We left Josh and Karla’s and drove down to Newport News, VA to visit Sarah and Karl and their menagerie: it was great to see them after over five years! Even with Meg squeezing in a lot of work and Matt getting a long overdue haircut, we still managed to spend a lot of time on their screened-in porch catching up, and also visited a few of their favorite breweries and a few new restaurants: Sly Clyde Ciderworks and Masala Craft were standouts.
Our primary goal today was to relax and recover from two difficult work weeks. After sleeping in we had a late breakfast from a small family-owned cafe in town. In the afternoon we drove to Arrowood Farms, a brewery we’ve been wanting to visit for a while. On the way we stopped for a short walk along the Liberty Rail Trail.
We took to the back roads yet again, and drove across the Catskills (for the last time, for real) to Livingston Manor, NY, stopping at a few of our favorite places one last time: Mama’s Boy Burgers and frozen custard, Café Marguerite for pastries and coffee, Wayside Cider for a few bottles of cider, and Catskill Brewery where we met a new sweet doberman friend! The AirBnB in Livingston Manor is spacious and charming, and we enjoyed an amazing dinner at The Kaatskeller.
Today, after a return to the floating bridge at Sunset lake, we left Vermont and drove to Stockbridge, MA, winding through the Green, Taconic and Berkshire Mountains for just over 150 miles: the views were stunning the whole way!
We started the day off with work sessions, and then grilled up another lunch of farmstand goodies. Later in the afternoon we went down to Brocklebank Craft Brewing, a nano-brewery run by our friend Seán’s aunt and uncle. Afterwards we wandered back, through Randolph, where we had a lovely alfresco dinner before heading home in hopes of spotting some meteors!
We had a lovely afternoon in Montpelier, stopping at farmstands along the way, poking around in all the local shops, and enjoying a fantastic lunch at Three Penny Taproom. We made it home just as the rain started.
This morning we took a walk around the farm where we are staying. There are mowed paths through two meadows that make for a nice morning wander. We also checked out the garden, greenhouse, creek and pond. After our walk, and a quick morning hello to our furry hosts, it was another big day of work.
We woke to the sounds of birds and the stream that runs just outside our little cabin. We both worked for a good chunk of the day, with visits from our canine hosts. The weather is beautiful, with highs in the mid-70’s and lows just over 50. Definitely windows and doors open.
After a pretty intense hour of rain last night, we woke up dry, broke camp and had breakfast at the nearby Phoenicia Diner. Then we drove 200 miles to Roxbury, VT to our AirBnB for the week, stopping at farmstands along the way.
We got to have coffee with our friends Frank and Ni just outside of New Paltz before taking a short drive to the Kenneth L Wilson campground in the Catskills. We’re hoping to stay dry tonight and will head to Vermont tomorrow morning.
