Weekend of fun

Another busy weekend. Sometimes I'm happy to be sitting still at my desk come Monday morning, complete with a cup of coffee! It was a fun one, though.

We've talked about taking the kids kayaking for months, but never quite got it done. Here in Vermont, you pass a kayak strapped to a car roof to the tune of about 1 in every 3 vehicles - so we've had a lot of visual reminders lately.

Saturday was the day! We found a great outfit just one mile off Exit 9 of I-91 called Still Water Outfitters. They definitely made the day easy. We opted for the 2-hour self guided kayak trip for starters. After a bit of negotiating with the kids as to who would have their own boat and who would sit in the tandem, we helped load them on a trailer and headed upstream. We put in about 7 miles up - took a few minutes to get the hang of paddlin' - and off we went. It was a beautiful day - not too hot but nice and sunny. The kids had fun paddling through a bit of whitewater (nothing too intense believe me) and we even got to see a bald eagle! It was so relaxing and peaceful!

And, the best part was when we ended the trip back at the shop ~ we were just steps away from the Harpoon Brewery! We enjoyed a great lunch out on the lawn complete with an ice cold Raspberry Wheat Ale. Wow, did that hit the spot. We didn't join a tour, but you can check out their website if you're interested in more info. I think at the end of the month they're hosting the Championships of New England Barbecue, so we might head back and do it all again - this time with a longer trip and perhaps a little more whitewater. They offer rafting trips too, so maybe we'll even try that.

Next up was King Arthur Flour ~ which was just a short jaunt up I-91 in Norwich, VT. Another place I've always wanted to go but never quite made it. What a gorgeous store! It was much larger than I expected - filled with great unique kitchen gadgets, baking gear, and ingredients you could spend hours browsing through! They had a small kitchen setup where they were baking bread, which you could sample of course, and lots of counter space where you could order lunch. The kids opted for dessert - an amazing brownie that must have weighed a pound and a personal-sized carrot cake. They were delectable. My fun came when we got home and I got to try out my new scone pan and the lemon blueberry scone mix I got to go with it!

Another really cool thing is that King Arthur has a baking education center where they host cooking classes ~ from kids' summer camps to professional caliber cooking schools. I grabbed a schedule and plan to go back for a class.

By this time it was nearing 3 o'clock and it was time to head home. Tired muscles and full bellies made for a quiet ride ~ a beautiful thing!