Here we go. We arrived in Buenos Aires this morning. We will be here about a week then toddling on and around until May 2. Our route is below. A little crazy zig-zaggy but hey, it all made sense when we were planning it. Sizzling carne a la parilla, cheesy matambre a la pizza, sweet…
Author: Ella
30 Days on the road
Post by Ella. “It was too short, wasn’t it?”. That’s what Grubb and I always remark to each other at the end of a trip. Somehow, it always is too short. Because I can never see everything or get the total measure of the nature of a place. We’ve made our almost final hop. From…
Lobster and old synagogues
Post by Ella. The Newport harbor area, where we went after the Cliff Walk (see Grubb’s post), was packed. Tour busses galore, two cruise ships parked in the outer harbor, lines of people waiting for harbor cruises (or maybe they were waiting to be ferried out to one of the humongous cruise ships). We were…
Mass MOCA
Post by Ella. After sweet, pastoral Vermont, we crossed the state line into busy Massachusetts arriving at the Mass MOCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) in North Adams. As we wove our way around decrepit, foreboding prison-like brick buildings to find the entrance, I wondered what awaited inside. The site has a long history. The…
Forget spooky, it was deliberately delightful
Post by Ella. The town of North Bennington was deeply offended when their resident author, Shirley Jackson based her dark short story “The Lottery” on their idyllic town. When we stopped to get a photo of Shirley’s homes, while Grubb was aiming for the perfect photo of her abode on Main Street, I sidled around…
From mountain to city: today’s route
Post by Ella. We reluctantly left our Eden in the Green Mountains to join the city folk in Providence. Why yes, we did make a few stops along the way. Grubb couldn’t pass up a stop at the Robert Frost house in Shaftsbury and a drive by of Shirley Jackson’s homes in North Bennington. Then…
Our place in Sunderland
Post by Ella. We have an apartment on the lower level (first floor) of a three story house. Like our cabin/cottage in Randolph, this comes with a tremendous view, a nice porch with grill and hot tub, two bedrooms and a kitchen/living area. The place is heated with two heat pumps and solar panels provide…
One last escapade in Manchester
Post by Ella. We’ve been passing a nursery the last couple of days on our way to and from Manchester. We are staying in Sunderland which is just 6 miles down the road. The nursery has a splashy lawn decked out with straw-stuffed mannequins celebrating Fall and Halloween. Today, we stopped. There was a whole…
Tie those flies
Post by Ella. “Which of you is the fly fisher?”, the grey bearded, robust man boomed as we walked into the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vt. “Um, neither of us fish at all, we just wanted to see what fly fishing is all about”. “Okay, let me get you started”, he said…
Sculpted art
Post by Ella. The Southern Vermont Arts Center, along with its galleries, event venue, theater, and extensive trail systems has also a sculpture garden set on the rolling lawns and tucked into forest niches. Some were of the scrap metal ilk rusted by the elements, some wood carved, and of course there was the time…
Art as joy
Post by Ella. At the Southern Vermont Arts Center today. A tranquil setting. I was transfixed by the two special exhibits: Ashley Bryan and Sally Mavor. Sally Mavor has perfected the art of embroidery to stitch together her creations. Mixed media with exquisite needle work. Sally illustrated a children’s book written by Rebecca Bond, “My…
Fine dining in a furniture store
Post by Ella. And it’s not IKEA’s Swedish meatballs. Depot 62 in Manchester, VT bills itself as a furniture store with a central dining area. You can eat lunch or dinner and shop for a sofa or rug. We walked up the creaky wooden steps and into a blast of warm spice aroma with the…
Mapling at the Sugarbush Farm
Post by Ella. Maple trivia: In Vermont, sugaring season begins sometime in February to mid-March. When temps dip below freezing (ideally 20°-30°), sap is pushed up from the roots, coursing through the veins of the tree. As the temperature rises during the day, the sap flows back down and conveniently some flows into the metal…
Southward: Our route today
Heading into the last days of our trip. Today, from Burlington, Vt. To Sunderland, Vt. Although we’ve mostly been staying off the Interstates in favor of the less traveled roads, today we wanted to make a detour to Sugarbush (Maple syrup and cheese farm) and Woodstock (historical buildings, traffic jam rivaling Stowe and maple creemees)…
About that old printing press
Grubb wrote about the printing demo we saw at the Shelburne Museum where a cast iron platen was cranked down on a frame pressing paper onto a carved and inked wood block. Chinle, who lives in Silver City, NM sent a photo from the Southwest Print Fiesta held just last week. Here’s how they do…