Last fall, I learned about a winter festival in North Hero, Vermont (our new home-away-from-home), called Great Ice! It's held over Presidents' Day weekend, with skating on the bay (illuminated by colored lights underfoot), a bonfire, fireworks, hockey games, sled dog rides, and an Over-and-Back Trek across the lake to Knight's Island. I thought it sounded like great fun and convinced Don to give it a go.
I looked forward to it all winter, tracking the preparations on the Facebook page, and made reservations at a bed-and-breakfast up the road in Alburg.
Everything looked good until about a week beforehand. First, the Over-and-Back Trek was cancelled due to unreliable ice out on the lake. Then, the lights couldn't be imbedded in the ice rink due to warm temps and rain. Next, the ice wasn't thick enough to hold the Zamboni, so they couldn't groom the rink.
Then there was the weather forecast. Friday was supposed to have a high of +1 and a low of -8. Saturday was to be warmer, with temps in the 20s, but much windier.
But we were undeterred. We packed all of our warm clothes, picked Sarah up at school after lunch on Friday, and headed north, determined to be flexible and have fun. The drive was beautiful, with snow-covered peaks along the Interstate.
We arrived in North Hero a little before 5 and did some shopping at Hero's Welcome, a wonderful general store/gift shop/deli across the road from the bay. In typical small-town fashion, Don ran into the son of the local plumber who had helped him turn off the water in the A-frame last fall. We walked around the ice a bit and decided there was no way we were going to skate that night given the frigid weather.
Folks were still setting up, and there was no food available yet, so we drove up to the Harborside Market, near our cabin, to get some dinner. Pickings were slim, but Sarah and Don found re-heated pizza slices, I settled for some pasta salad, and we grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry's for dessert. We ate in the truck, supplementing with snacks we brought along. So far so good on the flexibility.
We arrived back at Great Ice! just as they were lighting the bonfire made of Christmas trees -- and producing only smoke. We learned later that rain earlier in the week had drenched the trees, then temps turned cold. Turns out ice is not that flammable.
As the temperature dipped below 0 (with a wind chill of -12), the fireworks began. They were impressive! We were enjoying the show, when I noticed a hubbub off to our right and people yelling, "Get off the ice, it's cracking!" Sure enough, water was seeping from a fissure onto the surface. We made an orderly retreat to shore and watched the rest of the show from there. Although it was just a pressure crack and no one was hurt, it was a bit alarming.
People cleared out after the fireworks, and we headed up to the Ransom Bay Inn. The place was built as a stagecoach stop in 1795, of limestone from nearby Isle la Motte, which also supplied the U.S. Capitol.
Hosts Loraine and Richard offer five rooms in the main inn and run a restaurant in the small former carriage house. When we arrived, Loraine was doing double duty as innkeeper and wait staff, since their usual server was recuperating from carpal tunnel surgery. Richard was cooking.
We stayed in the Spinning Wheel room. The accommodations were basic yet comfortable, especially for a building that's been providing them for two-and-a-quarter centuries. Sarah immediately made herself at home, claiming a bed and setting it up to her liking.
Breakfast was served by the fireplace in the morning, and it turned out we were the only overnight guests. Sarah loved the fresh croissants and mini muffins. Richard joined us after a while and shared stories about the inn and the area.
Our first priority was visiting the A-frame. It was tucked in with a blanket of snow and looked cozy even though the inside temperature was about 20. Don emptied mouse traps (two victims), then we walked down to the lake before bidding a fond farewell (two months till opening!).
The surface of the rink was pretty rough. After Don hit a chunk of ice and went down -- the first time I've seen him fall -- we moved to the oval, which was smoother. Fortunately, he was unhurt.
We returned to the community center to taste samples at the chili cook-off. Don got a cup of chili for lunch, while Sarah and I hit the food truck -- a Nutella-stuffed crepe, of all things, for me and mac'-and-cheese for her.
The planned pick-up hockey game was cancelled due to PVC poles stuck in the rink to hold overhead lights. This was probably a blessing. Don had brought his stick, just in case he couldn't resist playing, but we both knew it wasn't a good idea. I have to admit I would have enjoyed watching him school the locals in skates twice their age, but sometimes the Fates are with you.
We returned to the B&B to warm up and rest for a bit. Sarah was thrilled because, when we travel, she likes to actually stay in the room. While she used her tablet and Don took a nap, I crawled into one of the two-foot deep window wells and did a crossword puzzle in the sun. Heaven!
We still had time to kill before dinner, so we drove over to Rouse's Point, New York, just a few miles away. It was a rather unremarkable trip -- the town is nothing to write home about -- with the exception of the graceful bridge connecting the two states and an unexpected fort that greeted us on the other side.
Turns out it's the second fort built on a sandspit where Lake Champlain becomes the Richelieu River. A little Googling revealed that construction of the first began in 1816, just after the War of 1812. The work was abandoned a year later, however, when people discovered a surveying mistake put the land in Canada (oops!). It came to be known as "Fort Blunder," and oddly, I remember that name from elementary school.
The impressive stone structure that's there now, Fort Montgomery, was built in the mid-1800s, after the spit became part of the U.S., thanks to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. Had I known the fort was there and had such a great story, I would have had my camera ready to snap a photo.
After our foray into New York, we headed for dinner at the North Hero House Inn. Great Ice! listed this event as a "Family Italian Dinner," which I'd envisioned as a meal of spaghetti and garlic bread put on in a community hall by a local service group. Don and I both thought this would be a good opportunity to meet some local folks and get a feel for the area in the off-season.
When I called for more information, though, I was told that they were doing things differently this year, and the meal would be served at the North Hero House with their regular menu, plus some Italian specials. A totally different vibe, but I made reservations anyway. I figured we could make it our Valentine's Dinner, albeit with an 11-year-old...what could go wrong?
There's nothing like taking your child to eat at a nice restaurant where she's the only one under 25, to highlight her poor table manners...just sayin'. Fortunately, we were seated in the corner of the year-round porch (a strategic move on the hostess's part?). We watched an older gentleman do laps on the ice oval across the street as dusk fell.
They had a specials menu for Great Ice!, with three three-course entrees that suited our collective tastes perfectly: prime rib for Don, lasagne for Sarah, and vegetarian lasagne for me (the lasagnes were cleverly called "Italian Family Dinners"). Each came with a salad and house-made dessert.
The food was good, and so was the service, until the entrees came...then we seemed to be forgotten. Finally, the server took our dessert orders -- chocolate lava cake a la mode for Sarah, chocolate sponge cake for Don, and a flight of chocolates from local business The Candy Lab for me. She returned with them not too long after, then disappeared.
When she finally brought the check, Don got busy figuring the tip, while I reviewed the bill. I noticed they charged us for the desserts, which should have been included. The strange thing was, they didn't charge the amounts listed on the dessert menu, but a flat $5 each.
As Don and I discussed the situation, Sarah inserted herself in the conversation, as she is wont to do, asking questions in a loud voice and making an unfortunate situation all the more annoying. The server was MIA.
I searched her out and showed her the error. She took the bill, and another staff member came to our table a few minutes later with a corrected tab (but no explanation for the mistaken charges). We paid and left, happy to be out of there.
On the bright side, this all led to a good conversation with Sarah in the truck about how, when, and where to discuss money matters. :) Back in the room, we played a game of three-handed cribbage, which Don won, and called it a night.
Sunday morning, we had a hearty breakfast once more -- and a chat with Richard once more -- then hit the road. He gave Sarah a bag of croissants to take home.
We stopped at the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury for a tour and taste. The flavor-of-the-day was strawberry cheesecake, one none of us had tried before and a new favorite.
Great Ice! was not so great this year, but our trip sure was. You just can't go wrong with the Lake Champlain Islands, in any weather.
No comments:
Post a Comment