Got a call from social security the day we got here and they discovered that Jerry died some time ago, and they wanted his money back. Hmmm....that explains the smell. It took a couple trips to the office here and several calls to the office back there to get them to believe he was really alive and well (also known as fat and sassy).
After that mini-adventure, we needed to be treated--what could be better than having a bit of fat with our sugar? Ben and Jerry's is a beautiful 20 minutes from our camp. We may need another trip that way before we are through here. Not sure which is more enjoyable, the factory tour or the drive out there. This country is very inspiring. I knew there would be adventures here when I saw the "watch for moose" sign on the freeway. Our eyes haven't stopped watching for them yet.
We must be in factory-tour mode as we also toured a mom-and-pop chocolate factory and a teddy bear factory. But wait...the best is yet to come.
Over a century ago when railroads were being built, one of the barons came up this way to negotiate for a choo-choo to go through this region. He fell in love with it and brought his wife up to check things out. They bought thirty farms, combining them into one estate (Vanderbilt-Webb estate). They decided to built their hunting cabin on the part of the property that overlooked Lake Champlain. By the time the depression hit, they had several residences and their children were now maintaining them. They found they were a bit short of funds to continue all the homes, so this one was donated to a non-profit. It has been kept with the original furnishings. The barn is the first building that comes in view...and it is a show-stopper. It is now used as a children's educational farm experience. Every animal that is there is allowed to be touched by the children, and they do have a bunch of animals. We were entertained for many hours. Rose and Chris both were able to milk one of the dairy cows. They make cheese in another part of the barn which is sold locally. Another part of the barn is a huge bakery--ahhh...I can still smell the warm bread. There is a renaissance school also. That is only the first floor level of the barn. It is three-stories with a loft. No idea what they do with all of it. When you walk into the center courtyard you feel like you have entered a castle keep.
When the two oldest in our group got rather bored with chasing chickens, we decided to walk to the "cabin". It is 1.5 miles from the barn down a wonderful country lane. The air was incredibly fresh and cool...there wasn't a bit of complaining about spending our day thus engaged. When we rounded the corner giving us the first view of the dwelling, our breath stopped. The house was used for hunting parties and entertaining the local elite. It now is used as an Inn. We could only tour the lower floor...but it was almost too much for us. The original family consisted of the parents and four children. There must be 30 bedrooms. All rooms with a view of the lake. Many other out buildings are close-by that look like fancy servant houses. Below the house is the stables (can't keep the horses over the hill, you know). This stable is about half the size of the barn (which means it is still an immense castle). By the time we got there, I had used up both picture chips...sadly no pictures of it. But if you ever come here--this estate is a must see. Take the time to walk ALL the way out to the house and enjoy the view of the lake and the thrill of seeing those structures. One word--incredible. Made us wonder what their full-time house was like if this is the hunting cabin.
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