Simon Pearce
We went for a glass of wine and met an entertaining and diverse clientele at the bar. The Simon Pearce store, restaurant, bar, hydroelectric plant and glass blowing were amazing. There was beautiful handmade glassware everywhere, including the wine glasses.
Simon Pierce is an Irish-American whose craft is glass blowing and pottery. He learned his trade in Kilkenny, Ireland. He has been very successful and his glassware is sold around the country including Bloomingdales and Nieman Marcus. He has a large staff, who seem to work 24/7.
Covered Bridges
There are 4 covered bridges in the area. The bridges were easy to find because, the only way to get around town was to go through most of them.
Taftsville Covered Bridge
A Taftsville resident did not use existing patented bridge truss designs to make the bridge. Therefore, the construction is unique. It was built with local wood and stone in 1836. At the time, the bridge cost $1800 to construct. Its the third oldest covered bridge in the state. At 189 feet long, its the second longest in Vermont.
Quechee Covered Bridge
The bridge was built in 1970. Its a single span 70 foot long steel stringer bridge. The Quechee Falls help cool the Simon Pierce glass blowing factory at the left of the picture.
Middle Covered Bridge
It is located in Woodstock, Vermont and was constructed in 1969. It is a Town Lattice bridge and spans 139 feet.
Lincoln Covered Bridge
The bridge is 136 feet long and built in 1877.
Claremont, NH
We visited Sandy’s aunt De. It was raining hard, so we did not get any photos. De has an very nice home and we love her blue Jeep. I enjoyed her sense of humor. We went to Salt Hill Pub in Newport, NH for a late lunch. It was fun catching up with her over a glass of wine and good food. Hopefully we will see De again while we explore Vermont and New Hampshire.
Spring Flowers
It was so nice to see tulips, seems like they never last long enough.
The entire town had apple trees blooming. In some areas, when the wind blows and standing under a tree, it looks like snow falling.
Blooms were everywhere.
Flowers were not the only thing colorful.
Quechee Gorge
The Quiche Gorge was carved about 13,000 years ago. The Ottauquechee River flows through the bottom of the gorge and is a popular white water kayak run. It is 165 feet deep and is the deepest gorge in Vermont. The views are beautiful from either side.
Billings Farm and Museum
Quite the history, especially as it relates to wealth, politics, and conservationism. Charles Marsh, a Vermont attorney, built the home in 1805. His son, George, grew up there and went on to study law and later politics. He had diplomatic appointments by Presidents John Tyler and Abraham Lincoln. He helped to lay the foundation for the conservation movement in the United States. The Marsh estate was purchased by Frederick Billings, also a Vermont native. He moved to San Francisco and made a fortune during the gold rush as an attorney dealing with land claims. He was a founding partner in the Norther Pacific Railroad. Billings, Montana is named after him. He established a model farm property. Billings granddaughter, Mary, eventually married the son of J.D. Rockefeller, Laurance Rockefeller. He was an influential conservation advisor to several United States presidents. He eventually donated the house and upland properties to the people of the United States in 1992. Each of their stories and contributions to our American History are substantial.
Billings Farm also a very good museum with lots of artifacts from the period showing life on a dairy farm in the 1800-1900’s. There were movies and house tours. Jake enjoyed seeing the cows, horses, and sheep roaming the property.
Sugarbush Farms
The farm was first settled in 1770. They make 15 different types of cheeses and pure maple syrup. There are 550 acres. Sugarbush taps 8500 trees to make maple syrup. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. They have a tasting room for both their cheeses and 4 different grades of maple syrup. We really like their 8 year aged cheddar.
Vermont Spirits
They made a variety of distilled products from maple syrup, whey, apples, and corn. Some are aged in oak barrels. It was nice that they have a tasting room. We liked the gin. Its distilled with wild juniper berries, coriander, angelica root, cassia, orange peel, and cardamom pods. Thinking a twist of lime and shaken hard with ice.
