and colors. We chose the one we liked best and bought some as well as maple candy lolipops. Outside there were a few animals to pet, so we visited with them and then it began to rain lightly, so it was time to head home. We had a full day and we enjoyed it all.

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

After leaving Ben and Jerry's we made our way down the street to a working Cider Mill. Unfortunately the mill was not running as it was not yet the season. However, we saw a film about the process, sampled cider, and got complimentary frozen cider pops. We got to watch someone make cider donuts and we also got to sample honey, spreads, jams, and other freshly made items. We were getting pretty full now with bellies full of ice cream, cider, and other various treats. We still had another stop on this day and it was a sweet one.

Ben & Jerry's

YUMMY! That's how we all felt about Ben & Jerry's. The factory tour was interesting and entertaining. The free tasting at the end was delicious.

From the web site:

"Nestled in the heart of the Green Mountains the ice cream factory sits on a rolling pasture overlooking the Worcester Range heading North from the town of Waterbury. The guided factory tours are fun & educational for all ages. Guests are offered the opportunity to learn about the production process & how the Company’s 3 part-mission statement is incorporated into day-to-day business decisions.

The tour begins in the Cow Over the Moon theater with a company history moo-vie. Find out how two childhood friends, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, turned a $5.00 correspondence course on ice cream making into a very successful business that shares its success with its employees, & the community & has fun doing it! "

We had some fun while we were there, first, of course, we ate ice cream.
The kids posed for the obligatory pics while we enjoyed our sugar rush.
Then, the kids did some spin art, and mom tie-dyed a t-shirt.
Before leaving, we took time to visit the Flavor Graveyard. Here lies retired flavors or ones that just didn't do well in stores. There were some funny ones and some that just sounded gross.
A good time was had by all, we recommend this to anyone visiting the area.

Vermont Teddy Bear

While in the area, we had several places we wanted to visit, one being Vermont Teddy Bear. We enjoyed our tour and had a very enthusiastic guide. We saw some of the biggest Teddy Bears we have ever seen.

While we didn't buy any, we admired the quality and care put in to making the stuffed animals. We also admired their lifetime guarantee. This is a must do if you ever visit the area.

Apple Island RV Resort.

Once the rally was over we had to leave the fairgrounds property, so some of the other vendors recommended a nice camp ground near-by and they were offering 2 nights of free camping. That sounded good to us, so we moved to our new location and ended up spending 4 nights there.

Apple Island RV Resort was right on Lake Champlain and was convenient to the places we wanted to visit. They had a nice, long site for us and the campground had some really nice ammenities that we enjoyed like a hot tub, pool, and a library.

If we ever find ourselves in the area again, we would happily stay there.

Some pics from the rally.

This is what passes for entertainment with a group of tired vendors.

We had the pleasure of enjoying a rainbow one evening.

Essex Junction, VT

After our week in VA we needed to go to Vermont for another RV rally. This would be our last one for a while and we really weren't looking forward to driving all the way to Vermont. It turned to be a lovely place. Vermont is beautiful with mountains, rolling hills, lots of green everywhere, friendly people, and best of all, ice cream. I know you can get ice cream anywhere, but we were looking forward to visiting Ben & Jerry's.

Touring would have to wait though, we had a nice time at the rally, the kids made new friends and enjoyed visiting with some they already knew. They had a youth activities program, so they had loads of stuff to do and were busy most of the time.

We enjoyed our evenings with the other vendors, and, as always, we enjoyed talking with RVers and sharing our enthusiasm for traveling. We stayed at a fairgrounds and were quite comfortable.

We look forward to doing more show in the winter, but for now we have swithced gears and it is back to golf.

Busch Gardens, Williamsburg

During the week we spent time at Busch Gardens. We went for one full day and returned later in the week for 1/2 a day. We had a really nice time. The kids found new thrill rides to enjoy, we all enjoyed the shows, and the evening entertainment was enjoyable. We always enjoy Busch parks and we were glad to enjoy Busch Gardens again.

Tangier Island Cruise

For the second day of our vacation we had booked a short cruise aboard the Chesapeake Breeze.

The cruise left from Historic Reedville, Va., the center of the largest fishing industry in the United States.

We enjoyed a relaxing one and a half hour narrated cruise (although Tim got a little sea sick), the ship then docked at Tangier Island where we were met by a friendly guide. She gave us some history of the island and took us to Hilda Crockett's Chesapeake House and enjoyed lunch. It was all you care to eat crab cakes, clam

fritters, and Virginia baked ham. The vegetables included green beans, potato salad, coleslaw, apple sauce, pickled beets, and delicious hot corn pudding. All that is served with fresh, baked daily homemade rolls and butter pound cake. We left full and happy.

After lunch we took a golf cart tour of the island which took about 10 mins. and a guide told more about the history of the island.

Finally there was some shopping in the gift shops and our return cruise to Reedville. It was a lovely day, although one that need only be done once. We all enjoyed our day.

Gloucester, VA

We were happy to arrive at Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The park was lovely with nice big sites. We checked in and inquired as to where Mom's cabin would be so we could park close-by. We moved twice before we found one not too far from the cabin and clear of big trees for clear satellite service.

The first few days were spent cleaning, doing laundry, and all the stuff that comes right after a show and several days with no hook-ups. We were anticipating Mom and Mike's arrival in Fri.

They arrived on Friday evening and we got their stuff unloaded and then went out for a bite to eat. We were glad they were here as we had not seen them in 10 months.

Our first full day together was spent relaxing at the camp ground, visiting, swimming, and just catching up.