Monday, September 25, 2023

Our day began in Waterbury, Vermont at Little River State Park. It rained again overnight; everything was wet again. It seems like there are quite a few activities to do in this state park, but it was wet and chilly this morning and none of us really felt like exploring the trails.

Instead, we packed up the RV and headed south on Vermont’s Highway 100. Highway 100 is the longest stretch of highway in the state. The Guide Along audio tour Andi purchased for our drive around Stowe, Vermont yesterday also includes highlights for areas of Highway 100 south of Waterbury so that’s what we decided to do today as we slowly made our way to Upstate New York.

The first stop on our audio tour directed us to the Green Mountain Coffee Visitor’s Center in Waterbury. Green Mountain Coffee is popularly known for their Keurig K-Cup coffee. Since we were driving right by, we decided to pop in and check it out. The old Amtrak train station where the visitor center is located is picturesque with a beautiful outdoor green space attached. Andi and I were confused when we went inside the cafe though; we didn’t see anything about Green Mountain Coffee. It was just a regular coffee shop. There was a visitor’s center for the town of Waterbury in the back room, but it wasn’t staffed and there was nothing really to look at there. Hmm. Another poor recommendation from Sally, our audio tour guide. Later, I read that Keurig closed its coffee shop and visitor center here in 2021.

Back in the RV, we continued south on Highway 100 toward the small towns of Waitsville and Warren. We didn’t stop in either of these towns, but Andi and I both commented how quintessential these small Vermont towns are. Andi heard somewhere that New Hampshire’s White Mountains have better hiking and Vermont’s Green Mountains have cuter towns. I think that sums up our experience in both states pretty well.

Near the town of Granville, we attempted to stop at Moss Glen Falls to see the popular 30-foot waterfall. The trail was closed off with caution tape though, so we continued driving. Thanks again, Sally the talking audio guide, for another stellar recommendation.

We did stop in the town of Rochester, Vermont to grab a bite to eat. I had low expectations for this tiny town of 1,300 people. It looked so sleepy on its Main Street. The four of us walked into the Rochester Cafe & Country Store which we initially thought only served coffee and sandwiches. The barista asked if we’d like to sit down for lunch and walked us back to a restaurant with beautiful, old wooden booths and tables. We were all pleasantly surprised.

Our whole experience at Rochester Cafe & Country Store was excellent. The food was gourmet and delicious, and our service was excellent. Icing on the cake was their super fast fiber optic internet! As we left the restaurant, all the staff wished us safe travels. It always amazes me the experiences we have while traveling. This town was so unassuming, but now when I think of our time in Vermont I’ll always remember this cafe for its friendly hospitality and great food.

Andi thought there might be fiber optic internet throughout the whole town, so we decided to stay a little longer in Rochester to do some school and work. The kids and I sat in the RV & did schoolwork while Andi walked to the library to work for a while.

On his way back to the RV, Andi stopped into the hardware store and bought us each new pairs of Darn Tough socks. These socks are one of Andi’s favorite brands and their factory isn’t far from where we were in Vermont.

From Rochester, we crossed over the mountain pass on Highway 73 to the town of Brandon, and then continued on toward New York. Andi made arrangements through the Harvest Host program for us to stay the night on a vegetable farm in rural Argyle, New York. We arrived to the farm around dinnertime and set up our RV on a flat piece of land next to the fields.

Sandy, the owner of Pleasant Valley Farm, was so nice and accommodating. They even had water and electric we could hook our RV to for a small fee. Sandy invited us to explore anywhere we wanted to around the farm, so the kids immediately took off on on their bikes to ride around the roads weaving in and out of the greenhouses. Andi and I loaded up on veggies and yogurt from her farm store. We even cooked some for our dinner tonight.