Thanksgiving in Vermont

December 02, 2013

Thanksgiving in Vermont

I'm not sure if Vermont will ever stop being "home" and I hope that day never comes. There is just something about the days leading up to a drive to the Green Mountains that makes every imperfection at work or around the house flutter out the window. I so look forward to the hours in the car where all I have to do is get from point A to point B, listening to full albums of my favorite music. Naturally as soon as I hit I-89 in Vermont, I switch to Vermont Public Radio.

Making a packing list for the days I will spend there is one of the other perks, because I love lists. The second list I always make is the one where I note all of the things I will be "shopping for" at my parent's house since they still take care of most of my worldly possessions in their basement and crawl space. There is usually a third list chronicling the things I want to do while in Vermont including people I want to see and also restaurants I need to stop at for a fix.

The trip I made home this past week for the Thanksgiving holiday was no exception although the drive home was pretty rough. There hasn't been much snow in Providence and I didn't have my snow tires on to help my little Civic battle through the slushy and slick roads of New Hampshire and Vermont where the plows clearly had not been yet. I passed over a dozen cars in ditches with tow trucks and state police there to fish them out on I-89. I prayed, slowed down, and crawled home through the mountains at 35mph. Edison was riding shot-gun, equally as nervous as I was. Both of us knew it was worth the white knuckle driving when we arrived home at 1am with hot apple crisp and caramel sauce waiting on the stove next to a huge dish of shepherds pie and a cold Long Trail. The welcome from the blabs (black labs) was an added bonus. They give the best kisses.

Dublin wondering why he isn't getting a belly rub.

Dublin waiting patiently for Ed to finish with a bone.

After my father got my snow tires on and my oil changed the very next morning, I left Ed behind and set off for an additional journey North to Newport, VT to spend time with T's family in his hometown. When I say I went farther North, I really mean that. Newport is minutes from the Canadian border and snuggled up on the beautiful shores of Lake Memphremagog which may or may not be home to Memphre, a friendly ancient lake monster.

I've never seen Memphre but I did get to see and experience some other awesome things while in town last week. The first place I should mention is relatively new to the area and is called the Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center and is exactly what it says it is. It is a space designed for tasting various products from the Northeast Kingdom region including but not limited to booze, cheese, meat, and maple products. So all of the best things, basically. T's sister, mom, and I did an awesome food and wine pairing there on Friday afternoon where we got to taste Black Sparrow from Lincoln Peak Vineyard, Orleans Herbal Aperitif from Eden Ice Cider Co., Harvest Widow's Revenge from Shelburne Vineyard , and Heirloom Blend Ice Cider also from Eden Ice Cider Co. All were delicious, but I think our unanimous vote was for Harvest Widow's Revenge, a red blend that was a little bit spicy. We went back with T and his father later that evening for dinner at the tasting center's bistro, Brown Dog Bistro.

Also, a short drive to Newport Center and basically down the road from T's parent's house is Kingdom Brewing which has a tasting room and all of their brewing operations in a garage. It may be confusing to passerby on Route 100 because the sign and drive way may appear to lead cars into a pasture and through cow plops. Fear not, it actually leads further down a winding road, in this case sparkling with fresh snow, towards a cozy tasting room whose walls and ceiling beams are made from middle aged trees taken from the surrounding property. Wide stools make sitting at one of the tasting bars comfortable and $5.00 will get you 4 pours of 1 ounce each and a pint glass for keeps. They had almost ten brews on tap if I remember correctly, and when we had questions Brian and Jenn (the masterminds) were there to walk us through their processes and products. First made notable in the area by their Skinny Bitch brew, these guys have made some delicious stuff that may not necessarily get as much attention. My favorites were the Bear Mountain Blackberry Chocolate Milk Stout and the Black Spruce Double IPA. While I'm talking about booze I might as well mention that we also enjoyed mixed drinks made with Caledonia Spirits Bar Hill Gin and also warm-your-soul Glogg from Boyden Valley Winery over the course of the week.

The bah.

A selection of local wines and liquors. Glogg in the crock.

Caledonia Spirits Bar Hill Gin.

Our concoction with gin and leftover cranberry sauce.

Cocktails on the bah.

Our trip north also involved a visit to the Kingdom Dog Park which the town of Derby won in a Bark For Your Park contest in 2012, sponsored by Pet Safe.

Twist.

And Shout.

Butt sniffer.

Pounce.

Treats?

The park is a fenced in wooded area.

Annie tried the tube!

Zoe gets a hug.

Almost there...

Sadie gives it the old golden try, and backs out slowly.

Annie did it!

Thanksgiving itself was fun and filled with delicious things to eat. My parents and youngest brother joined T's family in Newport to celebrate and eat. There were three dogs, lots of laughter, and beautiful New England scenery out every window. Lots of things to be thankful for this year.