The Moose With Golden Antlers

The Moosefest moose, some years ago, at the Guilford Welcome Center in Guilford, Vermont.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
2016: Snack Money
2015: Mae Mae Shows You How It's Done
2014: Nope, Don't See Anything I Need Here
2013: Bears Outnumber Bigfoot  
2012: Betting On My Man To Show Me A Great Time
2011: Cut And Color
2010: X Marks The Imaginary Spot
2009: A Field That Looks Perfect For Wrasslin’…If It Weren’t For The Sign
2008: Come Visit Me In Italy!
2007: Asked And Answered
2006: L.E.A.P.
2005: Ed Visits His First Warehouse Store

The Lure Of Lake Life

photo source

Ed and I have been hanging out now for six days waiting on a load.  We don't mind waiting but we're in a pretty rural area with nothing going on.  We've explored what there is of the town, gone grocery shopping twice, and have watched about ten rented movies.

One of the things we like to do when we're sitting is look at real estate.  All over the country.  In addition to having a place in Arizona, we continue to look for another location to spend part of the year in.  Right now we're on the road all the time, working and spending our down time wherever we happen to be, but eventually we'll be working less and lounging in a place that's mostly likely going to be a second home/vacation home.

We watch endless hours of HGTV, which most recently includes Lakefront Bargain Hunt, and it's opened a whole new search area for us because Ed and I can't decide exactly where we want to be because we have different ideas of what we want.  

Arizona will most likely always be our default home base because my family is there, but I really want something with four seasons and Ed really wants to be able to own a boat and be able to get to the ocean.

Because I don't want to live on the coast, or near the beach, we've started to look at lake property.  It's the perfect compromise.  I'm looking primarily in the Northeast where from Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in New York you can get to the Atlantic through a series of river travel, and from Lake Champlain, both on the New York side and the Vermont side, you can get to the ocean the same way.  

It's a fun search and there are lots of properties to look at.  I'm amazed at what's available.  There's a lot of crap, old stuff, fishing camp type of properties and vintage fixer uppers.  Then there's a middle range, which in a lot of cases seem to have no character.  And then, just for laughs, I've been looking at the million-dollar lakefront property.  Holy crap!  That stuff is GORGEOUS.  I need to win the lottery!

All in all, it's a fun way to pass some time - thankfully we have decent internet in the backwoods of Arkansas - and it really makes one realize how much actual property is available out there.  Overwhelming!  Here are some of the websites I've been using:

Lake House

Lake Homes Realty

United Country Real Estate

Land Watch

Lake Homes USA

Oh!  I've also been watching Living Big Sky, so Montana could be next on my search list!

Damn these TV shows!




~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2014: 81% Of The Time, It's Not Our Fault

2013: Twenty-Four Hours Of Poutine
2012: Opening The Door To An Amazing Houzz
2011: Ed And His Wahini
2010: Beauty Vs. Practicality
2009: No Mussels Kneaded When Eating Homemade Bread
2008: Dog Day Afternoon
2007: A Prayer For Alberta
2006: Tassimo Time
2005: Sorry, no post on this day.

Up And Over The Green Mountains Of Vermont

We were this close to going snow tubing today! In beautiful, snowy Vermont.

I've gotta tell you, maple syrup only sweetens this already sweet little state. It's such a pretty place to be, any time of year really, but in winter? The best. OK, maybe you can't tell by this road through town, but I took the picture because I liked the way the tree branches were holding the fresh snow piled lightly on top of them.

We were on our way to pick up a load when the agent called and told us it wouldn't be ready until the evening, possibly (likely, I figured) the next morning. The freight was coming out of Canada and because our wheelbase is too big, we couldn't go get it, so we had to wait. 

 

Ed figured we'd just spend the day cruising down hills on an innertube.  Which, at forty-five years old is a little scary to me, but I always did love snow and I figured we could start with the small hills, right?  We were in Vermont and they just got fresh snow.  It would be wrong not to use it.  So what if I wind up with a broken leg, right?   

Then we checked online and made a bunch of phonecalls, but we weren't able to find anything that would work.  Either they were too far away, open weekends only, required you to be a guest at their resort, or just didn't answer their phone. 

One guy Ed talked to must have thought we were idiots. After being told their snow tubing area wasn't open, Ed said, "We're not from around here, do you know where else we might be able to go snow tubing?" The guy said, "Uhhh, anywhere?" The sarcasm was thick. Thanks, buddy.

Ultimately, were trying to get to the truck show in Louisville but didn't think we were going to make it when our last load cancelled and sent us to Massachusetts instead of our original destination, hence the detour to Vermont. Then we got this load out of Champlain, NY heading down to Texas. Perfect.  That would get us through Louisville for the show, and Nashville so we could do a second round of property hunting and visiting.

Then the delay pushing it off another day.

Ed checked the load board, found something even better, which would give us more time, and picked up on the day we wanted.  So he called the original agent, explained our situation and thankfully, they let us out from under the load.  That's rare.  We were thrilled.

So we had to scratch the snow tubing plans and head over to western New York to pick up our new load.  We'll have to hit the Big Moose Deli next time we're in the neighborhood.

MATS, here we come!



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Perhaps She’s A Closet Road Warrior
2011: Fifty-Five Years And Counting
2010: Humor That Needs A Humidifier
2009: Eddie Is He Wearing Trousers?? Friday
2008: Soon To Be Yummy Snack Food
2007: This Is What I’ve Been Doing Lately
2006: 1-800-PRODUCT SATISFACTION
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Between Brattleboro And Bennington

Trees displaying fresh snow, on State Route 9 in southern Vermont.


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2012: Man At Work
2011: Under A Rock
2010: Practicing For Retirement
2009: Truckers Are So Sensitive
2008: Light Sweet Crude
2007: A Antiquing Conundrum
2006: How Can You Not Love This Face?
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Cows, Coffee And BJ's

Not only does Vermont have some of the prettiest rest areas I've ever been to, like this one in Sharon (it had an atrium with plants being grown by hydroponics!)...

And this one in Gulford (they had a Moose statue at the front door!)...

but it also lives up to the origin of its name, based on "verts monts," French for green mountains. We originally planned to go to Lake Champlain, but Ed said "It's just a lake," so we nixed that idea and went south instead, traveling through pretty little towns nestled in lush green pockets.

We saw cows on hills...

Went to the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, where we saw cider being made and then bought some cider doughnuts, apple butter, Cabot extra-sharp cheddar cheese and pure Vermont maple syrup...

Had pulled pork sandwiches for lunch at a restaurant which was across from a building with a sign I liked; it said "DANGER: Falling Ice No Parking" (we didn't park there)...

then we had coffee at the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters visitor center...

And to end our day, we went to the Ben & Jerry’s Factory for a little Chunky Monkey. I had a delicious two scoop cone and Ed settled on a mini-sundae...

The phone number for the factory tour is 1-800-BJ TOURS.

I don't think Ed realized he was only getting ice cream.


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1 YEAR AGO: Lining Up For Lobster Season
2 YEARS AGO: Worth Every Penny
3 YEARS AGO: Everybody Is Everything
4 YEARS AGO: Sorry, no post from 6/2/05