When I finished up at Lake Champlain Chocolates, it was only 3:00pm. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with my afternoon...Ben was working in Rutland, which was about 2 hours south of me and I didn't want to just wander around small town Vermont until he could get back to Burlington to meet me.
I texted and called, trying to find out what he thought I should do next but got no response. After going over some of my literature for some of the places I wanted to visit, I made an executive decision: I would go ahead and make the drive toward Middlebury, an hour south of me and an hour north of Ben and go to the Danforth Pewter Workshop.
I *LOVE* Danforth Pewter. I disovered their shop on Church Street the last trip to Vermont, and fell instantly in love with all the heavy silver jewlery, candlesticks, and ornaments. I love it so much that I have used Christmas money for the past couple of years to buy stuff from them via their website, and enjoy giving it as gifts as well because it's just so pretty (to me). Also, Ben and I recently decided that we would attempt to purchase pewter ornaments for our Christmas tree every year from places where such things could be obtained, and so this would also be a great place for me to seek an addition for our collection.
The only problem was that I hadn't talked to Ben. He could be halfway back to Burlington by now, or hours from being finished, and what the heck would I do stuck in Middlebury for x-hours? Oh well, I decided there was no time to worry about that and I struck out on my own, with a quick text telling him where I was going, the street address (so he could use the GPS to get there) and rain on my windshield to convince me even more that I didn't want to wander aimlessly around Burlington indefinitely.
I hate to drive in strange or difficult to navigate places. I don't like not knowing when a turn is supposed to be made or having to squint and read tiny street signs to see if I'm getting on the right road. Thankfully, having the GPS system with my car made all of this anxiety go away, and the only real anxiety I had was whether or not I would have to pee before I could get there, and in this desolate place called Vermont, there weren't a whole lot of "Stop here and Pee" places on the two lane road to Middlebury!
What there was, however, was some of the prettiest views I have seen in quite awhile. Nothing will ever quite take my breath away like driving through Austria to Germany through the edge of the alps and finding them still snowcovered at the tip tops when we got to Hohenshwangau, but the leaves already vibrant yellow and fire red on so many trees along this highway made a convincing contender for a firm second. Living in the South, we're lucky to see the trees turn by Thanksgiving - that is, if they turn at all, since our usual draught conditions normally lend to a leaf season of "turn brown and fall off" as soon as it's cold. To look out over acres of people's farmlands, with cows huddled up against the rain and the green and red and yellow mountains behind was surely a treat. I couldn't help but think how much my dad would enjoy the ride...even if he would never be able to fully enjoy a trip to superliberal Vermont!
Twenty minutes into my drive, Ben calls to see where I am. "I'm on my way to Middlebury and Danforth Pewter!" I happily exclaim, and he says he is glad that I made that decision and that it will work out perfectly with their schedule, since they are probably only 20 minutes further away from Middlebury than myself. We make a plan to meet at the Workshop, give my rental to Tripp so he can head back to Burlington and get ready to meet Gina and Seph at the airport later that night, and then do what we wish from there.
I think I spent 2 hours at Danforth. OH - And FYI - Their bathroom was so nice, it was like going to the bathroom at someone's house! So I didn't have to worry about my bladder running over :-) I also bought a ton of birthday gifts there, as well as Rachael gifts, because hey - no shipping is free shipping, right? We contemplated getting a little pewter dish, cup and spoon set for Lilah (they are lead-free), but Ben thought he might like to wait and have her birthday inscribed on it as well. So we left with our Vermont ornament and a ton of other stuff and just barely managed to get out spending less than $150.00, I think. Yes, it's a lot, but these are all things that I intend to wear (and hope the gift recipients will wear) for years to come.
As we left, I had asked Ben if he noticed that Otter Creek Brewery was just up the road a little ways on our way back to Burlington. We decided to stop in, but it was near 5:00 and Friday, and we were afraid they'd be closed. Luckily for us, we made it in time to sample a few beers (Ben, not me! Beer, YUCK) before they closed shop for the evening. Sadly, they had already stopped running the tours for the day, but this is definitely on the to-do list for next trip. The guy manning the bar was really cool - I expressed my distaste for beer and said I only liked girlie beers, and he said, "Well, we don't have any Zima or anything like that." and I laughed and told him, "Not disgusting beers, GIRLIE beers, like Lambic!" to which he exclaimed "LAMBIC? That's SO NOT a girlie beer!" Apparently, unbeknownst to me, despite it's fruity deliciousness, Lambic has a pretty high alcohol content for "beer," and the guy was then impressed with my tolerance. Ben told the guy, "Yeah, she could definitely drink me under the table!" to which I corrected him and told him I USED to be able to drink him under the table...and the guy says, "Well, that's how you ended up pregnant in the first place, right?" We all laughed and I said, "How did you guess?" Ben bought a sixpack of some sort of beer that I tried a sip of because it was very unique, and it actually wasn't too horrible. Then we went off to find a restaurant that the beer guy recommended to us in Burlington that served Flatbread.
We decided first that we would go out to our hotel and get settled in before heading into downtown Burlington for dinner. It was already late when we got to the hotel, and then even later when we finally made it downtown. The rain was still steady, and it was SO COLD. I hadn't really been too chilly all day up until this point, but I think I was finally damp enough and wind blown enough that it got to me. The restaurant had a nearly 1.5 hour wait, and I thought I might drop dead from hunger at any minute, so we opted to find something else. I had written down the name of a restaurant to try, Three Tomatoes, because they had a spinach, walnut, blue cheese and beet salad that I thought sounded SUPER. I was expecting a similar wait for them, but the underground restaurant actually ended up being unexpectedly large and sat us right away.
We each got a pizza and I got my tasty salad...and I would DEFINITELY recommend this restaurant to people who love Italian style food made with fresh, local ingredients. I would eat at this restaurant again in a second. It lists clearly on the menu what is local and also has several vegetarian options for people who don't do meat. I had the Pomodoro Fresco pizza, which was garlic, basil, and fresh sliced tomatoes on this great crispy crust...very very good. They also had a nice wine and cocktail selection, so it would be a lot of fun to go there with a group and sit and sip wines and have some appetizers and two or three pizzas together.
After dinner, I was pretty much exhausted, so we headed back to the hotel where Ben made me a pillow fort for my pregnant self on the bed and we settled in and watched the first presidential debate. We made a loose game plan for Saturday, but despite my need to have every second mapped out, we mostly just wanted to enjoy ourselves and not make it overly planned.
So that's Friday! Stay tuned for our next installment: Vermont Part III: Everything you can Drink Plus a little Cheese and Ice Cream!
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