DAY SEVEN: Friday, 11
August 2006
Our day started very early today,
because we had a long drive ahead of us, and I wanted to get to the destination
as soon as possible to maximize the time we’d spend there. Although things in the northeast are
relatively close to each other, not everything is connected by a nice highway
system, or even direct roads. As our
destination was in central Vermont ,
we’d have to take what seemed to be a round about way to get there, even though
that was the most direct. I’d MapQuested
this before leaving home, so we’d have an idea of how long it would take. Today was the destination that Lee wanted to
go. We’d be leaving New York State for
the Green Mountains of Vermont, and a specific little ice cream factory.
There was no direct route, and I
think we got there just before 10 am, so we made pretty decent time. Lee commented that she knew when she entered Vermont , because not
only were the mountains greener, but the “air was different.” She said she was having some difficulty in
catching her breath. Okay, the Green Mountains might take one’s breath away, but I think
it was more of a change in altitude that she wasn’t use to.
The Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
Factory can be found off Interstate 89, about half-way between Montpelier
and Burlington . On the route I plotted, I considered taking
the Northway to Keesville, use the ferry to cross Lake Champlain to Burlington , and then
cruise down that way. I decided to give
Lee a chance to see a different set of mountains, because there was a second
stop we’d be making in Vermont after this, and the Northway was going to be the
way we were coming back (when I expected it to be after dark). No, let’s enjoy the scenery while there’s
some natural light. From Argyle, we went
to Whitehall (NY), crossed into Vermont , and
took Route 4 to Rutland . From there, we headed towards Stockbridge,
and then went north on a country route which would take us right to Waterbury , where Ben &
Jerry’s was located. This also allowed
Lee to look at the ski resorts of the area, and generally got a good look at
the Green Mountains .
The entire factory is probably the
size of an elementary or middle school, so it’s really not that big, but it
houses everything. The tour started with
a show about the history of how the company got founded, then we were walked
around to see the actual ice cream making process. There were only two extruder-type machines to
produce all the flavors, and each machine was tooled for a particular
batch. After making a million pints or
so, the machine was thoroughly cleaned, and then set for the next batch. All Ben & Jerry’s ice creams are a base
of chocolate or vanilla, it’s just what gets injected into it. From there, we went into an area which showed
all the various products they had, and got to try some of the new flavors that
were in the testing phase.
Certain flavors were more popular
than others, or had greater impact.
Those had specific displays. One
specific was for the flavor I liked the best, which was Phish Food. At the conclusion of the tour, we also got a
small dish of ice cream to enjoy, and had fun picking up some stuff at the gift
shop. When you’re flying home, there’s
limited quantities of stuff you can bring back.
Much of the items they had there had the cow silhouettes which are part
of their logo and décor. Even the picnic
area had all the tables painted in that particular white and black pattern.
Like any business, new products get
developed all the time, and some products either just don’t do well, are meant
to be a limited run, or get retired for other reasons. Ben & Jerry’s being founded by hippies
meant they decided to have some fun with it.
All the products which they no longer produced were memorialized in the
Flavor Graveyard. On the hill
overlooking the factory was a fenced-off area, and each flavor no longer
produced had its own headstone. The
headstones had the pint covers, the year the flavor was in production, and a
little limerick about it. I had shed a
tear for Rainforest Crunch, as that was Cara’s favorite, and I noted that in my
novel’s original draft with the character I based on her. Lee had to honor Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz
Buzz, as that had been her flavor of choice.
When we’d done everything we could
at Ben & Jerry’s, we then hopped on Interstate 89 to Burlington , and then shot north for Grand
Isle. Part of the plan, as we were going
to be relatively close by was to drop in on Glen and Amy Stegner, old friends
of mine from the college days at SUNY Plattsburgh (which ironically, wasn’t too
far from here). Taking the bridge across
Lake Champlain to Grand Isle gave Lee a chance
to look at this deep murky lake, but no site of the creature that is supposed
to dwell within.
After dinner with the Stegner’s,
and a lot of catching up of old times, it was time for us to head back to
Argyle. We picked up a ferry to get us
back to New York , and after feeding the car in
Plattsburgh , we
hauled ass back to Mum & Dad’s. It had
been a long day in the car, and we wanted to get one more good night’s sleep in
before we’d have to fly back to Texas . We had one more day in New York to enjoy though.
DAY EIGHT: Saturday,
12 August 2006
Today we packed our bags, so we
would’ve have to do it tomorrow morning when we were trying to make an early
flight out of Albany . A pavilion had been set up in the back yard
the previous day, with a large number of picnic tables, so we could have a
gathering of friends and family. It was
very much like the departure party I had back in 2002, but this was a chance to
see people I hadn’t been able to see on other trips. Of course, when you get large numbers of the
McWhorter’s together, strange antics are bound to happen. For example, a picture of a squirrel was
posted in a place for all to see, and we made comments about that.
During the time there, the
temperature had dipped down to the mid 70s, so most of us were wearing shorts
and t-shirts. Lee had her hoodie on and
wondered why we were cold. Lee showed
restraint in one amusing moment. Donna
had been talking about how when she’d done to Houston to visit her sister who lived near
Corpus. Donna made the comment that
seeing Houston was nice, but she wanted to see
“the real Texas .” Houston is one
of the three largest cities in Texas ,
you can’t get much more real than that.
I think what Donna had meant was she wanted to see of the “cowboy”
areas, which were out in the western parts if the state (and was what most
people think of when they think of Texas ). Now to put Donna’s phrase in perspective, it
would be like Lee having said that all this time she spent in New York State ,
she didn’t see New York City .
The afternoon was filled with a lot
of good conversation, and maintaining connections which those I hadn’t gotten
to see in a while. Lee also had fun
being introduced to everyone, and they looked forward to seeing in many future
engagements. This was also one of the
few times that a number of my friends’ had been in the same location since my
departure party. Jeff tried to look as
innocent as possible, and Shawn supervised, as Jer and John decided to have
some fun at my expense.
Eventually the part wound down, and
goodbyes were said. We got treated to
one final pretty sunset.
The next morning, we made our way
down to Albany , turned in our rental vehicle,
and had a nice flight back to Austin . It was a great ending to a fun week we had,
essentially the first vacation Lee and I spent together. It was a very enjoyable time in New York , and especially
how Lee got to see some of the places which helped form who I am today. I look forward to bringing her back to New York and showing her
more.
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