Perhaps you have wondered where we are - I will explain in a moment.
We awoke Saturday unable to judge the weather from our room as it faced the inside courtyard of the Sheraton Hotel in South Burlington. No rain when we left for breakfast but then it started. Oh My! A pelting rain in 45 degree temperature with a 15 mile wind blowing at all times. We headed for the Shelburne Farm/Museum with high hopes, but after surveying the situation we bagged it. The "complex" covers many acres and includes at least 25 buildings that help tell the story of rural life in Vermont and also house art galleries, etc. The thought of running in and out of the rain to get to each building didn't seem to spark our enthusiasm and we headed south toward what we hoped were better things.
Vermont Teddy Bear Factory appeared and we skipped through the raindrops and toured the facilities with a young (aren't they all?) fast-talking girl who made horrible puns (don't they all?) about, in this case, BEARS. The day before at Ben&Jerry's it had been COWS. The factory was not operating but the tour was informative - it's nice to see things that are made in America.
Continuing southerly we discussed the possibility of shortening the trip and heading home - I didn't have reservations planned for that night and was feeling rather lethargic due to the cold that had developed. let's face it - the weather was horrible. And I think/know that The Captain was ready to come home.
We drove to Proctor (near Rutland) and visited the Vermont Marble
Museum. This company has provided the marble for the Washington Monument the Lincoln Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, etc., and makes the headstones for Arlington National Cemetery. A couple films are available to watch and galleries of different uses for marble. They also have a room of Presidents. One man had carved all of the busts and he has retired (or died - which is really retired) so they are behind - it stops with George Bush (Poppy). Maybe someone else will continue.
Still ugly out (and so went the forecast for Sunday) we persevered toward the home of Robert Todd Lincoln, the only child of Abraham Lincoln to survive to adulthood. This is a lovely home outside Manchester Vermont set up in the hills overlooking the Battlekill Valley. It is used nowadays for weddings and other functions in addition to being open for self guided tours. Large tents were set up in the extensive gardens that day - what a disappointment it must be to plan your wedding in such a beautiful location only to be cramped inside a closed moisture holding tent with 250 other people.
R. Lincoln was president of the Pullman Car Co. and we would have liked to see a car thy have on the property but it was too wet and ugly to walk out there. Luckily they were using a shuttle bus to take people up to the 24 room mansion. The last ancestor of Lincoln lived in the house until 1976. At that time it was turned over to the Historical Society. There are many family possessions on display and private correspondence, etc. of A. Lincoln (thinks like his top hat box). When they cleaned the home in 1976 they found the papers of Robert's concerning the insanity hearings of this mother (some of which seem to project him in a better light than usually). The home also has a player organ with over a thousand pipes. It's a little like having the calliope at Knoebel's playing on an intercom. We caught a ride down the hill to the visitor center/parking lot on a glorified golf cart (dozen person) with zip down sides to keep out the weather which was like riding in a Zip Lock bag on roller skates.
The rotten weather persisted with hard rain and fog abounding. No use trying to visit nature's beauty (like gorges and mountain vistas), so there was no more to be done or said. We put Northumberland in the GPS and pointed the car toward home. I drove in the daylight until I couldn't keep my head up (I hate how my head feels like it weighs 20 pounds when I have a cold) - and I don't like to drive at night in the rain. Then Big Tom took over. We stopped around Wilkes Barre at a TGIF and had dinner and restorative cups of tea before finishing the drive arriving home around 10:30pm.
So - confession time - we have been home since Saturday night. I spent most of Sunday and Monday sleeping off the cold with an occasional trip to the washer or dryer ans a brief stint babysitting the local grandchildren. The kitchen table is still loaded with our loot and bounty of the trip, corn meal and buckwheat pancake mix, jams and preserves, a marble votive - -and fabric, not to mention the AAA books and brochures collected on our excursion. We had a good time but were dogged by bad weather, though mostly in the USA. Once again it was a thrill to see so much of the beauty of this country (and Canada too) and visit so many interesting places. Who knows where we will set our sights for next time! See you then...for now - over and out.
The Tour Director
