Day three...

The weather was on our side today. Most people probably wouldn't say that about storm clouds and rain, but since today was our "drive around Vermont looking for a covered bridge" day, it worked out perfectly. We left Concord early and headed up into Vermont. We ate lunch at a delicious Italian restaurant in downtown Montpelier, Vermont. My GPS (codename: Gladys) was telling me we were going to hit our destination in only 1/2 mile, but true to the Vermont landscape, there was nothing around. We were surrounded by trees and hills and neither Tara nor I could imagine the state capital of Vermont was less than 1/2 mile away. But we turned a corner and there it was. The smallest capital in the United States.

After lunch (steak sandwich=delicious!) we headed 10 west to Waterbury to go to the Ben and Jerry's factory. I didn't realize how excited I'd be until we pulled into the driveway and I saw the signs and the giant silos of cream. The tour was pretty mellow, and we got to stare down on the factory workers (I could hear ABBA ever so lightly through the giant windows) as they made their wares. Our tour guide could tell that Tara and I were no usual tourists, gabbing and exclaiming the whole tour. I was even accused of being a spy for Haagen Dazs and one point. We got to the flavor room, which is where Ben and Jerry and many employees have thought of flavors, taste tested, and named the beauties we all eat every day. Our tour guide asked me to put on a goofy hat, do a twirl, and welcome the rest of our group to the flavor room. So I did.
After leaving Ben and Jerry's we stopped by a locally owned maple farm called Bragg Family Farm on the recommendation of our server at the Italian restaurant. We taste tested maple syrups (I didn't even know that was a thing!) and it was a lot like testing beer; light to dark. The women working there were super nice (just like everyone in Vermont) and they were able to direct us to our first (and only) Vermont covered bridge. We have them in the Willamette Valley, and when I lived in Corvallis, I was only a mile from a historic covered bridge. But this was different. We were in Vermont.