this is going to be a long post with lots o’ links and lots o’ pics … i am reminded of the “flaming moe” episode of the simpsons, and here, i am patty and selma … combined! (if any of y’all make a fabulous drink just to get through this post, please send me the recipe!)

back in february, we and the neighbors decided it would be fun to head up to vermont and tour the ben-and-jerry’s factory. (steven and i had the idea one night while watching basketball and drinking beer.) i found a super-cute, super-comfy b&b in stowe, ten acres lodge.

the place really was lovely. (our room is the windows, upstairs on the right.) the owners and staff were really friendly and really low-key. frank, the owner, is a huge james bond fan, and he has photos of himself in asia (where he used to work), juxtaposed with various bond film posters. frank also looks VERY MUCH like roger moore, so i asked him off-the-bat if he was a stand-in for moore. he really dug that. (i do have to reiterate: he really looks like roger moore.) anyway, we can highly recommend the ten acres lodge. it is a very chill place to stay.

(it was about a six-hour drive up to stowe (including stops). we caravaned with the neighbors. d-man did super well; though, he was getting a tad bored at the very end of the drive.)

the first evening, we went to dinner at the whip, in the green mountain inn. (we were going to stay at the gmi, but we changed our travel dates to days the gmi had no availability. it does seem like a cool place, and it is smack-dab in the middle of stowe.) the whip was quite tasty. we had a yummy portuguese wine (the name of which i cannot find, but which had a resemblance to a light, less-sweet reisling) and an incredible appetizer: crostini, mildly sweet goat cheese, balsamic reduction, arugula, and “grape salsa” (black grapes with a little cilantro, red onion, and vinegar and oil) … YUM!

didion had to take a nap each morning after breakfast, which, i think, is a great idea for anyone.

after naptime on saturday, we loaded our caravan and headed to montpelier, which is a very cool little city, and went to morse farm. this was an awesome outing … swings, cows, tractors, maple-syrup soft-serve, llamas, goats, a miniature capitol building … this place has EVERYTHING!

we then stopped in waterbury on the way back, and hung out at the cold hollow cider mill. we had cider donuts and cider hot dogs. they have some yummy condiments. i especially liked the maple horseradish mustard and the chipotle bbq sauce. we also did a wine tasting at the grand view winery tasting room. i am not a sweet wine drinker. i like wine that is big and dry, but i was more than pleasantly surprised at how much i enjoyed their cherry wine and their seyval. we also bought a bottle of their hard cider, which is made from fresh apples. fresh apples — rather than apple concentrate — really make a difference: the cider isn’t at all syrup-y or overly sweet.

on saturday night, we cruised to red basil, a thai restaurant in stowe. we found it by accident, after taking a wrong turn on friday night, but since there is no good thai around us, we decided to try it out. we are very glad we did. it is quite tasty, and the service was awesome. steven impressed everyone (especially the staff) with the handful of thai phrases he picked up during his 2006 trip. the cashew nut with fried tofu was my favorite; though, i also really liked the red curry that was drizzled on our dumplings. based on that little taste, i think i can recommend the red curry.

when we got back to the inn, we hung out in one of the parlor areas and played charades and drank cherry wine. megan and steven kicked the you-know-what out of justin and me, and then proceeded to talk a ton o’ smack. (it was somewhat warranted. they did play very well.)

steven, d-man, and i stayed on an extra day, so on sunday morning we said goodbye to our friends. we stayed close to the inn that day: didion was having some teeth issues. (his top teeth are finally cutting, by the way.) one of the coolest things about the inn was the farm across the street. it has a bunch of dairy cows, several of which are currently preggo. pregnant cows are separated from their herds and kept together. these cows hung out all day in a pasture that faced our room. it was awesome getting up in the morning and seeing cows munching on grass. in the afternoon we took some nifty cow pics. i don’t think there is such a thing as TOO MANY cow pictures.

we came home on monday, but not before stopping in waterbury and touring the ben-and-jerry’s factory. although they weren’t making ice cream, it was still cool to see the place. the tour ends with a tasting, and on monday they were scooping a new flavor: one cheesecake brownie. it was quite good. no one thought more so than d-man, himself. (i gave him a little taste of mine, and boy did he wail when i took it away.) we also went to the cabot annex store, where steven tasted cheese that is aged for, like, a million years. we hit a glassblowing studio, too. it was fun to watch, and i got a really pretty dish.

this trip was quite fortuitous. we made the reservations a long time ago, just guessing that mid-august would be a good time to go. for us, it was the BEST TIME to go. we are still eye-high in our secret project, and this trip came at a wonderful time. logistically, it was a good time to take a break; mentally, it was perfect timing as i was just about to go nuts if i didn’t get away for a bit.

we are totally rejuvenated, and we are totally in love with vermont. there is nothing bad i can say about our trip (even with all of the mosquito bites i got). cheers!