Peter Moore Photos
My HomeMy Home My Photos My Diary My Map Message Board
Random Photo

Reflections on Chillies



My Latest 8 diary entries:

Pete's Churchill Odyssey 2005

27th Sep 2005
A brush with the Webb Vanderbilts

Tuesday, 27th September, 2005
Slept on the third floor of Paul and Christine’s old house in a leafy suburb of Burlington, near the university campus … and slept very well indeed. Down the various flights of stairs at about 8 .... in time to see the kids Marika and Quincy heading off for school, seated in a tow-along cart hooked on to the back of Paul’s bike.
After a night of more rain and a dull threatening start, by 8-15 the grey cloud curtains had begun to part and it looked like being a spectacular day.
We breakfasted with Christine, by which time, Paul had returned from the hard slog of cycling back up the hill. We chatted for another half hour or so and then he left for work and we got our things together and went along to the Vermont Outdoor Gear Exchange, which is a brilliant idea. A co-operative selling bulk consignments of every brand, style and type of outdoor gear imaginable plus a few rails of second hand gear which they sell on, on commission. Some of the stuff was in fairly good shape, while some was badly knocked about and really needed putting out of its misery to recycle.
Anyway, we got ourselves some rain gear which was the main objective, as it had been had been missing from the baggage until now.
Headed south out of town, first towards the Shelburne Museum, which is a set up like a much enlarged version of the Folk Museum and the folk park rolled in to one. It was set up by a philanthropic lady called Mrs Webb and is formed from her private collection of … well, almost everything!
We elected not to linger too long here, scouted the exterior, looked in the shop and generally baked in the sun along with various heavily perspiring Americans. Quilts seemed to be the general theme of much of the merchandise and maple sugar related products in terms of the consumables … but there is so much more within this collection, paintings, pottery, fine porcelain ... so little time and it looks as if it needs a good half a day to do it justice
Moved on the Shelburne Farms, famed for its huge barns. Built by a wealthy family about a hundred years ago … the Webb Vanderbilts set themselves up in considerable style with vast farms barns, coach barns, breeding barns … and to give you an idea, large enough for an indoor polo match to be held (they were mad about horses). All built of wood.
It’s a working farm set up as a non-profit making enterprise with an educational programme as the aim. It has a school set up within a section of one of the barns and various outreach methods to welcome visiting groups; we encountered the geographers from UVM, who were along on a mapping exercise.
We got a snack lunch in the farm shop and ate it out on a bench. Rolling pasture, with cattle, crops being cut and mature maple sugar woodland form the view. Also bought a history of the farm which contained some archive images which would form a bit of a side entertainment for me as I went around. The place is remarkably well documented as the WVs commissioned the best of the newest photographic 'technology' to record their life and times. a few pics to follow ....
Shuttled by tractor and trailer up to the first barn which is about three-quarters of a mile from where you park and from there, you’re on your own … about four and half miles of tracks and roads take you around to the various buildings. There was a tour bus available, but it looked far too constraining and we decided it was a good day for a walk.
The farm barns, which I guess is the most popular of the destinations was a hub of activity. People making cheese, schoolkids … maintenance crews … and animals. People wandering around with calves on ropes, hens, pigs, sheep, cattle and only very minimal signage warning the litigious Americans about the risks of touching the animals and picking up some class or other of disease .. this was, however, supported with notices giving you step by step instructions on how to wash your hands. Anyway, presumably that was liability absolved.
A few interesting re-takes grabbed on the way past and finally took to the road south at about 5pm. We arrived in Woodstock and dined at the Inn … it is after all our nineteenth wedding anniversary. Managed to hook onto the wireless network outside in the car park but then we lost the signal. Got a few hours sleep in the car and set off at about 1.30am for Boston.

Next: Life is just a bowl of Nachos
Previous: Il plu (?)


Diary Photos
27th Sep 2005
Bus and barn
One of the huge barns at Shelburne
 



27th Sep 2005
The school bus
Quincy and Marika get ferried down to school by Paul
 



858 Words | This page has been read 34 timesView Printable Version