Return to New England, Pt 2

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We left Cooperstown, NY heading for Vermont. Since it was mid-week and our niece and husband worked and the girls were in school, we figured we didn't want to get there mid week and interrupt routines, so we took an extra day to travel north. We had traveled Route 20 through NY many times years ago and thought we knew the route fairly well, but we had a never stopped in Sharon Springs. It seemed to be a stop light on the road and that was all. Oh, were we wrong!

Anyone who has watched Planet Green or Discovery Channel may have seen he series "The Fabulous Beekman Boys." It's a series about 2 men from New York City--one and advertising exec and former drag queen, the other a doctor and former assistant to Martha Stewart--who buy a big farm in Sharon Springs, NY, and proceed to try and make it profitable. It's a reality show, yes, and they feature town folks like the owners of the American Hotel and others. The boys have an assistant, Farmer John, who actually knows what he is doing and manages a huge herd of goats. It's a fun show and we thought we'd stop and take a look at the town.

Sharon Springs is off of Rt. 20 down a hill by a small river and is an old turn of the century spa town. There were grand hotels in the past, spas, and rich folks came from far away to partake of the waters. Today it is somewhat run down, buildings in need of repair, and generally forgotten....at least until the series aired. Now it is thriving, there are great places to eat and shop, and property is being snapped up and renovated. It's a real success story. We visited the Beekman 1802 gift shop and found goat's milk soap, fine linen, books about the show and the boys, and different foods. We chatted with the manager and told her how much we enjoyed the show. Just then she looked up and said, "Oh, here comes Farmer John now." Sure enough, in came Farmer John, shy as on the show. We greeted him, told him we enjoyed the show and got a thanks and "ah, shucks" response before he headed off to a meeting he had. We bought mementos, thanked the manager and started walking through town. Next stop was the American hotel where sitting behind the desk of the inn was Doug, partner in the business and recurring character on the show. We had another pleasant chats and he shared stories of the filming (yes, it is unscripted to a great extent) and then told of his friend, Rachel Ray's visit to Sharon Springs to film part of her show in the American Hotel. We were laughing at his stories so hard, we had to remember, these are real people and real stories, not made up. Finally we needed to get lunch so we went across the street to the Black Cat cafe for a lite bite. Trish saw Black Mac and Cheese and had to have some. It was made with aged goat cheese and goat's milk. When it came she took a bite, paused, took another, then said, "This is better than my mac and cheese." For her, that's really saying something. But I tasted it; true, it was awesome; rich, bitey, yet smooth and with no filler of flour. Needless to say, we had a great lunch. Then it was time to go.

If you are ever in the Capitol Region of New York, travel Route 20 to Sharon Springs and take the time to look around. There are gift shops, eateries, and places to stay. With a little luck, you might run into one of the people on the show The Fabulous Beekman Boys. BTW--the show will now be on the Cooking Channel and they will re-run season 2 followed by an all new series of episodes.

We headed north up I-87 to Scroon Lake then over the mountains to Ticondaroga, then north to Crown Point. Our initial thought was to explore here and learn more of the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War period at the fort and campground. But we had dallied too long in Sharon Springs so got in late. We camped at a state park right in the midst of the old town (now ruins) and thought, OK, we'll check it out tomorrow. Sigh...wrong again. That night it started raining, and it came down hard. It was still pouring the next morning when we left so opted to not get wet walking the grounds in the rain but instead drive up to Burlington. The new bridge is open at Crown Point and it's an easy drive on reasonable roads to get to the Interstate.

Around Burlington and north, crossing to South Hero Island and the Apple Island Resort on Lake Champlain. Check in was easy and we set up and then called our niece, Peggy. She gave us directions and we drove to their house in Essex, VT. Peggy is the youngest daughter of Trish's brother, Richard, who passed away in April. We had not seen her, husband Mike, or the girls in 8 years. So we were excited to get a chance to see their home and catch up.

Peggy and Mike have a great home on a cul-d-sac that has a little park/playground circle in the middle at the end. Their home is warm and inviting and we sat and chatted a bit then were told that we were going to a friend's house for dinner. The friend is the parent's of Peggy's best friend since grade school and though the daughter is in California, she is the surrogate parents for Peggy as well. So we took two cars and off over the rivers and through the woods and up a mountain we went. The parents live on a hill overlooking Mt. Mansfield and ski areas. It's an old home that has been updated and had additions and is drop dead wonderful. We were welcomed as family and sat enjoying salsa and chips, wine and then dinner of vegetable lasagna, salad and a fresh berry fruit salad. Wow! They had a fire in the fireplace (yep, it was cool and rainy) and the ambiance was such we could have stayed there for a week or more. Finally we needed to get back to camp and the cats so we all left, following our GPS on the 'shortcut' advised by everyone. OK, maybe in daylight it would have been fun, but at night, on dark roads and up and down, it was challenging.

Sunday soaked in the hot tub in the AM then went in to see the kids. Jessica had a soccer game in Barre (45 minutes away) and Samantha had a game close to home. Mike took Jessica and we went with Peggy to the game closer to home. There was a huge complex with 8-10 fields and kids and parents EVERYWHERE. Peggy had chairs and after finding the field, we settled in for the game. It was fun and gave us a chance to catch up while cheering the girls on. We left the game and Peggy went home while we stopped to shop and get a few groceries including a chocolate cake/pie to have for dessert. That evening we went to a little bistro they all like (and was excellent) then it was back to the coach and the Stowes came along to see it and the cats. We shared the cake, hugged, then it was back home for them and off to work/school the next day. It was really good to finally see Peggy and Mike's house and see the girls and spend time with them.

Monday we drove in to South Burlington to see Marylou Crooks Follansbee and her husband, Mark. We have known Marylou since 1973 when we moved to NH and she was married to Dick Crooks, minister and teacher in a local school. Dick and I had been in and done little theater together and we have kept in touch with Marylou ever since we all moved away and she later remarried. Marylou and Mark came to Japan to visit us when we were there in the early 90's and though we had not been in VT since 1996, we have tried to stay in touch via email. So it was good to sit and chat, hear of Marylou's recent trip to Ireland with her granddaughter (really? granddaugher in college? we remember the 'kids', must be getting older) and share our stories of retirement. Marylou had a nice lunch and after a bit more, Mark, who is 91, said he needed a nap. Yeah, we can tire folks out. So we hugged goodbye and headed back to camp.

We decided to have pizza for dinner that night and Pan's Pizza in South Hero was recommended. It's strictly take out and we ordered 2 medium pizzas that were fabulous. I had a standard sausage, mushroom and green olive while Trish had garlic, mushroom, tomato and feta. If you are ever in the area, don't miss the pizza at this little shack in South Hero. We relaxed in the hot tub after dinner and then got ready to leave the next day for New Hampshire. What a great time visiting family and dear friends in Vermont.

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Photos

Former grand hotel now gift shop
The other grand hotel in the area is the American, managed and owned by Doug and Garth. We were pleased to actually get in and see the hotel and chat with Doug.

Sharon Springs, NY
In front of the Beekman gift shop. We were told the alignment had to be perfect or her "boss" would be upset with the lack of symmetry.

Political issue in the area
Fracking is harmful to the environment and out west, ranchers have lost any decent water as a result of this process. More oil and gas--yes; at the cost of the environment and people's health--not in this region! Not ever.

Camp site on South Hero Island
This resort had a heated pool, hot tub, great bath house, and beautiful views. This early in the season it wasn't even crowded, so that was great.

Lake Champlain from campsite
Sunrise over the lake sunset glow in the evening on the Green Mountains, soft breezes blowing: ideal camp ground with easy access to Burlington or into Montreal.

Trish at a soccer game!?
Yep, Trish actually went to the game and sat with Peggy and cheered Samantha on. The weather was nice, the relatives even nicer. We actually had fun and enjoyed watching.

Samantha warming up
Samantha really enjoys her soccer. Her sister had a game that day also but Mike had to drive her to Barre, about 45 minutes away.

Stowe family at dinner
From left: Peggy, Samantha, Mike, Jessica, Trish. This was a great bistro with awesome sweet potato fries.