Apple Pickin' in Winchester, Va, via Two Overnighters

So we packed up and left Montpelier-BarreThursday morning (9/29) and headed for Saratoga Springs, NY.  Now, this would be a nice country road drive normally, and take about three hours or so.  However, Irene changed that.  Our intended route had to be changed a couple of times due to washed out roads, bridges and road replacements and maintenance going on all over southwestern Vermont.  And oh, did I mention it was raining cats and dogs all day?  What a mess, and in this rig, and towing to boot!  Wish I had a pair of boots.  lol  I wish we could share some photos, but everywhere we drove on these little roads (normally nice) I had to hold on for dear life as they were really trecherous.  And the rain!  Here is one pic that Nancy caught while were slowly moving along route 4 and the White River, around White River Junction.

We saw many vehicles, trucks, buses, campers, and houses strewn all over these creeks and rivers this day.  Sad to see such a normally serene places in New England so devasted by the storm.  And the State and local municapalities trying so hard to make repairs to welcome in the years' leaf-peepers.  But I must say, Irene did a number on this years' fall tourist season here.  Sad!  We made finally to Rutland, VT near the western border with NY.  And we stopped at a Ponderosa buffet just as the rain was letting up.  After a late lunch, we finally hooked up the Jeep to the Diplomat and headed on over to Saratoga Springs-Glen Falls, NY.  Nancy drove the Jeep most of the way as we had to disconnect (in the pouring rain of course) in some little small town and I got myself in a jam and couldn't back with toad.  Wow, glad that trip ended, and everything still in place, I think.  Now, from Rutland, VT to Winchester, VA was mostly uneventful, as we overnighted Thursday in the Saratoga Springs area (I-87)(Lowes/Walmart) and Scranton, PA, Friday (Walmart) along I-81.  We never disconnected the Jeep till we got to Winchester.  Saturday afternoon, (10/1) we pulled into a Passport America affliliated RV Park called Cedar Creek Battlefield next to where the Civil War Battle took place.  And it was of course raining again, and cold.  And the RV Park left a lot to be desired.  We have discovered that most of the PA RV Parks are sub-standard, but for overnighting, acceptable.  Oh well, we weren't planning to spend a lot of time in the park anyway.  Sunday morning and we were off to rendezvous with our daughter and her family for a day of apple pickin' at the Miller-Barker Orchard just outside Winchester.  We met them in Front Royal, had a cupajoe at the Dunkin Donut with them and off to the orchard.  Did I mention it was cold, misty and windy.  Didn't seem to dampen the spirits of a 3-year old and a 16 month old however.  Below, Austin & Ali are getting into their pastries.

And they had a playground and little cow-train ride being pulled by a riding mower.  Interesting!  Austin didn't seem to mind though.  And he didn't even care if it was 50 degrees and windy and cloudy!

Apple pickin'?  This is fun!  Let's do it more often Mom!  We did manage to pick us a bushel of apples.  Staymans, Granny Smith, Gala and another Red xxx variety I can't recall the name.  And with all the help, it didn't take long.  :-)

Grass is almost as tall as Ali!  Below, Pete (Dad) and Ali checking out the boo-boo on her hand.

We had a nice time picking some apples but enough of this cold and wind.  Off to the Carraba's in Winchester for a warm sit-down and some pasta and a glass of Chianti.  We bid our daughter and family farewell and headed back to the motor home Sunday evening, and them back to Alexandria, VA.  And on that note, RVing Beach Bums will sign off till the next time.  Off to the Newmarket, VA area tomorrow morning, (10/3).



Montpelier-Barre, Vt at the Walmart

We drove most all the day Monday (9/26) and drove into the Walmart parking lot around 5 in the afternoon.  We did a search for a suitable RV Park and found none.  As it turned out, we were here for three nights.  Didn't intend, but my new laptop consumed a Trojan Horse and bellied up on me.  So off to the local PC geek hangout for a thorough purge and virus scan.  It took all day but was finally finished 24 hours later.

On the second day in Vermont, we drove up to Waterbury and guess what found?  Ben & Jerry's, which doesn't even belong to them anymore, since '04.  They sold out to a big firm by an offer that couldn't be refused.  The same company that owns Breyers.  Another one of my favorite snacks.  We did the factory tour and got out free sample of the day, peanut butter-caramel.  Awful rich!  This is a small plant.  Most of their ice cream is produced in Nevada and Pennsylvania.  Below is a beatiful maple tree in their parking lot late in the day.

Just up the road from Waterbury is the quaint little town (aren't all the towns in Vermont little & quaint?) of Stowe.  We stopped at an apple produce farm and picked up some Stayman apples, some cider donuts and a quart of what else but Vermont Maple syrup.  After that stopover, we drove up to the Von Trapp Lodge, about a 30m drive from Waterbury.  Above & below are a couple of pics of the rustic but modern alpine-looking lodge.  It's still run by the family.

The next day we wanted to do a little exploring and look for a few covered bridges.  During our day trip, we discovered some unexpected tragedies left by Irene, the hurricane that passed thru here in late August or early Sept.  Above and below are a couple of pics from that devastation.

 Many of the rivers & streams in Vermont were literally changed overnight by the downpour of 10" of rain.  Many houses and property was destroyed.  We were astonished and saddened for the folks of Vermont. 

A lot of the beauty was also lost for leaf-peepers as well, but we did manage to take in another day trip or two before we left. Below are a few of Vermont's scenes we took in.

 Below, another of one of the many covered bridges that were damaged or destroyed.

 Above an old building down State Street a block from the Capital.  Below is the Capital.  It is a rather small capital building, but neat and lovely.  The grounds were manicured smartly with a variety of flowers up the walkway to the steps. 

 Above & below are a few pics of some steeples around the downtown area (which is relatively small as well).  Vermont is known for it's steeples I'm told by Nancy!

Here are a few more from the downtown area..

 Looking up State Street north towards the Capital.  Below is one of Montpelier's finest taking in the evening cool crisp evening.

 Above and below are a few pics fromSmuggler's Notch.  This was a very steep & winding narrowpiece of road just north of the Stowe Resort area.  It was cold and windy.

 Below, a tree is rooted on a rock.

 Above & below, part of the Stowe Resort.  In about six weeks, this place will be full of life with the winter sports folks.  For me, I'll take the warm climate of Phoenix.

So, thus ends our journey to Vermont.  On Thursday morning we left Montpelier and headed for Saratoga Springs, NY.  And what a ride this turned out to be.  I'll share it with you in our next blog.  Till then, Joe & Nancy.