Today dawned with skies angry and grey, raining pretty steadily.  I took the opportunity to lay in bed a bit longer than usual, reading.  I swear I think Chloe was just as glad.  She seemed a bit depressed after leaving Carol’s yesterday.  She had so much fun being un-tethered, getting to know Zoe, and chasing the cats.

I made myself a second cappuccino to savor as the deluge slowed to a drizzle.  By the time I was ready to move our belongings to the car, it was still dark and threatening but no moisture was showering down.  So, we got started at about 9:30.

As we do most mornings, we filled up with gas and, to my surprise, it was only $2.819 (less than in PA).  Our route took us back onto U.S. 9W-N and, while interesting, did not start out as scenic as driving north into Kingston.  The first part of this road was studded with rusted out cars and ramshackle houses but then cruising through a town called Saugerties, about twelve miles north of Kingston, the scenery improved.  The sun had broken through the clouds brightening the day and from what I could see, Saugerties is a cute village with tidy houses, ivy-covered cottages, religious statues and shrines surrounded by flowers decorating many yards.  The adorable Saugerties Lighthouse, on the Hudson River, rents out two guest rooms.

Further north, I passed by the Rip Van Winkle Bridge over the Hudson River between Hudson NY and Catskill NY.  I had told the GPS “Avoid Tolls” so my route kept me on Route 9W-N up through Albany.  It seemed as if every little town I passed through had a Family Dollar or Dollar Tree store and didn’t see a Walmart until I reached Albany.  My route took me through a pretty section of both Albany and Troy (I couldn’t really tell where one stopped and the other began) with well-maintained homes and beautifully tended flowerbeds.

I do know that once I crossed the Hudson, sunlight dappled through the leaves of trees adorning the sides of the highway as it meandered through the beginnings of the Green Mountains.  Before crossing into Vermont, I encountered a town, Hoosick, NY.  I saw this funky little deli and discovered that Hoosick Falls is famous since Grandma Moses, the artist, is buried there.  I found out that an art collector discovered several of her paintings in a drugstore in Hoosick Falls which he purchased in 1938 for $3-5 each.  Imagine that because much later, in November 2006, her 1943 work Sugaring Off became her highest-selling work at US $1.2 million.

Shortly thereafter, I passed into Vermont where I found that the Green Mountains are aptly named as a palette of varying shades of green greet the eyes in all directions.  The Green Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountains, a range that stretches from Quebec in the north to Alabama in the south. The Green Mountains are part of the New England/Acadian forests ecoregion.  We arrived early so before we checked in, we drove around the area and did a little hiking in Lowell Lake State Park:

Magic Mountain is a ski resort located on Glebe Mountain in Londonderry, Vermont. It features a 1,500-foot vertical drop. The summit is at 2,850 feet and the base at 1,350 feet.  We’re staying at Upper Pass Lodge in a beautiful room with a deck which Chloe has been taking advantage of.  She is on the lookout for moose as we have been told they do travel in this area.

We went to dinner at the restaurant in the lodge.  The picture above shows just how pet-friendly this place is as Chloe sat with me in the bar.  I ordered shrimp scampi on fettuccine which was absolutely delicious; but, the best part was the lodge only serves Vermont beers or wines.  I tried three different vintages but my favorite was a crisp dry white wine with notes of apple, melon, and spring flowers.  This particular wine only used grapes grown in Vermont:  Lincoln Peak Vineyard Black Sparrow.  The pictures above, on the right, are Carol, the bartender and Vince, the innkeeper.

When researching Londonderry, I found an interesting fact that MAY connect our familial genealogy to this town.  Londonderry was first chartered in 1770 to a Col. James Rogers and was known as Kent, which included what is now Windham. The town was again chartered by act of the new Vermont Legislature on April 20, 1780. In this charter, the township was named Londonderry after Londonderry in New Hampshire, which in turn was named after Londonderry in Northern Ireland.

I am pretty sure that we have a Colonel James Rogers in the 1700’s in our ancestry.  Not sure at this time that it is the same one but wild huh?