Vermont- in a day!

So as I mentioned we had breakfast at Four Aces Diner on the NH side of White River Junction and it was terrific! I had the Irish Benedict (corned beef hash based- YUM!) and the popovers were fabulous!

We got on the highway and headed into Vermont and to the north and west... all along Interstate 89 it is marked as a scenic route - and this designation by AAA is well deserved, vista after vista of lovely low rise tree covered mountains that must be a riot of color in the fall...

we headed to the capital on our way to the Cabot Creamery...and you can see we had a lovely morning for a drive...

when we arrived at Cabot they had just started a video for the tour- so we ducked in quickly and joined up- the first photo is of awards won by their products-  Cabot is a co-op and has had a great deal of success over the decades of being in business-

a display table in the video room-

Originally started as Cabot Farmers Cooperative Creamery in 1919 by farmers in Cabot, Vermont, it was taken over by the Agri-Mark Cooperative in 1992. The Cabot village creamery was built in 1893 The original plant had an investment of $3,700 in total, which was paid by 94 farmers in proportion to the number of cattle which each owned. The cooperative started out making butter with the excess milk produced, and began shipping its products south. In 1930 they started making cheese. By 1960, the cooperative had 600 member farmers, though the number of farms in Vermont and across the nation were steadily shrinking.

Following a decline in membership, the Cabot Farmers Cooperative Creamery merged in 1992 with Agri-Mark, a cooperative of 1,800 farm families in New England and New York, and was re-incorporated as Cabot Creamery Cooperative Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Agri-mark. 

Cabot began marketing cheese internationally in 2007.  Wine Spectator magazine listed Cabot cloth-bound cheddar as one of "100 great cheeses" of the world in 2008. 

Cabot has facilities in many locations, including Cabot, Vermont, Route 100 in Waterbury, Vermont, Quechee, Vermont as well as a newly added store in Portland, Maine. Each location offers samples of products from the expansive line of Cabot goods, specialty foods from local vendors, and souvenirs. Additionally, at the Cabot Visitors Center, guided tours are given for those interested. (from wikipedia)

we were told no photos on the tour - but oddly enough that must be a new rule because when I had been there before with Phil and Jeremy and Kate on a full blown Vermont vacation... I had taken some photos - so this is what we saw both times-

making the curds and then draining off the whey-

a mural in the plant-

the big stir--- LOL

the tour was very informative - but they gave out no handouts so this next part comes from a wikipedia article on cheese making and has been edited to fit what we saw in the "factory"-

To make cheese the cheesemaker brings milk in the cheese vat to a temperature required to promote the growth of the bacteria that feed on lactose and thus ferment the lactose into lactic acid. Fermentation using homofermentative bacteria is important in the production of cheeses such as Cheddar, where a clean, acid flavour is required.  When during the fermentation the cheesemaker has gauged that sufficient lactic acid has been developed, rennet is added to cause the casein to precipitate. After adding the rennet, the cheese milk is left to form curds over a period of time.

Once the cheese curd is judged to be ready, the cheese whey must be released. As with many foods the presence of water and the bacteria in it encourages decomposition. The cheesemaker must, therefore, remove most of the water (whey) from the cheese milk, and hence cheese curd, to make a partial dehydration of the curd. This ensures a product of good quality and that will keep. 

The Cheddar curds and whey are often transferred from the cheese vat to a cooling table which contains screens that allow the whey to drain, but which trap the curd. The curd is 'blocked' (stacked, cut and turned) by the cheesemaker to promote the release of cheese whey in a process known as 'cheddaring'. During this process the acidity of the curd increases and when the cheesemaker is satisfied it has reached the required level, salt is mixed into it to arrest acid development. The salted green cheese curd is pressed to allow the curd particles to bind together. The pressed blocks of cheese are then vacuum packed in plastic bags to be stored for maturation. Vacuum packing removes oxygen and prevents mould growth during maturation.

and as I highlighted above there were samples to try and souvenirs to buy...

despite numerous- literally hundreds of Moose Crossing signs along the roads we traveled - these were the only type of moose we encountered...

so having had a morning snack - we went off in search of lunch- taking the long way and the scenic routes (green dots on AAA map) to Stowe! where we skipped the crowded town and headed up the hills to - yes you guessed it the Trapp Family Lodge (sing along with me- "the hills are alive! ..to the sound of music!") where we had lunch in a very Austrian like dining room and had food to match...

after lunch we got back on the road and headed up through the incredibly beautiful Smuggler's Notch route-

Smugglers' Notch (or Smugglers or Smuggler's) is a mountain pass in Lamoille County, Vermont. The notch separates Mount Mansfield, the highest peak of the Green Mountains, from Spruce Peak and the Sterling Range. Most of the notch is in Mount Mansfield State Forest.  Smugglers' Notch derives its name from activities precipitated by a request of President Thomas Jefferson to prevent American involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. The Embargo Act of 1807 forbade American trade with Great Britain and Canada. But proximity to Montreal made it a convenient trading partner, and the Act caused great hardship for Vermonters, many of whom continued the illegal trade with Canada, carrying goods and herding livestock through the Notch. Fugitive slaves also used the Notch as an escape route to Canada. The route was improved to accommodate automobile traffic in 1922 thus providing a route for liquor to be brought in from Canada during the Prohibition years.

We had specifically chosen this route as an alternative to heading into Waterbury which we decided would be seriously overrun with children on their last Sunday before school started - all desperately in need of a tour of Ben & Jerry's once artisanale (now corporate) ice cream... - so we took a round about route to the shores of Lake Champlain (in Burlington) directly opposite where we had been on DART 2013 in Plattsburgh NY... on the Adirondack DART tour... after a quick driving tour of "downtown" Burlington and a drive by the airport - we headed back south - again along the green dotted route back into New Hampshire to Manchester because we have tickets for tomorrow to see the Zimmerman home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright decided to stay nearby....so stay tuned...

Up to the Notch and Back

We finished our day atop Mt Washington with a scenic drive up to near the border of Canada crossing briefly into Vermont.  Since it was Friday night we weren't all that anxious to arrive in Conway and North Conway (our rooms overnight being located near to the morning activities for the next day) before nightfall.  Conway and its neighbor North Conway are playground towns for family getaways and include the usual attractions of what I like to refer to as "the Dells" - fudge shops, tee shirt emporium and ice cream etc... So being somewhat allergic to family-style activities (both us being childless in our 60s- LOL) we chose to arrive in town later in the evening and stop for dinner in Gorham - having spied several dining establishments there the previous night.  We opted for J's Restaurant which turned out to be an excellent choice... TB tried buffalo chicken Rangoon- which was actually quite good- I ordered the salmon and it came nicely prepared (not overcooked.) so we can recommend J's in Gorham for a nice dinner.  "Let's do it!" (the answer our serve gave to everything we ordered- LOL)

Anyway- as I mentioned - we were staying in Conway because we were headed out on the five+ hour train trip to Crawford Notch and back - in the Dome car and with lunch in the Dining Car on the way up...  so we checked out of the Green Granite Inn after a quick breakfast headed to the train station because we would need to be early enough that our "hostess" would seat us before our 11 AM departure.

we were thrilled when we could procure Dome Car seats as it 1. has the dome and 2. has a limited number of seats available and 3. has an age limitation (LOL on the lower end not the higher LOL)

so here are a few photos of our day's journey - we would leave at 11AMm and return shortly after 4PM-

the crew awaiting the arrival of the train - which was hooking up to the engine right after the Valley Train departed-

the dome car!

downstairs in the Dome Car- stairwell up with "curved Lucite railings!" seriously period!

the car holds 24 total - and the furthest rows from the stairs are facing rear on the way up (which is why we booked our lunch for the TO the Notch part of the trip- and the return would have us in front facing and front row seats!!!! WE WIN!

TB peruses the detailed map of the journey-

Shortly after departure and after our "cheese and crackers" (as they were billed) were served we were called to the dining car for our lunch-

I had the soup (broccoli) and the pastrami and ice cream... TB had the pesto bread and the "pretzelwich" and ice cream - while none of it was gourmet it was passable and the service pleasant if slow (of course we had nowhere to go so who cared about the speed?) We finished just as we were arriving in Crawford Notch station - gift shop available for those who wish to browse---

so it was back to the Dome Car for the return trip and most of the rest of the passengers were on the return seating for lunch so we had only four others with us for the bulk of the journey!

alone at last- I take a photo while everyone else is gone shopping or some other activity at the Notch station.

TB grabs the front row and we are living like kings!

thank god the guy doing the narrative told us that we were looking at Mt Washington LOL otherwise we wouldn't have known- but when I did zoom into the photo I saw all the weather towers on top - where I have thoughtfully put the yellow arrow and red box...

an excellent journey just like the Cog RR may be my only cog railway experience in this lifetime, this may be my only Dome Car experience in this lifetime as well- an excellent was to see the scenery but I understand from TB that they are difficult to find and even more problematic - can't be reserved on the Canadian RR where most of them apparently are run...

so off we went - heading onto the Kancamagus Scenic Byway toward White River Junction in Vermont... (see Route 112 along the bottom of the map)

That evening we had another good meal at the - I had the melon gazpacho and then the Asian-style meatloaf and TB had ??? I don't remember ??? but if he does and tells me I will edit- I skipped dessert but he had some - I like to hold out for Dairy Queen or the likes on the DART trips LOL.

we took rooms at the White River Inn which was quiet and much cleaner than the prior night's hotel... and were up and out the next morning for a SUPERB breakfast nearby...

each table came equipped with the Magic 8 Ball-

we started with terrific popovers with maple butter (could have had a dozen of these light-as-air creations) and then went on to an equally fabulous corned beef hash Benedict- OH YUM no wonder there was a line around the place by the time we left...first rate- make a detour for this one folks!!!

back again with another post on our quick day in Vermont - real cheese and cheesy cheese...coming up!