{"id":1266,"date":"2017-07-19T13:58:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T17:58:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T17:21:30","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T21:21:30","slug":"mid-summer-weekend-in-vermont","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2017\/07\/mid-summer-weekend-in-vermont\/","title":{"rendered":"Mid-Summer Weekend in Vermont"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A mini three-day-vacation in Vermont arranged around the annual sold-out Vermont Cheesemakers Festival felt like a week.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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\nOur main reason for coming to Vermont this past weekend was to attend the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival again thanks to tickets that were gifted to us by some friends last February. This sold-out event is always so enjoyable, and this time, we added a few extra days to make it a long weekend – kayaks were loaded onto the truck, and off we went to the Green Mountains of Vermont for a mini vacation.<\/div>\n
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What’s more New England than fiddlehead fern pickles?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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I’m not only a fan on hand-crafted type on signs, I’m a fan of single-sourced dairy cheese!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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There are so many different types of cheese to try at the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, than one has to pace oneself, but there is much more than cheese to sample, food products include spirits, beer and wine, chocolate, caramels and more.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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The folks at Jasper Hill Farm, well known for their caves where many other farms age their cheese is a top table to visit. From clothbound cheddar to Jasper blue cheeses – they are always top notch.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Beyond cheese, many beer brewers were exhibiting.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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I like this label design.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
This year there were other crafts people at the festival. I was drawn to the all-white glazed pottery shown by hand from Farmhouse Pottery. Here, Zoe shows off some of their work – check out their story here<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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There were so many nice pots, crocks and bowls at Farmhouse Pottery, that I could not choose a favorite. I think I need to visit their shop.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
All sorts of cheese were her to sample, cow, sheep and yes, goat.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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This year the temperature was much cooler than the last time we attended, so no melting cheese! We were able to buy some cheese to bring home.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Yes, there was ice cream too.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Shelburne Farms has incredible architecture (Thanks to the Vanderbilt’s!) This is part of one of the barns. I can’t even begin to describe what the carriage houses, barns and even the chicken coops look like – you have to experience it. One of Vermont’s treasures.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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The next day, we visited Gardener’s Supply Company’s headquarters and retail store in Burlington, VT. I was surprised at how nice the nursery was. the plants were so well maintained.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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At the store, I was able to stock up on more tomato cages and cucumber trellis’, plus some late season veg seed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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I wanted to Kayak, and Vermont has so many places to explore, that we started with Lake Willoughby, a noted lake that is so deep and surrounded by mountains that it looks more like Norway than New England, but when we arrived the weather wasn’t cooperating so we passed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Later that day, the weather cleared, and since we were near Lake Champlain, we decided to check out a famous site – the cliffs of Lone Rock Point at sunset. This lake is so large and beautiful, with the Green mountains of Vermont on one side, and this view of the Adirondacks of New York State on the other side.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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As promised, the sunset reflected on the cliffs and sparkled – such a spectacular natural feature, totally worth the mile of paddling.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n