Vermont---Day 7 & 8

Friday---still in New Hampshire

 Today we made the trek up to Mt. Washington. It is cold and windy---in fact, the highest wind speed ever recorded was here---200 MPH. It's the highest point on the east coast. It took 25 minutes by car. Then we walked to the summit. I gave up about 5 feet away. It was too steep for me. We lucked out that it was a sunny day. They say that Mt. Washington has the worst weather on earth.

 There was an unusual cache up there. You can see all the assorted rocks behind Butch. It was some sort of 9/11 memorial. You were supposed to leave a rock with your state on it. They had a Missouri rock, but Walter didn't mark it. Butch said that a lot of people went all out in painting the rocks.

 We started the day at Polly's Pancake Parlor. They've been serving pancakes since 1932. They were good. I had pecan buttermilk and pecan buckwheat pancakes. It had the cutest little cottage garden too.

 Just one example of the gorgeous views all around us. This one is Mt. Washington from a distance.

Saturday---Vermont

 This is the first thing we did this morning. Now we're seeing a lot of covered bridges. Each one is unique in it's own way. We'll see more tomorrow.

 Some things are just fun to say you've been there. America's oldest general store ranks right up there.

 We took a tour at the Barre granite quarry. It was pretty interesting, but sort of over my head. I didn't really understand everything. Luckily, Butch has patience to explain things to me just like I was a little kid. I want to know everything! Chris wanted to do some sand blasting, but they weren't doing it today. That's pretty much our luck.

 We had to make a trip to the Ben & Jerry's factory. We took a tour and learned the history. Afterwards, we got to sample the ice cream. Alas, they don't make ice cream on weekends, so we didn't get to see it in operation. Again, our luck.

Back in the early 1980's, Ben and Jerry took off giving free ice cream around the country. Their van burnt up in Ohio on their way home. This is a replica.

We went to dinner tonight at The Shanty on the Shore (on Lake Champlain)--another seafood place. Tonight I had lobster mac and cheese. I've had lobster bisque, lobster stew, lobster roll (not much---very small bite, so it hardly counts), lobster salad and boiled lobster. It is so cheap here---$16.00 or $25.00 for a pair. I've also had shrimp, scallops, salmon and clams. I'm definitely getting my share of seafood. I'm about ready for a steak!

The guys have done a great job of finding all kinds of unusual things off the beaten track. It is so much fun to make all these discoveries. Just a few more days. Can't wait to see what they have planned.