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Winchester

In the kitchen with my cookies
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Got home about an hour or so ago. Had a quick dinner (some wine and cheese with some King Arthur bread) and am working on laundry.

We had a fantastic time! We visited Lake Champlain, Dakin Farms (maple syrup, a cob-smoked ham for the freezer, some cheeses) and the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington on Thursday. On Friday we visited Ben & Jerry's (yum! Just yum!) some covered bridges in both Vermont and New Hampshire, some wineries (brought some bottles home), the Cabot stores (more cheeses), and Quechee Gorge.

Dakin Farms:  http://www.dakinfarm.com/

Church Street Marketplace:  http://www.churchstmarketplace.com/

Quechee Gorge: http://www.newenglandwaterfalls.com/waterfall.php?name=quechee+gorge 

Saturday was King Arthur for me....and I spent way too much money, but so worth it. Came back with two bags of all-purpose flour and a bag of bread flour (much cheaper than buying it at our grocery store and the all-purpose flour was on sale), a bottle of boiled cider to use in baking, a few baking mixes, some pizza flour, some decorating sugars, white pearl sugar, a new donut pan and a donut mix, a coffee mug that simply says "Bake", some bakers ammonia (used in some sugar cookie recipes; supposedly you can find it in drugstores, but I never could). I also picked up a Peter Reinhart bread book on whole-grain bread baking. I love this man and use his techniques for both breads and pizza dough. He wrote "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" and "American Pie" and both are outstanding books. I can't wait to start baking my way through this book, too.

King Arthur:  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/

Scotland by the Yard:  http://www.scotlandbytheyard.com/

Cornish-Windsor Bridge: http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/bridges/p39.html

Did not get to do the pizza class; they were way too full. We were on the make-up list just in case somebody cancelled, but you don't cancel participating in King Arthur classes. You just don't. Next time hopefully. I missed a King Arthur class with Peter Reinhart; he was there earlier this month. And America's Test Kitchen cooks are also teaching classes! Wow!

We also visited Scotland by the Yard, where I was able to buy a gorgeous lambswool scarf in Fraser Red plaid (Outlander, of course!) And saw a few more covered bridges. We were able to see the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, the longest covered bridge in the U.S; it spans the Connecticut River. It's very old, but in great shape. There's a sign on the bridge: "If you don't walk your horse across the bridge, you will be fined $2.00." Stopped at several museums and walked some trails along the way, too. Made sure I got some exercise in....also walked the treadmills in the fitness centers at the hotels. Honest.

On the way home this morning, we came down through Massachusetts and stopped at the French King Bridge; we had been there a few years ago while visiting a friend of ours, but wanted to stop again, just for the view. It's just a gorgeous area.  

French King Bridge:  http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=bridge/frenchking&sid=bridgeData 

Left the bridge area and came into Yankee Candle in South Deerborn. We had been there before, too, and it's a nice place to peruse all the candles. And sneeze your way through the store; I swear I started sneezing almost as soon as we walked into the place and I was still sneezing when we drove into Connecticut!

In Connecticut, we stopped at the Penzey Store in Hartford. I had two free coupons, one for Northwoods Seasoning and one for some sage. But while I was there, I stocked up on quite a few spices for Christmas baking, too.

Kept driving and we finally made it home.

The kids were glad to see us, I think, and Mollipop is laying over my right shoulder; typing with one hand isn't easy. Amber never ate the entire time we were gone. She never eats for the petsitters. She was really hungry for her supper tonight and she ate a bit of a snack afterward. They'll all get a bedtime snack, so she'll soon make up for not eating her meals. Amber is silly that way. My sister said she was all over my BIL at night when they came in to check on the kids. Mollipop and Muffin are both fine, too.

We have pictures and I'll post some of them tomorrow....must download them from our phones. The weather was very nice. Warm. Rainy at times, but really not bad at all. We did turn into leaf peepers during our trip; the trees are just beautiful, even now. It was nice to get away for a while and to be able to sleep in a bit. I'm not used to sleeping in later! We were almost home and I said to Rick that I know that tomorrow morning when BooBoo starts yelling for breakfast at 4:30, I'll be frustrated. But for now? I'm just glad to be home and be with the kids, knowing that they're all OK. I missed them. And they missed us, too. 

I added some links to some of the places because I know that some of you like to check out the links.

My heartfelt thanks to Tammat for doing Friday's Question of the Day. Thank you, my friend! 
 
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AbbysMom

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I bet the kids are thrilled to have you back. It's nice to go away, but I always worry about Abby while I'm gone. :nod:

I like Vermont. We head up there every few years. We were just in Burlington/.Stowe last summer. We always end up in Burlington on the move-in weekend for all of the colleges and it's a bit chaotic.

I've been to a fair amount of the places you mentioned. Aaron tends to do "shots" of maple syrup at the sample table at Dakin Farm. :lol3: It's probably been 5-6 years since I've been to that Yankee Candle, but I know exactly what you mean about the smell. It's overwhelming. :lol3: There is beautiful scenery in that area.

Did you have a cider donut anywhere? It's a New England leaf-peeping requirement. :lol3:
 

stewball

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Did you stock up on maple syrup.it being.so expensive.
I'm glad you had a good time. Didb stay in hotels? I.loven hotels
 

stewball

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Especially my Japanese hotel. The only problem was getting intob the toilet. You'd call it a bathroom. I had to wriggle in sideways.
The toilets are amazing.
 
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Winchester

In the kitchen with my cookies
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The trees were gorgeous, Kathy! You would have loved seeing them!

Will download pictures....
 
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