This picture is an apt illustration of our day yesterday…

We consumed proportionally more sugar than anything else.  We also had an afternoon akin to one of PJ’s favourite TV shows, “How It’s Made.”  We toured a Ben & Jerry’s factory and then visited a cider mill where we watched apple cider being made.  What a sticky job that must be by the end of the day!  

There was a lot of taste testing going on all afternoon, various flavours of that famous chunky ice cream, delicious apple cider, freshly fried cider doughnuts.  The kids especially enjoyed watching the doughnut machine in action, just like Uncle Ulysses’ unstoppable doughnut machine in Robert McCloskey’s book Homer Price.

The weather was gorgeous, the countryside picturesque, the quaint towns inviting you to slow down and peer in shop windows.  Too bad it’s November and there just isn’t enough daylight for all the adventures to be had.  But we do have an entire week in this remote and beautiful place so today we’ll head back to one of those quaint towns and window shop in the sunshine.  And hopefully C-Bear will be up for a stroll down main street.  She tripped coming down some concrete steps on Sunday as we were leaving church and went over pretty badly on her ankle.  After a couple of hours spent at emerg and an x-ray it was confirmed that nothing was broken, only sprained.  But she has been hopping on one foot ever since (and riding in her baby brother’s stroller, much to her embarrassment).  We are all very thankful there was no need for a cast, thankful for insurance, thankful that she will hopefully heal before our week in D.C. where we will be on foot a lot!