This should more aptly be called “Vermont Day 3” as we made a very circuitous route home.  Unfortunately this was to be our final  morning at the Gables Inn.  I really cannot say enough how much I liked this place.  The price was right, the breakfast was excellent, the location was perfect, and the owners Randy and Annette were really nice.  I can’t forget to mention their 15 year old golden retriever Yogi either…he is the perfect Inn dog.

So just like the previous day, we started out with breakfast on the porch.  Mia got a belgian waffle topped with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and I got mascarpone stuffed french toast that was most excellent.

Not far up the road from the Gables Inn is the  Trapp Family Lodge, yes that Trapp Family….as in “The Sound of Music”.  The place is HUGE! 2,500 acres of hiking, mountain biking, sleigh rides, lounging, etc.  The main lodge was like nothing I have ever seen around here.  It looks like some one dropped a large scale European lodge smack in the middle of Vermont. (which I guess they basically did)

The picture doesn’t do it justice.  The views from the front lawn of the Trapp Family Lodge look out over the whole Stowe area and it really was quite impressive.

They have their own brewery on site, so we picked up a small bottle of Vienna Lager.  Just a small one……..

After leaving the Trapp Lodge, we headed on a very meandering route over to Cabot, Vermont…..I’m sure you can figure it out from there, but just in case you cannot, here is a final clue…..

Cabot Cheese is of course in Cabot, Vermont.  Their story is pretty cool,. Co-op owned, it’s a really important part of the local economy, and they really care about delivering a quality product.  I’m the first to admit it too, for a “mass-produced” cheese it is really good.  I’m a huge fan of their aged cheddar.

It was basically time to head home now, but we had one more stop on the way.  The GPS sent us on a very cool route.  We ended up driving through the Groton State Forest.  I really need to head out here for some camping and mountain biking.  It looks like it could be a really fun time.

The final destination was one of Mia’s favorite stores.  We generally make an annual pilgrimage to King Arthur Flour to stock up on baking goods.  Plus they have a really good cafe with lots of baked goods, sandwiches and now they serve Vermont Coffee Company coffee too (one of my favorites).

So after our visit to Norwich, VT it was finally time to head home after a fun filled and too short vacation to Vermont.  I would have liked to have stayed for a few more days.  We’ll be headed back to Stowe again for sure.

I’ll be going back up near here for a cyclocross race in a few weeks, so I may have to swing into Waterbury, VT to hit a couple of the places we never made it too.

Thanks for reading.

-Pete