Finally re-cooperated from the hellish trip home, I give you Part 5 of the Vermont Adventure …

The next day we awoke with satisfied memories of our dinner at the Bearded Frog. I was almost immediately chastised by Phlerb that my entry did not give enough detail to the appetizers or desert items. So, always one to please let me tell you more about them!

They were good.

After breakfast we started the process of getting ready to head out for hike number two. You would think that we would have had our fill after our last outing, but with limited time left in Vermont, we figured it would be best to squeeze in as much nature as possible.

This time however everyone walking sticks thanks to Phlerb and his wickedly sharp pruning shears. And thanks to our prior visit to the shoe store, Karin had something other than Tevas to hike in.

I should take a minute to talk about traveling in Vermont. We had decided early on that we wanted to if all possible all ride in the same car. Seven people would put their mini-van at capacity, but hey its a mini-van that’s what its for right?

Well, as luck would have it, we were unable to secure all three car seats in the back row. As Phlerb and I offered what we thought was a great idea (him and I riding in his Miata convertible and the women and children riding in the mini-van), Shanin decided to see if she could fit in between the two kids in the back.

Basically into a spot the size of a lunchbox. I saw visions of myself flying around mountain corners at high speeds in the Miata. Sadly — Shanin was able to fit (just barely).

So after everyone was squeezed in, we started out for Cantilever Rock. At just over a half mile Phlerb told us the trail was easier than the last hike.

And starting up the path to the trail we were all feeling pretty good about the hike. This was going to be a lot more relaxed. Our relaxed feeling quickly turned to exertion and sweat as we headed up the actual trail.

The sights were amazing, we went by at least three small waterfalls and over many small streams. Thankfully there weren’t any really steep drop offs like the day before, but there were still a number of really challenging rocks to climb. We had a few stumbles here and there but no-one got hurt like Karin did the last time.

About 3/4 of the way up the thunder started. Ominous as it sounded we thought it would miss us completely so we continued on. We almost made it too.

We weren’t more than fifty feet away of the cantilever rock when it started to pour and lightning. This time we were a little more prepared with food, but shelter or rain gear was nowhere to be found.

I have to admit, we were all freaked out, more for the kids safety than our own. Lightning was a real concern, and finding shelter suddenly became our top priority.

Thanks go to Phlerb who was awarded the “MVH” award (Most Valuable Hiker) as he scouted ahead and found this hidden cave area that was big enough for all of us to fit into and stay relatively dry, and absolutely safe from lightning (in recognition of his award Phlerb would later carve a MVH into his walking stick).

So we had some food and waited the storm out. Maverick was pretty freaked out by the cave and thought there must be monsters in it but eventually calmed down with some cuddles from mom.

Once the rain stopped the ladies headed out while Phil and I decided to climb onto the rock we had just been under. I took a few photos and we were on our way back down.

The car seat felt great as I eased my tired body into it and prepared to head back to the Phlerb compound. After dinner we put the kids down to bed early and kicked back on the couch and watched “Sixteen Candles” which Shanin had never seen. Phil and I finally cracked open the bottle of Absinthe and gave it a try. Sort of licorice like in taste, the 1/2 shot of it didn’t produce the psychotropic hallucination that I had hoped for, maybe on the next trip.

A slight correction, Borat was watched on Friday (Part 1), the new King Kong was watched on Saturday (Part 2), and I am just too lazy right now to go back and change my earlier posts. But I digress…

Cranky and cantankerous we awoke to yet another dreary day. After what had already been a whirlwind tour of all things Vermont, we decided to just take it easy. Now I myself consider kicking back on the couch with a block of cheese in my boxers taking it easy (Seinfeld reference for those who care). My friend Phlerb is the same way.

Our wives however have a slightly different idea of taking it easy. As we would soon learn our destination was the Echo Children’s Museum in Burlington. The exhibit currently in house was on dinosaurs, a classic topic that all kids seem to love so it at least had an entertainment factor built into it.

We started our day with another Jericho staple — breakfast at the local coffee shop (The Village Cup). I am coffee nut as many know, and I have to say they served a good cup — or should I say pint of coffee. In what I can safely say was the first time ever, I was served a latte in a pint glass. The latte foam reminded me of a Guinness head when served in a pint.

The coffee was hot, and that glass did little to hamper its inferno temperature. If I was eighty and in a McDonald’s and served it this way I would surely have dropped it in my lap and sued for millions. Why can’t I remember to do that?

After scarfing down a croissant sandwich we started out for Burlington. The Echo Museum turned out to be a really cool place. The kids just ate it up, they ooh’d and ahh’d and ran, and played for a few hours as we took in the museums sights and sounds. By now it was late afternoon and we decided to stop for lunch.

Easier said than done. Our first few attempts to find a restaurant came up bust — either out of business or just closed, we ended up happily at a little hole in the wall Chinese food place which had the best hand made crab ran goons I have had in a long time.

Heading home we kicked back and let the kids play for a while before Grandma Phlerb was to come over. I think we were all looking forward to a nice quiet night out without the kids. We decided to go to a restaurant called the Bearded Frog. It sounds like it would be a bar you would find in Key West, but in reality its cuisine is in fact fine dining.

From the moment we stepped into the car our minds were focused on one thing — calamari! We had our fill and more. I won’t bore you with details other than to tell you what I had (mainly so I don’t forget) — sesame crusted sliced tuna steak with wasabi infused potato salad. The tuna was rare with what I believe was a balsamic and cream sauce. It took every bit of willpower I had to not tear into it like a ravenous beast of some sort.

Settling in for the night we decided to do yet another day of hiking which should maker for some very interesting reading in Part 5. Until then …

After our day of trekking through and up the mountain we decided to scale back our activities a bit and head into Burlington for the Farmers Market. On our way we decided to stop at a local shoe store to try and find some shoes better suited for hiking. My friend Phlerb was wearing what looked to be Italian made sandals after all, and my wife Karin had on Tevas. Something had to be done.

Surprisingly enough, we all ended up with new shoes. I was especially happy because they had a pair of hiking boots big enough to fit my size 15 gunboats, and more importantly that were only $49.99! What a deal.

After spending far too much time in the shoe store we headed on to what is quite possibly the biggest Farmers Market I have ever been to — it is better described as an art, craft and food market with farm fresh produce available.

Vermont is known for its Maple syrup and after sampling a few of the Dragonfly Maple syrup offering we left with three large flasks of their darker maple syrup. We also ended up trying some of the Samosa Man’s fried samosas (triangular pieces of dough with filling friend to a golden perfection) which were pretty damn tasty.

Burlington is a college town and it has that laid back college feel. As we walked around the park you couldn’t help but notice that there were dogs everywhere, people relaxing in the shade and kids running without a care in the world. It was an odd thing for me to see. In Illinois we have a deeper mistrust in the common man. Everyone is a potential kidnapper or child abuser.

Its sad to say and even admit, but its true. We live with a paranoia of the worst possible things and it seems like the most normal thing in the world. In Vermont, the lack of such feelings is disconcerting to say the least. But I digress.

Moving on, we headed to Church street which we would learn was perpetually closed to give people a place to walk, performers a place to entertain, and artisans and food purveyors a place to hawk their wares. The thing I especially liked was the alabaster church spire that rose above the din of commotion in the street. It was like a beacon calling us to it.

Along the way we stopped to play of various huge boulders strewn along the way on the sidewalk — the kids could not get enough of climbing on these huge rocks from its glacial past. When we were about halfway to our destination we began to hear a distant thundering of drums.

As the noise drew steadily louder Karin told me it was the 25th Anniversary Gay Pride Parade. Well all right I thought, thinking back to how wild the Chicago parade was in the past, I knew deep down that it would be watered down somewhat given the number of children present.

Never the less, I took a lot of photos which I will be sure to post when I get back home. After the parade we continued our trek to the end of the street and the kids played around in the ground level recessed spray fountains. Phil and I quietly stepped away to look in local bookstore for hidden treasures.

As the day closed we again found ourselves exhausted and ready to just chill out. After dinner we put the kids to bed and queued up Borat on the big screen. It was as Sacha would say — “Very Nice!”

When last we spoke, we had just arrived at our friends house in Jericho Vermont. Since it was around dinner time we did little more than setting in, have some pizza and drinks. The next morning I went for a run and returned to find breakfast and more importantly, coffee waiting.

As we enjoyed the sweet flavors of an apple coffee cake and the pleasant taste of hazelnut coffee, I let the calming sounds of the river outside their house wash over me. It felt like the stress of the world was just melting off my psyche. My wife and I could live in that room and die happy people.

Caffeine infused we started to murmur about what we would do for the day. Out of nowhere our friend and host Phlerb announced his game plan for the day. It sounded more well thought out than anything we had uttered so we quickly embraced his plan without question.

The plan was to pack a picnic lunch and head out to the Green Mountain Coffee store. The actual store mind you, ground zero. I have a plethora of pictures that will be posted, and a review destined for Brotherhood of the Bean when I get back, for now take my word for it that the coffee and the store was something to remember.

Coffee could only hold our kids attention for so long — luckily for us there was a nice park outside that they could run around like banshees in for a little while. But not too long, our next Vermont stop was none other than Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream headquarters.

Pulling into the parking lot it was amazing how many different state license plates there were. It didn’t seem to matter if the state was close or far, the call of Ben & Jerry’s is quite powerful. Heading into the store we purchased tickets for a tour and braved the crowd to buy souvenirs/trinkets. With a bit of time to spare we wandered around outside. They had a few games for the kids outside that they had fun doing, along with a spin art station where they all made their own spin art. Soon enough our tour started and we were herded into an auditorium to see a short video about the history of the company.

Moving on to the viewing station we had a birds eye view of the production floor… Guess what? Its a factory. Wheeeee! Admittedly it was pretty cool to hear about the different sections and what they did, but in the end I think everyone had their fill of factory fun, and we headed down for some free ice cream samples. Yum — Strawberry Cheesecake!

From here we started towards Smuggler’s Notch. A Vermont cave used by you guessed it… Smugglers. If you want my truthful opinion, it was a dank wet hole that Phlerb decided to crawl up into in his Italianesque sandals and slipped and fell on his ass giving him a cool stain on his white shorts. I decided to pass on the experience.

We did however climb up the surrounding hillside and found a nice spot to have our lunch. It was amazing just how high we were after a short climb. Phlerb and I ended up heading out to an outcropping we had seen some kids on from the street.

After lunch we were still feeling in the mood for a hike so Phlerb suggested we check out something called the “Long Trail” that led to a hidden pond called — Sterling Pond. This sounded like a cool adventure to all of us, so without any hesitation we headed out. Maverick and I had our walking sticks we picked up at the Morton Arboretum and I was SO glad we had them after a few minutes of — “hiking”.

Now when I think of the word hiking, I envision walking up a pine needle strewn path, or over a meadow etc. This version of Vermont hiking involved walking 1.1 miles up the mountain over some of the most brutal terrain I have ever encountered.

• Slippery Rocks? Check.
• Dead inducing drop offs? Check.
• Dripping Water? Check.
• Big/Medium/Small boulders to walk over? Check.
• Four & Six year old children in tow? Check.

I have been on easier treks with the National Guard infantry, and that is no exaggeration. But, after speaking with a few people as they came down who assured us that we were 3/4 of the way to the top, we pressed on. When we finally emerged at the actual “Long Trail” it was over two hours from our start. A short .1 mile walk downhill and we were at the hidden Sterling Pond.

Sterling pond was gorgeous. The water was ice cold but that didn’t stop us from putting our feet in. The kids played on the rocks and laughed in the sun. For as brutal of a climb as that was, they didn’t hardly complain at all. After our break we decided to head back down, we were ready for the adventure to be at an end.

Going down was easier than going up, but it was decidedly more painful on the knees. We took our time and emphasized safety. I was so proud with how well Maverick was using his walking stick. He really took technique direction well and listened, I really felt like he and I were a team.

Karin was behind us going down. During both the ascent and descent the adults took turns holding a kids hand. It was just too dangerous to allow them to go it alone. We had almost reached the bottom when Karin took a spill and got some nasty road rash on her arm. Thankfully she didn’t have a kid at the time and wasn’t at one of the really dangerous areas. The cause of her fall was none other than crappy shoes (Tevas). We decided after that to get some better footwear.

We were tired and beat by the time we got home, but in generally pretty content in our accomplishment. Shanin started to make chicken fajitas while we all washed up. They were excellent and literally inhaled by everyone. We ended the night watching Borat which was — “Very Nice!!!” and headed to bed.

More to come in Vermont Adventure (Part 3)