The next morning, I was up at 9. That bed was really comfortable too. I had heard that it got down to about -17 degrees that night. The rental car was having issues starting with it being so frigid. I pulled a "Marty McFly" on the stalled car and it actually worked!! I rubbed my sore noggin' and drove on!
Since it was daylight, I had a better chance to see my surroundings. Off in the distance was the mountain we had flown over the day prior, the highest peak in Vermont, Mount Mansfield. I drove around some long, icy streets just to see what kind of houses there were in the area, and had no particular plans.
My only real mission was to get on a snowmobile. I pulled into the rental shop and learned that sadly, it would be "a few days" before the state would allow snowmobiling on the trails. Nothing was ready yet. Their websites hadn't said anything about this, so I was pretty bummed out.
...and what do you do when you're bummed out?
that's right! I was at Ben & Jerry's minutes later, taking the tour. The production had halted for the holidays so they could make production improvements, but I still got to see the factory and learn about the two dropouts-turned-millionaires. The sample flavors were Cherry Garcia and Oatmeal Cookie Chunk, which were really good!
After the tour, I drove back to find some lunch- I opted for Pie in the Sky, a wood-stove pizza place. They had a really, really good barbecue chicken pizza. (and a lunctime buffet, for future reference)
Stuffed and full, it didn't stop me from trying "Half-Baked," the pint of Ben & Jerry's I wanted to try after the tour. Keeping it cold was easy. I just kept it in the car. It had warmed up to 0 degrees, so I wasn't worried about melting.
I signed online on a crappy connection and did some homework, while watching TV. This was a chill day for me. No plans at all. I finished up some work and got back outside to do some driving.
I went out to Mount Mansfield and checked out the slopes. I decided that since I couldn't snowmobile, I didn't want to get myself banged up. (I'll hit the hills next time I'm up there). Anyhow, it was nice to see the area. I turned back and pulled over to take some photos of the town as I drove along.
When the sun went down, I was back in the room watching DVDs. This was the chill time I so desperately needed. I saw Y Tu Mama Tambien and Mystic River. The former is a Mexican movie about two horny teenage guys taking a road trip with a hot cousin. The latter is more of a who-done-it kind of flick set in modern times. Both not bad.
It was about 9pm, so I hit the road for dinner. I knew this was when I'd go see the Rusty Nail and check out their food. Outside, their guys were working on an ice bar. In a few more days, this will be fully covered like an ice castle, with a bar and liquor chutes made completely out of blocks of ice. It was neat watching them work.
The bartender and I caught the end of "The Real Gilligan's Island" on TV as I worked on a Jack & Coke and some fried calamari. This was BY FAR the best calamari I've ever had. When it was done, I didn't want an entree. I ordered another round and another plate of calamari. Sadly, they were out of the flour used to fry them, so I go the Buffalo chicken strips and zucchini fries (which were also excellent).
I asked the bartender and the army guy (the two others besides me at the bar on this tuesday night) where I could go to see a moose. Neither had found a place where you were sure to see them, except to say that they're where you least expect them, often at night in the middle of the highway. I was bummed that I wouldn't be seeing any moose in this trip, and when I paid my tab, I hit the road to try and find some.
I drove up to the Trapp Family Lodge, reportedly where the Trapp Family settled after escaping from Austria (you know, as seen in "The Sound of Music?") The view of Mt. Mansfield from there was great, but it was too dark for a photo to come out successfully.
I came back to the room, did more homework and hit the hay. I'd have to say it was a great day. Chilly and chill.
