Thanksgiving Round Two!

Last Thursday was American Thanksgiving. We went up to Vermont to celebrate the holiday with some friends. We stayed in two large cabins in a fairly secluded area. It was nice to get away from the city and see some country side. Vermont is beautiful...mountains, farms, quaint sleepy little towns...loved it!

We arrived mid-afternoon on Thursday and got to cooking pretty quickly. I was in charge of all things potato. I made mashed potatoes and a sweet potato casserole. I also made mini blueberry cheese cakes, which are sooooo delicious and easy to make. There were about 20 people, so there was a lot of food! Yum yum! Two thanksgivings a year is fine by me.

The Gang

Friday morning we were up bright and early. Apparently we can't sleep in anymore. After breakfast we went to Billings Farm, located in a little town called Woodstock. It was about a 45min drive from where we were staying. This farm had a bunch of horses, cows, sheep, and chickens, so it was great for the little ones. The smell was "fresh", but it was worth it because the little baby calves were so cute!

The farm also had a house that was built in 1890. The farm staff were dressed in traditional period clothing and were making a thanksgiving dinner on a wood burning stove. But, the food was for DISPLAY ONLY! What??? No food for us?? It smelled so good and we couldn't eat any of it....just look at it in all it's mouthwatering glory. TEASE! They did have sugar cookies and ginger snaps to eat and hot apple cider to drink, so I guess that partially made up for it.

We were so hungry after the farm so we went for a late lunch back in town. We ate at a restaurant called Bentley's. They had the most amazing Christmas display I've ever seen. They hung Christmas baubles of all different sizes and colours from the ceiling. After lunch we walked around town. A toy store had life size playmobil! I was like a kid again. LOVED Playmobil.

Life size Playmobil!!

Saturday morning we went to Killington for a day of boarding. The ski resort was very close to the cabin. Killington makes most of it's snow, so they opened in early November. Only 21 runs were open, but it was still pretty great considering almost all the snow was made by machines. On the way up the chairlift there was nothing but dead grass and dirt below us, but once we got up to the top there was a bunch of snow. It also starting snowing in the afternoon and I've never been so happy to see it!

That night Pat and I played with the camera outside and came up with some interesting ghost-like shots. We used a flash light and a long exposure setting to get the effects.

On Sunday it was time to leave....back to reality. After breakfast and packing we made our way back to Boston, but not without a few stops first. We stopped at the Long Trail brewery, which coincidentally just happens to be Pat's current favourite beer. We sampled six different kinds of beer. This brewery runs on Cow Power renewable energy, which I thought was pretty interesting.

After the brewery we stopped at Sugarbush Farm. They make cheese, jams, and maple syrup. Yum yum! After sampling everything in sight we purchased some raspberry rhubarb jam, extra sharp cheese, jalapeno cheese, sausage, and crackers and had a little picnic in the car.

So adorable

Clearly very impressed

These were only 4 ounces each....this angle makes them look a lot bigger