Great report Ira..on to VT!

It’s a long ride from Québec to Middlebury and we stayed to the main highways (Rte 20, 235 133, Int 89) for nearly the entire trip. The way through Canada takes you through flat, but not uninteresting, farm country. Int 89, winding through forested rolling hills, is very scenic. We skirted Burlington, left the Interstate at Rte 116, took a byroad between Hinesburg and New Haven, and Rte 7 into Middlebury, where we touched down at the Middlebury Inn (http://www.middleburyinn.com/).

The Inn is a big ole, semi-formal, comfy, place, well suited to people who don’t mind walking up one flight instead of waiting for a staff member to come operate the elevator. Tea is served from 2:30 to 4:30. The beds are comfortable. The AC is quiet. Everything is spic and span with the patina of age that one gets from well-cared-for furnishings. There is a 10% discount for AARP.

Being the careful planner that I am, we were able to make it to tea at about 4:25. There were several kinds of cookies, scones, three types of cake, a dish of butter and an empty platter. We were late for tea the next day, too, so we never got to see what was on the empty platter.

Dinner was at Jessica’s at the Swift House Inn (http://www.swifthouseinn.com/). It’s a rustic, informal place, with a very good wine list (our waiter was also the sommelier).

Dinner opened with butternut squash soup (very smooth and slightly smoky) for LW and the Hudson Valley Foie Gras (served atop a toasted wild mushroom bread pudding) for me. Main courses of crab cakes (almost as good as on the Chesapeake Bay) and the rack of venison (the evening's special) were very, very good. We shared the cheese tray, all local and artisinal, served with fruits and toasted baguette for dessert. With a bottle of Chablis, a glass of Malbec and coffee - $160 with tax and tip. Highly recommended.

We had the breakfast buffet at the Inn. I was a bit disappointed, as it has been reduced in its offerings. There were bagels (pretty good for being so far from NYC), English muffins, several sorts of bread for toast, scones, fruits, yogurts, muesli with a warm cherry sauce, eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, sausage links, cold cereals, maple syrup and maple sugar, milk, coffee, tea and a strange sort of grits called “oatmeal”. The breakfast room is a large, airy space looking out on the square. Of particular interest is the sight of large trucks hanging a hard left and then a hard right as they speed past the Inn. Watching those big trucks swing around the corner to come right at you It lends a sort of <i>frisson</i> with which to start the day.

Saturday was devoted to touring. We took the blue highways up into the Northeast Kingdom, drove through and around, stopped at the Cabot Creamery in Cabot (found some special cheddar that isn’t sold in stores) and a sugar house where we got some VT maple syrup to compare with the CN product, (An at-home tasting revealed that 10 out of 10 tasters couldn’t decide which was better.), and returned to Middlebury in time to miss whatever was on the empty plate at tea.

The crews that cleaned up the roads after the torrential rains did a splendid job. There was only one place where we had to detour around a washed-out bridge.

However, the rains were harsh on the foliage, especially in the eastern part. There were many mountainsides where the trees were a combination of everything from green/yellow to peak color change overlaid with a veil of gray from completely denuded branches. OTOH, the creeks, streams and waterfalls were full and swift.

Dinner was in Morgan’s Tavern, so we didn’t have to leave the Inn.
The New England Clam Chowder and the chilled strawberry soup were very good. Sesame-crusted tuna, and miso salmon were quite nice. With wine, coffee, taxes and tip - $115.

Following breakfast the next morning, we set off for Binghamton, NY.

((I))

Hi, Ira! Enjoying your trip with you!

I love the Middlebury area, but Binghamton, NY!!?? What's in Binghamton, NY? All I remember was that our United flight got cancelled and we had to spend the night there - way out in the "toolies", so am looking forward to your elucidation on Binghamton.

Good use of frisson, and italics too!

Enjoying your narrative and the slideshow was a total hoot!

The Albright-Knox is really a gem. Buffalo has an active visual arts scene.

>>It is inexpensive and not unpleasant.<< Master of the understatement, ira.

Hi et,

>I love the Middlebury area, but Binghamton, NY!!?? <

It was a convenient place to stop along the way to Frostburg.
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>Master of the understatement, ira.<

Thank you obx. May I quote you?
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Hey sm,

>Good use of frisson, and italics too!<

type <_i_> before the phrase and <_/i_> after the phrase WITHOUT THE _

The TomTom chose the correct route. Unfortunately, because it was Sunday and the road crew wasn’t working – the road was closed. However, along with three other cars whose GPS’s didn’t know that, we took an alternate route and arrived at the ferry landing, just after it left. (http://www.forttiferry.com/)

Twenty minutes later we were on our way to the New York side..

The very pleasant and scenic passage brought us to Ticonderoga, which we skipped, and onto the impressively beautiful Rte 9N to Lake George. From here we avoided Int 87 until past Sarasota Springs (even so, the highway was crowded and unpleasant) and transferred to Int 88.

With the exception of the Savage River Inn outside Frostburg, there is really nothing to report about the rest of the road trip, other than that the route through Binghamton, Frostburg and the New River Gorge was gorgeous.

The Savage River Inn is a very nice, rustic lodge. The restaurant was cozy, comfy and warmed by a genuine log fire. Most of the cooking is done (or at least finished) in a wood-fired oven. The service was friendly and professional.

Roberta had the crab cakes, which were very, very good, while I had the Rockfish chowder – as good as the clam chowder in new England – the 3-sausage sampler (boar, venison and duck) accompanied by a house-made chutney and the arugula salad with apples and blue cheese. With a bottle of Pinot Grigio, coffee, tax and tip $110. Highly recommended if you find yourself in the neighborhood.

However, it is not easy to get to.

Relying on our trusty GPS, we set off in the dark on what should have been a 20 min trip. We easily found the turnoff from the main road. The TomTom directed us around the derelict farmhouse and through the entrance gates to the unpaved, partially dirt road that led to the bridge across the Savage River and into the parking lot. It then lost us.

That wouldn’t have been a problem if it hadn’t been dark, if there had been a signpost, and if the only road out of the parking lot hadn’t been a dirt track labeled “Red Trail”.

Discretion being the better part of valor, I slowly wound my way back to the main road and a small house, where the owner obligingly assured me that “Red Trail” was the road to the lodge. So, we arrived a mere 3/4 hr late.

I hope y’all enjoyed the trip as much as we did.

((I))

ira: I'm certainly enjoying your meandering journey.

However, a complete description of Fort Ticonderoga would have worked very well.

I suspect you were too busy thinking of the rockfish for dinner to bother stopping at Fort Ti.

Hi et,

How did you guess?

Ira, thanks for telling me of this report.

will make good use of your experiences, especially for Buffalo. Our route may not otherwise be the same, but will also keep yours in mind.

What a great report and an amazing slideshow!

bookmarking

Thanks folks,

Happy to help.

Did you have time to visit the Morgan Horse Farm between Middlebury and Burlington or the Vermont Teddy Bear factory? Both are easy and whimsical visits.