Day 12--Reunion in Randolph, VT

Day 12, Wednesday, June 23
Button Bay, VT, to Randolph, VT
60 miles

It rained heavily all night, again ruining our plans for a morning ride before driving to Suz’s friends’ house in Randolph, VT. Nonetheless, we ate our usual bowl of oatmeal and then packed up our soggy tents and gear. It took us three hours to eat breakfast and break camp. We must do much better than that on the ride!

My wet, soggy tent

Determined to get in a ride, we donned our bike clothes and started out along the Champlain Bikeway in the opposite direction of the day before. Soon we were in a resort area that also contained the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. We stopped here at 9:50 am and the woman putting up the flag told us that they opened at 10 but that we could begin our tour. When we saw a $9 entry fee, we told her that we had to be out of our campsite by 11 and that we thought we’d skip the tour. She really wanted us to see the place, so gave us entry stickers and told us to donate something on the way out. We went to the building with the video she recommended but the lights would not turn on nor would the video work, so we walked to the harbor and saw the longboats, a Lake Champlain replica of the gunboat Philadelphia, and a replica of the 1800s schooner Lois McClure. Two re-enactors who were there took us on a tour of the boats and told us their histories.

The 1800's Lois McClure Schooner

Galley

Suz checking out a supply box

Re-enactor--a much stouter version of Cap Huff?

The Philadelphia, a 1700's lake gunboat

Two beautiful long boats docked near the ships

After this we rode back to the campgrounds, packed up the last of our things, and started off toward Randolph. We had cycled only 4.5 miles!

We stopped in Middlebury for lunch and a visit to the folk museum next door to the restaurant. Ironically I had stopped here and visited the folk museum just the year before when on the C2C ride. Finally we headed out of town to pick up Hwy 123 over the mountains and past the Waybury Inn.

Internet photo of the Waybury Inn where Jeff & I held our wedding luncheon in 1969.

Decoy display in the Middlebury Folk Museum

Hwy 123 was being resurfaced, so it was a slow, dusty climb. We stopped at the Ripton General Store and bought two wedges of VT Sharp Cheese (I'd stopped here last year, too).

The proprietress at Ripton General Store, still using an antique cash register

Ripton General Store, site of frequent snack cheese runs when Jeff and I attended Bread Load School of English

Ripton General Store woodstove, still in use during the winter months

Near the top of the mountain we passed the Robert Frost Wayside and then came to Bread Loaf. I was driving, so drove us onto the campus a bit.

Bread Loaf dormitories, nearest is Larch; the other is Birch where Jeff and I had  a room on the third floor

After passing Bread Loaf, we drove down to the Middlebury Snow Bowl for a quick look, and then stopped at Texas Falls. Here rock hound Suz gathered some more rocks (she had gathered some small ones the day before at Lake Champlain).

Suz posing prettily whilst gathering stones

On the other side of the mountain, we stopped in Rochester at a used book/bakery across from the Pumpkin Patch B & B where I stayed last summer with the C2C crew. We hung a left out of Rochester and climbed over Rochester mountain to Hwy 12, which we took north to Randolph. The road was very scenic and steep.

We got to Randolph about 4:30 pm. No one was home, and we were just deciding to tour the town a bit when Gordon and Bonnie Grant pulled in. These are old friends of Suz's and her first husband, Luke's dad. Their house is enormous and painted orange, yellow, and red. We were eating cheese and crackers and enjoying a glass of wine when Luke and Diane pulled in, they, too, with a bottle of wine and a loaf of delicious crusty bread. They had driven down to this reunion from Montreal.

Dinner was chili a delicious salad, and Luke & Diane’s bread. After dinner we took a walk through this picturesque town and then returned for brownies and yogurt ice cream before bed.