Tuesday, Smuggler’s Notch. We met family members in their condo in Smuggler’s Notch, and it was wonderful to see them. We manage to see each other only every 5 years or so. They’re such great people that we would love ot make it much more often, but it’s just tough, because we live so very far apart. We all happened to be here at this time though, so settled in for a great visit, and played Hearts into the night.
Wednesday, we made our way over the mountain to Shelburne Museum for a full day of marvelous experiences. It’s over 40 acres of grounds where they’ve brought together all kinds of structures that explore parts of America. There’s the steam driven paddlewheeler Ticonderoga, brought to that site from 5 miles away on Lake Champlain. Afte4r it retired in 1956. What a unique opportunity to wander all over that ship, peeking int staterooms, crew quarters, engine room, dining room and even into the wheelhouse at the top. The two Jims had fun pretending to push the giant paddlewheel around.
There were three unique barns on the grounds and they were open so we could see the unusual features of each. The round barn provided the welcome center, with a center silo and hung with beautiful quilts everywhere, and also an assortment of chandeliers of unusual materials. One was a 36” ball of gorgeous crystal, another was assembled a ring of those desk lamps on rods and tension springs and looked like a giant spider ready to walk off. Another was made u of pingpong balls and looked really elegant, and still another was of plastic cutlery. What an assortment of fascinating things.
There was a horseshoe shaped barn, built that way so horses and wagons could drive in one end and on through out the other. Each made good use of gravity to move supplies, feed and waste products to ease the work for the farmer.
A working printshop let us see old m,achinery in action, and a weaving studio turned out gorgeously creative pieces, and was complete to a dyer’s garden.
In one small log cabin, a frontier woman in a long dress and bonnet stood next to a fireplace, warm and cozy on this cool day.
One of the most fascinating buildings was dedicated to Shaker history. A film talked about how they lived communally and pooled their work and thought to make a very successful community. One of the greatest comments was in a film. They had harnessed the power of a stream to operate 5 different manufacturing processes, letting it flow freely in between each process. A neighbor complained that once those Shakers were through with the water, it was, “All worn out!”
A great day, then a nice dinner in the evening, and finished the night with a long game of hearts until late. Great times.
Wednesday. We bid farewell to our family and headed off over the mountain to friends near Killington. Beautiful scenery wherever we looked, touring the mountains with them during the day, and a sauna at night, has us almost ready for bed already. More tomorrow.
Wednesday, we made our way over the mountain to Shelburne Museum for a full day of marvelous experiences. It’s over 40 acres of grounds where they’ve brought together all kinds of structures that explore parts of America. There’s the steam driven paddlewheeler Ticonderoga, brought to that site from 5 miles away on Lake Champlain. Afte4r it retired in 1956. What a unique opportunity to wander all over that ship, peeking int staterooms, crew quarters, engine room, dining room and even into the wheelhouse at the top. The two Jims had fun pretending to push the giant paddlewheel around.
There were three unique barns on the grounds and they were open so we could see the unusual features of each. The round barn provided the welcome center, with a center silo and hung with beautiful quilts everywhere, and also an assortment of chandeliers of unusual materials. One was a 36” ball of gorgeous crystal, another was assembled a ring of those desk lamps on rods and tension springs and looked like a giant spider ready to walk off. Another was made u of pingpong balls and looked really elegant, and still another was of plastic cutlery. What an assortment of fascinating things.
There was a horseshoe shaped barn, built that way so horses and wagons could drive in one end and on through out the other. Each made good use of gravity to move supplies, feed and waste products to ease the work for the farmer.
A working printshop let us see old m,achinery in action, and a weaving studio turned out gorgeously creative pieces, and was complete to a dyer’s garden.
In one small log cabin, a frontier woman in a long dress and bonnet stood next to a fireplace, warm and cozy on this cool day.
One of the most fascinating buildings was dedicated to Shaker history. A film talked about how they lived communally and pooled their work and thought to make a very successful community. One of the greatest comments was in a film. They had harnessed the power of a stream to operate 5 different manufacturing processes, letting it flow freely in between each process. A neighbor complained that once those Shakers were through with the water, it was, “All worn out!”
A great day, then a nice dinner in the evening, and finished the night with a long game of hearts until late. Great times.
Wednesday. We bid farewell to our family and headed off over the mountain to friends near Killington. Beautiful scenery wherever we looked, touring the mountains with them during the day, and a sauna at night, has us almost ready for bed already. More tomorrow.
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