Day # 20

We woke up this morning to a view of Lake Champlain. The couple next to us, for the first time on our trip, actually had a smaller camper then we do! They have a Little Guy teardrop trailer. The inside is a bed only, the kitchen is outside in back. Kaylyn and I like Marshmallow much better. We can sit in here in the evenings in relative comfort. We have our heater. Tonight it is raining outside, so the electric ice chest is consuming most of the limited floor space. Usually the ice chest is outside at night.

We planned to take the ferry across Lake Champlain and back this morning, just to get out on the lake. We drove to the ferry dock only to discover that it wasn’t amenable to trailers. Fortunately they let us circle around all the cars waiting for the ferry to get turned around, but there was no place to park our little rig so we could ride the ferry.

We continued south along the east side of Lake Champlain to the town of Hancock. As we drive through beautiful scenery Kaylyn always puts on classical music – which helps set the mood for the scenery. 

We followed the road through the Green Mountains to Texas Falls. No, I don’t know why a waterfall in Vermont is named Texas Falls. I can tell you that the narrow cascade of water, tucked away from civilization, was impressive. Kaylyn had to wade into the cold water, of course. We had a good time climbing around on the rocks, viewing the falls from every different angle.

We had pulled off beside the road because the parking lot didn’t have spaces we could pull through. After visiting the falls we heated up soup, made grilled cheese sandwiches, and sat at a picnic table by the creek to enjoy our lunch. (Note: We did eat lunch today!)

Our next stop was a town with a wonderful name – Brandon. Yes, the town, chartered in 1761, had the name long before we named our first-born Brandon. I had printed a walking tour of the town before we left home. Kaylyn sat in the truck and read for an hour while I walked around the town and took pictures of some of the buildings. A few were the age I am looking for – pre-Wisconsin architecture. Brandon, like many other towns and cities, had many buildings destroyed by fire at some point in its history. Most towns are primarily composed of 19^th and 20^th century architecture, Brandon was no exception.

The house pictured above was constructed in 1799. I found this addition on the back of a building over a creek. Don't step out the back door! And can you imagine how cold the floor is? 

We continued south to the town of Proctor to tour the Wilson Castle. Kaylyn set the GPS for the address and off we went. Her GPS seems to be on a “most direct route no matter what the road” setting. This is not compatible with towing an old lady. At one point the GPS had us turn onto a road that was a dirt road and had a sign, “no outlet.” Kaylyn caught the situation in time and returned to the highway. We are always mindful that we need a place to turn around without backing up!

We drove way out into the country, found the driveway labeled for the castle, and drove in. We could not see a building. We parked in the parking lot – we were the only vehicle there. Now we could see the castle through the trees. As we approached, we noted that some of the exterior brick was crumbling. A large winged creature stood by the front door. The entire scene was a bit eerie. I commented to Kaylyn, “This almost feels haunted.” She responded, “They do murder mystery dinners and haunted house tours here.”  We walked inside to find a gentleman, in his thirties, wearing a jacket and vest that looked outdated, but appropriate, I suppose, for a castle. A woman  wearing a sweatshirt was sitting by the fireplace trying to warm her bare feet. The inside was colder than the outside. We paid for our tour. Then… neither the man nor the woman gave any indication they were to give a tour. We just stood around. We finally wandered into a room, and the gentleman wandered in after us and started to tell us something about the room, but still seemed to not be giving a tour.

Master Bedroom with View of Mountains

Kaylyn and I couldn’t figure out from his clues whether he was leading a tour and we were to follow, or we were to wander about from room to room and he follow us – which is definitely not how tours are given! Eventually he started to lead us. But he seemed to wait for cues from us to talk about a room. He was very knowledgeable and intelligent, no question. It was just an odd way of conducting a tour.

At one point we entered the music room. He pulled out a harmonica and played a bit because it was the music room. He led us out on an open porch that had a breathtaking view of mountains. When we walked out, he donned a hat he pulled out of his pocket. When we walked back inside he returned the hat to his pocket. He was rather dramatic in his story-telling. He told us his father had impersonated Mark Twain on steamboats on the Mississippi, and that he had been a pre-school teacher. Kaylyn and I could definitely picture him acting in community theater.

After we returned to our truck, we just sat and laughed. It was the oddest tour ever! The castle is in private hands and needs much work. It is open for tours and also rented out for weddings and… murder mystery dinners. I think I’ll skip the dinner… I’m not sure I want to go to Wilson Castle in the dark!