Cheese, please!

There are times when I’m up in Vermont, visiting Colin’s family when I realize how much of a New Yorker I can be. I mean, I am the “flat lander” and the “city girl,” so these little nicknames provide me with reminders of my roots.

Sitting around the fire this past Friday night, talking about hunting, the moose Mr. T shot not too long ago and how all the boys had to drag it out of the woods, the excitement that’s palpable when the subject of turkey season comes up (turkey season, you mean Thanksgiving? I don’t get it?), going up to Marty’s to grab a fishing license, different farmers in the area, the difference between certain types of cows, certain types of hunting guns (a rifle and a shotgun are the same thing, right?), trucks, etc. etc.

Tell tale signs that I’m not exactly a “Vermonter”:

-They hardly have any Starbucks anywhere! Maybe in Burlington they do? But not where I visit!

-The fact that when I shot a rifle for the first (and last) time, I pretty much cried. Didn’t like it, couldn’t comprehend that much power in my own hands.

-I don’t ever think I’ll understand hunting, I’m glad Colin has something he’s so passionate about (especially a passion he shares with his father, which has created a hobby they can enjoy together) but I will just never understand it.

-I like lakes, but they’re not the ocean/beach.

However, I DO love Vermont. This little list does NOT mean I don’t like it. Not at all. In fact, I love Vermont because it is so different from where and how I grew up. I love how laid back it is (I’m a slow-moving person, this works well for me.) I love how friendly everyone is. I love how green and beautiful everything is, it reminds me of Ireland. I love hearing stories about farmers Mr. T works with, or fishing stories about Colin’s grandfather. I love their maple syrup, their country stores, and the mountains. My grandfather was from VT (and everyone always says I look just like him) so clearly I have a bit of “Vermonter” in me. I love going up for a weekend because I feel so far away from the city, the craziness of work, my email, texting, all sorts of distractions. It’s extremely relaxing.

Anyway, on to this past weekend:

Colin and his Grandpa

Little fire on a summer night

Just hangin'

Elizabeth and Mr. T

Colin's other Grandfather

This blackberry beer was delicious!

Saturday morning we took a lovely drive around the Northeast Kingdom and even made a trip to Cabot!

From a pamphlet I picked up:

“Cabot Creamery is a cooperative owned and operated by its members, Cabot farmers and their families throughout New England and upstate New York. As such, we embrace the Rochdale Cooperative Principles. We value community, democracy and local ownership.Through our principles and actions, we support the places where our families and consumers live and do business. This is fundamental to our mission.”

“Cabot Creamery is an award-winning dairy cooperative from Cabot, Vermont. Our traditionally crafted dairy products have won every major award for taste including “World’s Best Cheddar.” We operate four creameries – two in Vermont, one in New York and one in Massachusetts.”

Is this not the CUTEST picture you've ever seen?

The Visitors Center

What a cute little cow

:)

All their trophies!

Honk honk!

We watched an informative video

Delicious cheese making machines

The cheese sampling table!

Smoky bacon, one of my favorites!!!

Super spicy!

SO delicious!

Col and Matt checkin out the cheeeseI might as well try some delicious cheddar popcorn as well!

Darling Hill

I sampled SO MUCH CHEESE. I was in heaven! My favorite was the smoky bacon. SO SO good.

Next up was Italian night at Joe’s Pond – it was a great time!

Joes Pond!

Stuffed my face as usual. YUM!

Mr. Whelly and Mrs. T

Colin and I

Mr. and Mrs. T

Kelly and Mr. T

Ashamed/disgusted by Colin as per usual. haha

Trout River, yumm

Matt and Mrs. T, BFFs

Colin and his gramp

Kelly liiikes

Colin and his Grandpa W

Interesting...

Colin giving Mrs. T a casual lift

After Italian night we went to a party at one of my previous co-workers who just so happens to have a camp on the same pond as Colin’s grandparents. Such a small world!

There was lots of dancing, and even more singing, but I was warned, no pictures allowed. So, sorry folks!
We had a wonderful weekend up in VT and on my way back I got to stop in Andover to see three of my favorite people (well, one is a dog…) I had dinner with Meg and Matt and then we got ice cream. It was a lovely little Sunday night.

Lady hasn’t been on the blog in a while and she wanted to say hi!:

Hey guys!