Moving on Down the Road

Three days after leaving PEI we are only 718 miles down the road.  But the road has been hilly, curvy, narrow, and bumpy for much of the way.  Almost all of today was spent on US 2 West and it was fairly slow going.  However, before leaving Timberland Campground I checked with the office and was relieved to discover that my lens hood had been found.  I have to find a way to tether it to the camera or strap somehow. 

The scenery today was outstanding.  We made a wrong turn and went ten miles out of the way but found a really nice vista.  You never know what you will find around the next curve.  Of course, it may not always be something good.

Carol Ann had read that the Cabot Creamery (Cabot Cheese) was just off US 2 and we decided to stop and take the tour.  When we got to the turn-off the sign said “Cabot 5 miles”.  We turned onto a very narrow and curvy country road that ran through a little valley.  It was cracked and broken and if a shoulder existed I couldn’t tell.  I began to silently question the wisdom of this side trip but we were committed because there was no possible place to turn around.  At last we saw the creamery ahead on the right, crowded between the road and a ridge behind it.  We saw a very narrow visitors’ parking lot as we drew closer.  There was a sign saying “NO BUSES.”  There was another sign with an arroww pointing past the creamery that said “BUS TURNAROUND.”  We drove slowly past the creamery desperately looking on both sides of the road for a place to park our 62-foot rig before we got to the designated turnaround.  We reached the turnaround and made a big U-turn.  It may have been the only place to do so for miles.  There was no way that I was going to continue down that road not knowing what lay ahead.  We bid farewell to the Cabot Creamery as we drove back by it and returned to US 2 West.

Now our sights were on the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream factory near Waterbury, VT.  We were hungry and hoped there would also be someplace along the way to grab a sandwich.  There were, but none had enough space to park our rig.  We finally made it to Ben & Jerry’s and before I turned in I did see an “RV Parking” sign pointing up the hill.  There was a very sharp and narrow turn at the top of the hill and people were walking around in the road like I wasn’t there but I managed to squeeze through the crowd with the help of a parking lot attendant.  The RV and bus lot was narrow with a cul-de-sac at the end for turning around.  I went around the cul-de-sac and pulled up next to a tour bus but I was longer than it and our car was still in the cul-de-sac.  The attendant asked me if I could back up.  Not unless I unhooked the car, I informed her.  She said OK and walked off.   As I mentioned, the place was crawling with people, we were tired, and we still didn’t know where we would be staying tonight.  We checked our campground directory and iPhone app, found a campground nearby, and called for a reservation.  Then we decided to just go on to the campground and come back tomorrow in the car.  We waved at the parking attendant as we left.

The campground, Golden Brook Campground, was in Stowe, VT, only about 8 miles away.  Before reaching the campground we passed a large Cabot Creamery Annex Store.  If only we had known.

We will be staying at the Golden Brook Campground for 2 nights.  We lucked out once again by getting the last campsite available.  The state fair begins this weekend in the field next door to the RV park.  After parking the RV we took about a 2-hour nap.  We’ll go to Ben & Jerry’s tomorrow