Vermont

Vermont is way prettier than I imagined. Lots and lots of green. And gorgeous rivers that have just enough white water to know they're moving, but not enough to make you think to get a raft and go for a ride. Bob Ross would have had a field day with the inspiration from that place.

Fun trip. Bit hard due to back issues and not some of the best paved roads in the country, but we still did have a great time.

Hit the Vermont Teddy Bear factory. Very cool. Each of the girls got one of the smaller (read: not crazy expensive) teddy bears from Ma and Pa. Lizzie named hers Heart. Ellie named hers Mine. Yep. :-)

Then we hit the Ben and Jerry's factory. Super impressed. The Flavor Graveyard behind the factory was hilarious. And the free sample of Cake Batter ice cream was very tasty and über rich. I don't think I could handle much more than that little sample size.

This morning we ate at the Farmer's Diner. From their mission statement:

The concept behind The Farmers Diner is simple. We are shortening the road from the farm field to the diner plate. The current commercial food system is a mess. The Farmers Diner follows a simple design: buy great ingredients directly from area farmers and prepare great meals for local customers. Vermonters should eat Vermont raised foods-this creates security and health-healthy economies, healthy communities, healthy bodies.

And boy does it taste fresh. You walk in and they've got a map where each of the products come from (eggs come from this farm, nuts/granola come from this farm, etc.). Each individual item didn't necessarily stick out as "Oh my gosh, this is amazing!" (well, the pancakes we're really good), but put together, the best breakfast I've had.

And we're all glad to be back at home. In our own beds. Well, for the time being. Steph and I bought a new bed today. See: my back issues and Steph's pregnancy. :-)