WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES
WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATESElizabeth started her day with some freshly made Mad River Inn pancakes, while I had a fresh fruit bowl. From there, Elizabeth went back to the Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm and took the same horse as the day before, "Fiefel" as she and several others did another 3-hour trail ride, this time straight up the mountain with spectacular views down into the valley.
As for me, after watching Hussein Bolt smash the 100 meter world record in style at the Beijing Olympics on television, Mad River Inn's owner Luc drove me to the garage where I picked up our repaired car. I decided to test the engine's thermometer by driving back up towards Lincoln Gap, which I did with no problems; feeling motivated and happy that our car was now in good shape, I parked and ran the 8 kilometer round trip summit of Mt. Abraham, which offered great views covered by some sporadic clouds. I was able to take a few photos and video, here's a photo from the summit.
After a rather slippery run down the hill, Elizabeth and I met up, had another lunch at the Sweet Pea health food store, then made the short drive to Sugarbush. The highlight was definitely doing the zip line, with video to follow (here's a link to Sugarbush's zip line page). After bumping into our new friend Tom from the first repair shop, we did a short hike up one of Sugarbush's ski runs for some nice views back down, before returning back to the inn to prepare for our massage.
We both had a nice deep tissue and reflexology session at the Mad River Massage spa shop (www.madrivermassage.com), making us rather sleep and hungry! We tried to stop off the popular American Flatbread restaurant, but with an hour and a half wait, we decided instead to go to John Egan's Big World Restaurant and Pub (long name, here's the site) for a quick bite. This actually turned out surprisingly tasty, with delicious French fries and the "Vegan Egan", a dish of tofu curry on basmati rice, along with a good falafel dish.
Now fully stuffed and sleepy, it was time to retire to our room, watch the completion of the women's marathon in Beijing then turn off the lights, knowing our trip to Vermont is almost over..
08/21/08 by visitEarth
Day 2 was jam packed with interesting activities and events. After breakfast, we drove a few kilometers away to the Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm, run by Luc's wife. We took a 3-hour horse ride on the famous Icelandic Horses with their unique and unusually smooth gait, called the "Tolt". The tour started on some of the side roads along and through the hills, before dipping in and out of the trails. My bum became quite sore after an hour, but was easily set aside when the horses got going, charging up the hills as allowed. My horse "Scarp" is actually quite a bit overweight after taking a few months off but still eating, so his mind was going fast up the hills even as his body started to get tired. Overall I quite enjoyed it, but it was Elizabeth truly appreciated these horses, most notably their toughness and bravery as we went up and down steep, rocky hills that were very muddy and slippery in places. I shot quite a bit of video from atop my horse, which I'll post as soon as I can. In the meantime, here are a few photos of the farm and the horses we rode.
After the horse ride, it was time for lunch, so back to the Sweet Pea where we stocked up on vegan dumplings, some fresh bread and other tasty treats. Next on our agenda was a nice high hike up the Long Trail along the Lincoln Gap. As we started the drive up towards the trailhead, our car's engine started to get warm, then suddenly as we rounded a steep corner, the temperature gauge shot up and as we pulled over steam started to roll over the hood. Yes, on a late Friday afternoon, up a mountain on a single lane road and out of cel phone range, our engine overheated.
After giving the engine a few minutes to try to cool down, we managed to turn our car around and coasted downhill, but as soon as we hit a flat part and had to press the accelerator, the engine spiked up so we just pulled aside and tried to figure out what to do. And this is where we had several counts of good fortune: first, two different cars stopped for us and offered to drive us into the next little town, which we accepted; then a little body shop took us in and called in a repair service that has a towtruck and works on the weekends; finally, Andrew from Sugarbush Car Service picked us up, brought our car back to their shop, and said they'd have the small (inexpensive) part purchased and installed by the next morning. Phew!
So we took a taxi cab back to the Mad River Inn, and decided to still make the most of our day so had another 8 kilometer hike, this time up Fayston mountain along some gravel roads and dirt paths. We came home tired and hungry, so finished off our lunch leftovers on the back deck in the sunset before watching more Olympics on television before falling asleep. Here's a photo of our deck view.
08/19/08 by visitEarth
We arrived in Waitsfield, Vermont this afternoon to a warm day and sunny skies. The area is beautiful, lots of pine and maple covered hills and rolling mountains, with the Mad River running through town. The Mad River Inn is our accommodation for 3 nights, and our French Canadian / American host Luc met us and we went to our room - the "Hayden Breeze" room has views out the front and a mountain view from the side across corn fields. Here's a photo of the B&B.
After checking in, the first thing we did was make the short drive out to the Sweet Pea natural food store to scope out their fares and get some suggestions for some close hikes.
We tried to hike up Scrag Mountain, but somehow either the map was wrong or our sense of direction was off, because we started up a trail that seemed to disappear. Surrounded by "Warning, trespassers will be prosecuted" signs, we decided to cut short and find another hike. We ended up talking an 8-kilometer hike right along the Mad River, called unsurprisingly the "Mad River Greenway". It was flat but pretty, meandering along the river and next to massive cornfields with the tree-covered mountains in the background. Here's a photo towards the start of the hike.
By the time we were done, it was dinner time and we chose one of the recommended restaurants for vegetarians, the Hyde Away Inn. Although we missed Vegetarian Wednesdays, there were still several vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu. Elizabeth had the spinach and ricotta ravioli, while I had the vegetarian wrap and couldn't refuse the french fries either. Most interesting was the Seitan Jerkey salad appetizer, which was incredibly tasty. After dinner we came back to the hotel and watched some Olympics before falling asleep. Over the next few days, I hope to be able to post some accompanying photos and videos as well...
08/18/08 by visitEarth
Well, we haven't made it to Iceland yet although it's still a possibility later in the year. So in the meantime, we thought we'd do the closest best thing - riding Icelandic horses in Vermont!
We're traveling to Waitsfield, Vermont which is about 30 minutes south of Burlington and staying with a husband and wife team who together operate a cute bed and breakfast called the Mad River Inn and the Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm. I'll likely only ride one day and then rest my bum, but Elizabeth is scheduled for two days of riding with the possibility of a third. Who knows, maybe I'll like their unusual riding gait enough to do it again!
I'll be writing from on the road, with some photo essays as usual; in the meantime, feel free to check out the web sites for the Mad River Inn (www.madriverinn.com) and the Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm (www.icelandichorses.com).
Cheers!
Bryan & Elizabeth
08/14/08 by visitEarth
Here's a great video showing the Great China Herb Company in San Francisco's Chinatown. The host guides us through the process from the doctor's visit and questions through to completing the herbal order at the pharmacy. The West Coast of the U.S. and especially northern California is much more open to these "eastern" or "alternative" medicines and treatments than most other parts of North America; so it's great to see this shop doing well in San Fran!
07/14/08 by visitEarth
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