from Cape Cod to Vermont

I couldnt finish our Cape Cod trip on my last post because my computer was driving me crazy. Im suffering through it now with the last few photos from Cape Cod and our few days in Burlington, VT.

Before leaving we stopped to visit and have lunch with my cousins, Steven and Marcia. They have a little store in Chatham, MA featuring "Life is Good" gear.

We stopped at yet another ice cream shop here and it is winning so far as the worst yet. It was worth it to stop to see the inside of this shop, which is an old-fashioned soda fountain that remains mostly the same inside since it was opened in 1889

Our cottage in Yarmouth. We enjoy staying places like this, but for the rest of our trip we are touring the La Quintas across the US.

Bonding with Epic at our cottage



We enjoyed our pie for breakfast before leaving town


On our first day in Burlington we went to the Ethan Allen homestead and had to leave quickly, due to my inability to maintain when mosquitos are present. We also went to a wildflower farm, Ben and Jerry's factory tour and a strange place called Dog Mountain. Burlington is a cute little town. Its not the typical quaint New England town with a church in the town center, but still very charming. The countryside is unbelievable in the surrounding areas.

The Homestead. It was restored with furniture and other items as if it was still lived in.

Cuddling with Bens stuff after a hard day of touring Vermont

Somehow when searching for things to do in Vermont and places to take the dogs for exercise, I found this place called Dog Mountain. Its a gallery featuring the art of Steve Huneck, which mostly features his black lab, Sally. Its very playful and fun to look at. We enjoyed walking through his gallery. He also built a dog chapel, designed to remember dogs that have died. It was kind of creepy, but understandable that people may want a place to go to remember pets and write notes them.


















Epic and Indigo took advantage of the pond and agility equipment

the chapel walls covered in little notes and photos

The back county of Vermont seems to be stopped in time. The town centers of the small villages sometimes only have a general store. We stopped at this one for a snack. They had freshly picked strawberries to hold us over until the Ben and Jerrys tour.

The Ben and Jerrys factory tour was a good deal at $3. It was fairly interesting and quite corny. The best part was learning that the milk they use is from a cooperative of Vermont farms and is hormone and antibiotic free. We got samples at the end too.

We took a ferry from Charlotte, VT to Essex, NY. It was so much smaller than the car ferries in WA. It was a short, scenic ride.

Yesterday we stopped in Erie, PA, a generally depressed old industrial town. In the interest of saving money, we sadly skipped the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH and drove straight through to Madison, WI in just enough time to sample some local ice cream and go to sleep. Tomorrow we go to Fargo, ND and then to Kennewick, WA. I will post again after our reunion with Jet City Jumpers in Salem, OR.