Page 2: Stowe and Waterbury Tours

August 2009

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Marty had a spectacular animal figure collection. He knows them, also. I had to ask him one since we couldn't remember what it was: a juvenile tapir. (This picture is only a partial representation of his collection.)

Collection of toy animal figures spread out on the pavement beside the swimming pool

We arrived on Sunday evening. Being relatively local, Paul and I made the 1st night's supper. The corn from our local farm was a hit! The next day we did tourist stuff. We went to the Cabot Cheese store. We were originally thinking that they actually made cheese here, but that is another location. There were lots of samples, though, and it was definitely worth the stop. Immediately next to it was a chocolate shop (Lake Champlain Chocolates), where we bought a few samples. (My opinion: good, but not great. I didn't try the confections, such as chocolate covered cherries, which I expect were very good. I'm just talking about their straight dark chocolate.)

Cabot store building with parked cars in front and wooded hills rising behind it

People sampling cheese inside the Cabot store beside a counter lined with sample bowls

Four people standing at the counter inside Lake Champlain Chocolates

Group standing on the porch outside the chocolate shop

From there we went to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. This is, of course, a required stop when in the Waterbury area. The place was PACKED. The tour itself is a bit lame, although still interesting. The flavor being offered after the tour was Oatmeal Cookie. I wasn't expecting to think much of it, but it was excellent. They also had a sorbet available.

Two people posing inside the Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough sign

Man and woman posing together inside the crowded Ben & Jerry's gift shop

Display wall of Ben & Jerry's pint containers labeled Euphoric Flavors

Crowd seated inside the Ben & Jerry's tour room waiting for the presentation

Woman, older man, and two children posing together inside the Ben & Jerry's gift shop

Next some of us wanted to go to a winery. Corinne & family weren't particularly interested in that, so they went to Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Well, it turns out that the winery is an hour away, but they have a tasting room immediately adjascent to the cider mill. So some of us (Ted, Matt, Craig, Paul, & I) tried some Grand View Winery wines. They certainly aren't the dry reds that we usually drink. However, they did have some interesting flavors in the 6 we tried. The problem was that they put so little in our glasses, we were hardly able to taste the wine! I've never had a taste test with that little to taste. I probably would have bought one of the desert wines (that Strawberry Rhubarb might have a place with pie) but I decided not to with so little to go on. I did buy some maple butter at the cider mill though. That is great stuff and not particularly easy to find (without sugar or butter being added).

Group gathered outside the Cold Hollow Cider Mill entrance beside the Open flag

Man standing inside the winery tasting room while others sit on a bench behind him

Hazy view of grassy fields and mountains beside the road

At this point it was early afternoon and we had not eaten lunch yet. We we went to downtown Stowe to grab a bite. The selection was Jamie's On Main, which had some good soup or sandwiches. Stowe is an artsy / touristy kind of place, and has some art work along the main street. There was also a bocce ball court. We didn't actually play, although a few practice shots were thrown.

Two women posing beside a metal girl sculpture attached to a tree in downtown Stowe

Large metal crab sculpture displayed on a lawn beside the visitor information building

Two men tossing bocce balls on the court in downtown Stowe

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Updated April 2026