looking for fall

We were  on the road again

     We spent a couple of hours at Shelburne Farms this morning, taking a last look.  Then we drove a little over a mile to Shelburne Museum.
     Now the funny thing is I think we went to Shelburne Museum in 1983, the only time we have been to Vermont.  Jackie does not think we have been here.   But I have a vivid memory of the Ticonderoga steam ship, which can only be seen at this museum.  Emily?  Julia?  Either of you remember??
     When I get home I will look through photo books....if I can find them.
     Anyway, Shelburne is like Midway Village or Old World Wisconsin.  There is a tie in to Shelburne Farms, because the same family started both.  They were pretty rich.
     Here are some pictures from today....some are even in focus!!

I swear, we have been here before!

Aboard the Ticonderoga....who is the man in the mirror?

Just like Jonamac!

message on the school wall

We found a covered b ridge at the museum

I love the symmetry

This was a toy a man carved for his kids....over 3,600 individual pieces

This is another circus carved by a man over 40 years.  It is over 500 feet long and really cool!

There is a train there too

Museum had a special display of old time circus posters

Is this a personal comment?

Made a new friend today.....

I love the round barn

Wow....just wow

We spent the day on the farm

     Or farms, more accurately..
     I don't understand the concept of being super rich.
     Shelburne Farms is an example of that.
     In a nutshell.....  A Vanderbilt inherited $10 million from her grandfather in 1881.  I thank that is a bazzion dollars today, but I am not guaranteeing  accuracy in my figures.
     Anyway, her husband started buying up farms in the Shelburne area in 1885...he ended up buying 36 farms, or so I heard.  Why?  He wanted to create a summer get away.
     They built a palatial estate, gardens, and farm buildings to house all their toys.  For example, they had a carriage barn that was home for 30 carriages.  The barn has two levels and a "platform" that a carriage can be put on and hoisted manually up to the second floor for storage.
     I believe the main house is 40,000 square feet...enough room for the family, I suppose.  There is a mile and a half of frontage on Lake Champlain.  The estate eventually topped out at 3,200 acres.
     Things change...Depression, the automobile, death, income taxes....and in the 1960s the youngest son and heir gathered his children and said, we can't afford this.  There is an opportunity to sell off the property to developers and the house as a resort.  What do we do?
     The kids said.....no.  Don't sell.
     They brainstormed ideas and came up with this:  Turn the farms into a not for profit organization that preserves and educates.
     That's what they do.  They actually have a school for youngsters through sixth grade, if I remember.  They also do conservation classes....drawing over 30,000 students a year.  Most of the 62 full time year round employees are educators.
     Their mission is to find ways to promote sustainable agriculture and a sustainable life style.  Solar panels provide 20 percent of the power.  The lamb and beef served for dinner were animals raised on the farm.  Chickens provide the eggs.   Livestock waste is the only fertilizer used.
     The foundation leases space for private businesses.  The foundation makes cheese and maple syrup which is sold to sustain the efforts  Fundraisers are held to restore buildings.
     The farms have shrunk to 1,300 acres, of which 400 are wooded and 300 grazed.  There are walking paths all over the place and town residents can use the grounds for walking or cross country skiing.
     Education is the main focus,  trying to teach  ways to live in harmony with the earth.
     All done in a drop dead gorgeous setting.
     Cue the camera.....

The Farm Barn

The inn

Out for a sail....view from the lawn

Making cheese in the Farm Barn.

The Farm Barn from te back

Sitting hall at the Inn.....fire was nice today because it was cold!

Inn is an old one!

Inn from lakeside....formal gardens have partially been restored

All the stucco panels have the same patter on the inn

The inn from the side

The Carriage Barn is now a center for art shows and other community events

This is the school in the Farm Barn

Wood shop in the Farm Barn,

I got to milk a cow in the kid's area!

ahhh....finally

I think I found heaven today

     This was, without a doubt, the best day of the trip!
      Lots of reasons.
     We did not get lost.  (Ok, we ended up at Shelburne Airport instead of Shelburne Farms, but we were close.  Damn auto correct.)
     Jackie did not fall.
     We drove almost to the top of a mountain.
     We met a sweet baby!
     Had a great lunch.
     Enjoyed a quiet night in the Pottery Shed.
     Visited some old friends.
     First off, Josie!  She is the 8 month old daughter of Luke and Christine, really nice people who used to go to church with us in DeKalb.  Last August Luke got a job at Green Mountain College and Josie was born in January.
    Jackie and I really like Luke and Chris.....so when we decided to take the trip east to see fall colors, we thought we would stop in an visit them and meet Josie.  She s adorable and did not cry when I held her!
     We went to lunch at a local place in Poultney and I had a delicious chicken and gravy over biscuits with a butternut squash soup....it was awesome.
     We got to tour the campus of Green Mountain College and just enjoyed a beautiful fall day with wonderful people.
     Our spot at Shelburne Farms is on a bluff overlooking Lake Champlain.  It is dark out, very dark, and it isn't even 8 p.m.!
     It is also quiet.  Very, very, quiet.  Tonight's low is supposed to be in the upper 40s.....hello fall!
     We came to see the fall colors, but unless the fall color is green, we are coming p a little short.
     Before leaving Lake George NY we went up Veteran's Highway to get some overviews of the area.  It is drop dead  beautiful.
     Enough of me....here are some pictures.

I love neon signs......this one would never pass muster today

In 1875 a cog railway was built to the top....some ruins remain

Lake George

Me on the way up Veteran's Highway

Not a typical school.....but it was built in 1830

Luke and Chris with Josie....Jackie is really happy, she just doesn't like the chair

at the diner

Our place for the next two nights

view out our door

view from the garden at the inn

saw lots of solar fields in Vermont

You always have to watch for deer and...... camels?

chancey showers

I saw Niagra Fallls today

     It was in our hotel room, near the falls.
     It was a reainy day.
     But the outside showers were not the only issue.
     Monday morning our shower was so weak, it took forever for the water to cover my rather rotund figure.  Seriously, I have seen more powerful showers in every other room I have ever stayed in.  It was not a great shower experience.
       But it beat today's  by a mile.
     We are staying in accessible rooms.  This means they have wider door frames and low entry showers.
     In theory, that is great.
     So, Jackie took her shower today.  Powerful shower.  Best shower in the world.  No one can make a shower better.  Sorry, I did watch the debates.
     Anyway, she gets done and yells , "Terry, there is water on the floor."
     And it was on the floor.  In the bathroom.  In the hall.  In the closet.,  A lot of water.  Maybe a quarter inch in the corners.
     So I started sweeping it toward the floor drain.  After about 20 minutes, I had most, not all, the water swept up.,  Jackie was getting dressed.  I had to perform my normal bathroom morning routine.  As I am sitting on the pot, there is a pounding on the door.  Jackie can't hear it because she is running the hair dryer plus she has not gotten dressed yet.
     TMI....so I will quit there.
     I eventually let the maintenance man in, who has a bunch of towels.  I explain the water just didn't hit the floor drain.
     His response:  It happens all the time.  The floor has settled and the shower drains away from the floor drain.  And now water was dripping down into the meeting room below.
     When it was my turn to shower, I used as little water as possible.  A navy shower....turned the water off, lathered up, turned the water on to rinse.
On our way out of the hotel, I again apologized and the clerk actually said, "Don't worry.  It happens every time someone runs the shower."
     Really?  Maybe you should not rent the room.
     Met a real nice man in Lake George NY tonight.  Jackie and I went to an Italian restaurant, but there were too many steps, so we left.  We passed a young guy and he asked if the food was good, we said we didn't know and explained why.  He told us about another restaurant about 3 miles down the road that was on a level basis.
     He was a strong looking young guy.  He went into the restaurant and we went to the car where   Jackie promptly lost her balance and lay down in the parking lot.  No injuries.  It was a soft landing.
     I went into the restuarant, saw the guy and said, "Could you do me another favor?  My wife is laying in the parking lot and I can't pick her up."
     Like I said, he was a strong guy.
     All is well that ends well.
     The restaurant he recommneded was great.
     And now, some pictures.

Here I am at Niagara Falls

Really? This was at a drinking fountain!

A lock on the Erie Canal

Followed the numerous signs to the Erie Canal Historical center. 

fall display..... the yellow tape means it is closed.  Very secure system.

Lake George

Ahoy matey!

This is a local name for small laugh... fitting for me