10.18.04

New England Trip: Williamstown

Posted in Travels at 11:25 pm by Leopoldo

Sunday, October 17, 2004 10:13 PM
Williamstown, Vermont

The drive up to Vermont was stunning. The trip was mostly through forests, which seemed to be on fire with their rich yellows and reds. It was fun to pass through four states (Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont) in less than 200 miles, not something easily done on the West Coast.

Arrived at the Autumn Harvest Inn by around 2:30 and were attended to by two individuals who seemed a bit “out of it”. Nice place, big house on the side of a hill with large views of the surrounding countryside. The caretakers were a bit behind schedule so we dropped off bags and went straight into Montpelier (about fifteen miles North) for dinner. Montpelier is a very attractive town with a Main Street lined by old Victorian houses. We asked the nice fellow at the visitor’s center for a recommendation on a place to have dinner and he sent us to “where all the locals go”: The Wayside.

If you ever find yourself in Montpelier Vermont and are looking for a place to eat, whatever you do: DO NOT go to The Wayside. It was only our overwhelming hunger lack of knowledge of an alternative that kept us from leaving with our food uneaten. We are talking worse than Denny’s (if that is possible). The rub came from reading guidebooks at the table and learning that Montpelier is home to a renown Culinary Institute which has a restaurant and grill attached. Alas, lesson learned.

A nice drive around the countryside took us to the Barre Cemetery, a rather astounding large cemetery with impressive demonstrations of marble carving from the local artists. The cemetery was worth a visit and a few photos after which we visited the local rock quarry which was much bragged about in our guide book but resembled little more than a small cliff face. I think the indifference we experienced may have been routed in our rather different experience having both lived among the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. The guide described the quarry as being enormous among the great mountains of Vermont. Translation for North westerners: Great mountains = small foothills.

Monday, October 18, 2004 6:50 PM
Williamstown, Vermont

It looks like we missed the Vermont fall by about two weeks. Fall has mostly fallen around here though the views are still impressive and the colors rich. I am glad we took the trip northward yesterday and will get to travel through countryside on our return tomorrow. I get the feeling that the distance we have traveled has given us a taste for New England fall all the way from ‘just starting’ to ‘mostly over’.

This morning was all about horse riding. The stable we had made arrangements with, Phoinix (yes that is how they spell it, don’t know why) was unable to accommodate us due to a medical emergency but they recommended us to another nearby stable “T-n-T”. The ride was glorious. My horse, Reno a large Appaloosa, was very mellow, easy, well behaved and cooperative. Enrika’s ride, Misty, was a tad less cooperative wanting to stop and graze whenever the going got slow then trot to catch up. Our guide, Jill, was simply marvelous as well. From the greeting the was very friendly in an easy way that made us feel simply relaxed (and very cute to boot). I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable I was in the saddle, able to ride and guide the horse with no problems even staying calm and comfortable when Reno broke into a trot on a steep downhill and when he reared a bit after being spooked by Misty sneaking up on his side.

After the ride we drove north and visited the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream factory (free ice cream samples included) then took the scenic route back south passing many charming little New England towns (do not blink as you drive through Middlesex Vermont or you will surely miss it). I have for some while seen the pictures and read about the New England steeples poking atop the tree lines and to quote Enrika: “God damnit there are a lot of churches around here”. Downtown Montpelier I pointed out to Enrika a corner with 3 churches, one on each of the 4 corners and a fourth just a block away. Each had it’s own steeple reaching up toward the heavens.

We had desserts (I ordered one, Enrika decided she needed to indulge and sample 3) at the bakery run by the Culinary Institute, none of which were great but all were tasty and enjoyed a view of the local school and college kids walking back from class. Another country drive (and another beautiful cemetery) got us back to the B&B from which we will go back to the Culinary Institute for a proper dinner.

11:30 PM
Now that is what I call a proper dinner. The New England Culinary Institute (NECI) has a very comfortable and inviting atmosphere. The service was just great though the food did take over a half an hour to serve (we chalked that up to staff-under-training though it could have been due to any number of reasons). I started with a cream of tomato soup and a nice glass of California white which was crisps and a good compliment to the meal, Enrika and I shared a delicious glass of freshly pressed Apple Cider. For an entrée I had a pretty good Hanger Steak served cut into small medallions with side green beans, asparagus (surprised to see it this late in the season) and what was listed as red potatoes but were obviously Yukon Gold. Enrika had pork tenderloins with a side of what we thought was Polenta at first but turned out to be buttery brioche bread pudding. A cup of coffee and a very well made Apple/Pear crisp rounded off the meal. Enrika decided to try one of their Port wines (she had never tasted a Port before) and was served a taste of a 20 year old Port that was shown as the best on the menu by the wine steward (and also the most expensive). She decided that she did not like it much so the night cap was skipped and we got back to the B&B in time to see a spectacular crescent moon bathing the valley with soft moonlight.

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