This year we didn’t exactly have the coin to go on a vacation but we managed to get some travel in even if it was local. One thing M and I like to on a nice weekend is take a drive through the mountains with the top down. I like to do what I have dubbed “The Loop”. We start going south out of town then we hang a left and climb up a mountain, go around a mountain, and eventually come down a mountain and we end up north of town. Like how that works, welcome to Vermont!
Along the way we stopped at a state park named Texas Falls; falls yes Texas not so much! But it is 1 of my favorite spots to just hang out. It is also, 1 of the first spots we found when we moved here and there is a great story that goes with it but I am not ad liberty to tell it ;).
There was some kind of wedding taking place this day so we could not get a good picture of the falls, but I can say they were nice.
There is also a blue berry patch that we often stop and pick our own leaving our money in a box left for just that reason and we end up stopping whenever we see something cool.
This year with all the rain we managed to see quite a few waterfalls just along side the road and it made for very nice views as we climbed the mountain. We stopped a couple of times and got some pretty shots. It was a coolish day the sun was in and out with a little rain. We did have to put the top up towards the end of the day but we had a good time none the less.
Here is a view from the top of 1 mountain we climbed that day. It is 1 of my favorite roads. You have to drive (either direction) a very steep and winding road. You are actually riding the side of the mountain and it gives you a weird feeling as you look down and realize you are just hanging off the side of this mountain and there is nothing stopping you from going over except this tiny guard rail. Its pretty cool. (And yes Amity this is the road where I believe you said it “made you week in the knees”!) By the way they close this road in the winter for good reason.
Towards the end of the drive we find ourselves in a nice little town with 1 of our favorites restaurants and a creamy stand! For those not in the know up here they call soft serve ice cream, creamies. It is fitting no?
Well since this is a “FOOD BLOG” I guess I should tell you all about our early evening dinner. If you ever find yourself in Bristol Vermont (about 45 minutes south of Burlington) The Bobcat Cafe should not be missed. We really enjoy this place. The food is always good, never pretentious, and the atmosphere is very comfortable. We have never had a bad time here. Over Christmas I even took my dad for a few drinks and snacks on our way home from Burlington. Even he loved it with its antique bar great selection of wines and home brewed beer.
When we arrived it was fairly early so we were not in the mood for a huge dinner though we deffinately could have gotten our fill. M ordered a small bucket of wings. Now M is quite the wing afficiando and is very picky when it comes to chicken wings and this is 1 of his favorites. They give a good size portion and they are perfectly crispy however, they do their sauce a bit different than other places. It is more of a savory chili sauce. M asks them to heat it up a bit and they have no problem with his request. They are saucey, spicy and crispy served with a side of house blue cheese. He ordered a side of herbed fries with a chipolte mayonaise. Not exactly the healthiest meal but it sure was tasty!
I was a little chilly so I ordered their steamed little neck clams in a bacon potato ale chowder. Yes it was as good as it sounds. It was a good size portion of the steamers bathed in the goodness that is bacon and cream! I think I might have licked the bowl. I topped it off with a nice glass of Chardonay and was more than satisfied.
We finished our meals and took a short walk on over to the creemee stand for dessert. We enjoyed it with a view looking over the mountains. Vermont is really pretty and though “you can’t [always] get there from here” it is a nice place to call home.
