Day # 19

Four factory tours in one day! Can you beat our record? Not all of them were long, involved tours… but they were factory tours.

We started our day at Polly’s Pancake Parlor in Franconia, New Hampshire. Strong recommendations from Kaylyn’s boyfriend, Chris Marshall, and his dad caused us to get up early this morning (for us) and seek out the pancake house. We were richly rewarded. Polly’s serves a wide variety of pancakes with an equally appealing assortment of fillers. We got two each of buttermilk with chocolate chips, buckwheat with pecans and whole wheat with blueberries. We also had some of the best potato pancakes I have ever eaten.

Mr. Marshall has been an enthusiastic supporter of our trip. A native of Boston, he has offered a number of excellent recommendations and enjoyed our daily blogs. It has been a pleasure to have him ‘travel’ with us.

We drove west into Vermont. The weather moderated as our elevation dropped. A sign of the gentler climate was that the barns were no longer one building united with the farm houses. The barn is now located some yards behind the house. 

Our first factory tour of the day was Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. The factory they have set up for tours is not where the majority of ice cream is made, so tourists just get to sample an idea of the production process. And of course, we get ice cream at the end. Today’s offering was Americone Dream – vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel swirl. If you submit an idea for an ice cream flavor they end up using, you are rewarded with free ice cream for life.

The motor home in the picture is a Dodge Travco. It was first produced in the mid-1960s along with the Clark Cortez, built by Clark Equipment Company. The Travco and the Cortez were among the first manufactured motor homes. Our family owned a Clark Cortez in the 1960s. The other common motor home we would see on the highway would be an old bus, converted into a motor home by an ambitious individual.

We passed Montpelier, the capitol of Vermont. It is a very small state capitol! We drove on to Burlington, which hugs the eastern border of Lake Champlain. The lake runs north-to-south for 125 miles, but is only 14 miles across at its widest point. In the daylight we can see Lake Champlain from our campsite – not that we ever spend much day time at a campsite!

Tour number two was Lake Champlain Chocolate Company. The tour actually involved sitting by a large glass window which looked into the factory section and listening to the tourguide describe the process of making chocolate delicacies. Of course, the tour included chocolate sampling… the best part!

Tour number three was Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. This time we were permitted in the factory itself and witnessed the cutting and stitching of the bears. A few workers make specialized clothing. For instance, one lady sent them her old wedding gown. They dimensioned the gown, then, at her request, cut it up and made a bear-sized replica. For another customer they made an Irish dance costume identical to the one their daughter wears. 

The final section is the bear hospital. Vermont Teddy Bears come with a lifetime guarantee. If your bear should befall a tragedy, such as your puppy chewing the nose off (which Aussie did to Chandler’s bear - I had to make a new nose for it), you just send what remains of the teddy bear back to the factory and it will be repaired or replaced.

When Kaylyn was five years old our family traveled around this area, and we visited Ben & Jerry’s, Vermont Teddy Bear, and other local highlights. Kaylyn was too young to remember that trip – so we are returning to those places.

 Our non-factory visit of the day was to Mt. Philo State Park. We wound up a narrow, winding road, Miss Marshmallow following faithfully behind. We were rewarded with a view of the valley and Lake Champlain – a very different view from the mountainous area where we traveled yesterday. Today we looked down at green, rich farm fields which border the lake and purple-and-blue hazy mountains in the distance. The colors are not as vibrant here because the climate a bit milder.

The last factory tour of the day was of the Magic Hat Brewery. It was really a series of viewing windows where we could watch a local beer bottled and packaged.

 We crossed a causeway to an island in Lake Champlain to camp for the night. Kaylyn made another batch of her excellent soup while I did laundry. Greg reported he, also, had to do laundry tonight. He manages just fine when we are gone, except he really has an issue with doing laundry. He always says, “It is getting critical, I have to decide if I am going to do laundry or buy new underwear.” He is serious. He has been known to buy new underwear while we are traveling to avoid doing laundry!