10/3/2024
I started my day going to the State House in Montpelier, VT. I walked around the town a bit after. I was going to see the liberty bell, but you had to pay to get into the museum. Montpelier is a cute town.
I drove up to the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury Village, VT next. I know I’ve been here before, but I wasn’t able to take the factory tour last time due to COVID. The place was packed this time. I hung out in the gift shop until my tour time.
It was really interesting how they make and package their ice cream. They showed a movie about the history of the company and then showed the factory floor. They make a million pints of ice cream a day at this factory. The main ones are in Burlington, VT and in Europe. We couldn’t take pictures of the factory, but we could in the flavor lab. They gave out samples of ice cream and cookie dough during the tour.
After the tour I got in line to get a cup of maple walnut that they don’t package or distribute. I like some of the other flavors better, but this was an exclusive so I had to try it.
Driving around the NE during this time of year is beautiful. The leaves are turning to their autumn colors in the mountains. On my way down to Glens Falls, NY I stopped in Charlotte, VT to get some pics of Lake Champlain.
Once I got to Glens Falls there were a couple of breweries on my passport. First of the two was Mad Max Brew Works. They were having dart league, so the place was busy. They had some good beers here. They also had a tiny table top cornhole game. On my way back to the van a car almost hit me as I was crossing in the crosswalk. He got a stern pointing at.
The next place was Common Roots Brewing Co. This was a nice brewery.They had recently rebuilt after a fire took out their original building. They had a huge outdoor patio, giant taproom, and an event center. The beer was good too. I ended up hanging out here until they closed watching football and talking with a local.
