The other day on the Kancamagus Highway we summited over one
of the highest road passes in New Hampshire. At 2855 feet above the level of
the sea. Kancamagus Pass takes your breath away, and it would have been fine to
gaze out at the stunning vistas offered by the road, except the clouds were
right on the ground and the rain from Hurricane Elsa was pounding us.
We pressed on though and ended up near the capital city of
Vermont in the town of Waterbury. Fans of ice cream will recognize Waterbury
right away as the home of Ben & Jerrys.
Last time several years ago when I visited, Ben & Jerry's I
did the factory tour, and enjoyed ice cream at their scoop shop. This visit we
had hoped to have ice cream for breakfast, but the entire visitor operation, and scoop shop was
shuttered apparently due to covid.
Just like Maine has its lobster Vermont has its apple pie,
and riding route 100 I was sure we could find us some pie.
The first few towns we rode through had no big signs saying,
“Best Apple Pie Here” or even a sign saying, “Pretty Good Apple Pie Here” or a
sign for “Not Very Good Apple Pie”. Worried about not finding pie, at a gas
stop we googled best apple pie in Vermont and the place that came up over and
over again was Vermont Apple Pie Bakery, near the hamlet of Ludlow. Our GPSs
with the latest map data base from 1628 quickly pulled up the address and we
set off on our course.
Route 100 on a rainy day would be a great ride, but our ride
was on a Blue Bird day, with the perfect temperature and mostly no traffic.
Our rides took us right to the Bakery where a fellow in a pickup
that was full of scrap lumber, and was pulling out of the driveway to the bakery, told us that the
bakery was still closed due to covid. Hungry and now disappointed we pulled
back into Ludlow and ended up having lunch at a local place called The Hatchery
The food was good, but what makes the hatchery unique is the
owner has totally capitalized on covid, by having minimal staff and the tables
set up with a QR code menus, where you can order and pay right from your phone. I
gave myself a large tip, for the good job I did of figuring out the ordering
process. Oh you could order with the owner, at the kiosk by the door if you did not have a
computer along with you.
Back on route 100 and almost out of Vermont, and still not
finding the famous pie, we made one more stop at a roadside stop just outside
of the town of Bennington.
Bennington is home of the Bennington Battle Monument,
that from the road looks just like a Saturn IV rocket ready to be launched at the
highest peak in Massachusetts, which of course it was not, but, that peak is
higher than the one in Vermont, or New Hampshire.
The roadside stand had apple pie for sale, but not by the slice, or with cheese, or ice cream, that I was still thinking about because I never got any back at Ben & Jerrys.
Back on the road without pie and now with Vermont behind us,
we were still facing one of the biggest challenges of the day. Summitting Mount
Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts.
Approaching the turnoff, Ohm’s GPS tried to take us up a side road to get to the road
to Mt. Greylock, but I held out and waited for the real turnoff.
Once on the Mountain Road we quickly began ascending and
everything was going well until we caught up to, two cars that could only manage
about 15 mph, probably due to the elevation. Finally the cars realized the climb
was to much for them and pulled off the road. We soldiered on, winding our way up the narrow
tree covered road. Loosing sight of the sun Ohms responded by turning on her dash
lights, and still we climbed ever towards the summit. Finally breaking clear of
the trees and spotting the cell tower I knew we were nearing the top, and then
there it was.
At the Apex we assembled our climbing teams for hugs. Ohms could not hug as she was fanning herself. and calculating the route back down the mountain, and in spite of the effort to reach the summit the trip was well worth it.
Thanks for reading
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