Along the Canadian Border – Upstate NY and Vermont

About 1 1/2 hours northeast of Syracuse, NY is the small rural town of Lowville. This is where we stayed for a night at a great Harvest Host, Tug Hill Vineyards. (If you are interested in joining Harvest Host, here is a link for a 15% discount) It was a bit drizzly when we pulled in yet you could still see across the valley from their wine tasting room.

Tug Hill Vineyards offers both wine and spirits from fruit grown on their estate. They also offer a “you pick ’em” section for their blueberries and other fruit.

Whenever we pull up to a Harvest Host we always check in at their tasting room to find out where to park. Usually this is the most boring part of our stay. But when I came around the corner to enter the tasting room I found a group of people all standing around outside listening to someone speak. It took me a moment to realize it was Senator Chuck Schumer.

Senator Schumer was speaking about the need to expand internet to rural areas (which we totally agree with!). It was a bit surprising that we were able to walk right up with out security stopping us. I think politicians want to be this accessible, though it is probably much harder to reach them when they are in Washington, DC.

After his speech he came into the tasting room for a photo op with the owners of the winery. We had just had our wine poured when we stepped aside for the pictures. That is our wine you see on the counter behind them.

We opted to do two tastings, one for their wines and another for their spirits. The spirits were made from the fruits they grow and were too sweet for us. The wines though, they were delicious!

We also ordered a charcuterie board and expected just a small bit of cheese and meat. Holy cow, these guys make sure you don’t leave hungry.

Because of the rain we stayed inside the tasting room but if it had been better weather the patio would be the place to sit.

During a break in the weather we took a walk around the property and found the berries were just about ready to be picked.

At the end of the day I went back in to buy a bottle of wine and met another Harvest Host member who was staying the night here. Lauren said she was just starting to camp in her converted van and it was her first time ever staying at a Harvest Host. We invited her to join us under our awning. It was a great evening and we were so happy to make a new friend along the way.

The next day we took a scenic drive through the Adirondacks continuing northeast towards the Canadian border.

When we set out on this route we didn’t expect to come this close to Canada. The Canadian border crossing was straight ahead (see the arrow pointing to it below) and a bridge to Vermont’s border was right around the corner. Hmmm, which way should we go?

Since we hadn’t taken a covid test in the past 48 hours (which Canada was requiring regardless of vaccine status when we drove by in August, 2021) we turned the corner and drove to Vermont.

Here is a random road trip moment – we pulled the RV over to let some cars pass and were struck by all the signs in front of us.

The drive through Vermont was beautiful. We’d been here before on another road trip in 2017 and forgot how mountainous it is.

We made it to our campground, Limehurst Lake Campground. It was a very nice place to stop for a couple of nights with so many activities going on all the time. They had a live band the night we pulled in, a painting class the next day under the main gazebo, and karaoke the following night. We were just looking for a place to stop and do some laundry and chores around the RV but we didn’t complain. The only thing we really struggled with were all the mosquitos that showed up each night at dusk. No way could we sit outside.

As we continued east we pulled over to make some lunch, and found ourselves right next to a covered bridge. Everything up here is so picturesque.

As I mentioned, we took a road trip to Vermont in October, 2017. At the time we drove a rental car and stayed at a small Inn in Woodstock, VT. Below are some pictures from that trip.

We started with a stop at the American Precision Museum in Windsor, VT. “The American Precision Museum is located in the renovated 1846 Robbins & Lawrence factory on South Main Street in Windsor, Vermont. The building is said to be the first U.S. factory at which precision interchangeable parts were made, giving birth to the precision machine tool industry.” – Wikipedia

This was the first time we saw bathroom signs specifically for all genders.

While touring the museum I told another visitor that I liked his pin. He immediately took it off and gave it to me, telling me that I could have it as long as I wore it, which I did.

There is so much history back here. We drove by this quaint old building only to realize it was the Old Constitution House. “The Old Constitution House is the birthplace of Vermont. On July 8, 1777, the first Constitution of the “Free and Independent State of Vermont” was adopted here in what was then Elijah West’s tavern. The noteworthy constitution was the first in America to prohibit slavery and the first to establish universal suffrage for men without the requirements of property ownership or specific income for voting rights. The Vermont Constitution was also the first to establish a system of public schools.” – State Historic Sites

We stayed in Woodstock, Vermont, another quaint old town.

We stayed at 506 on the River Inn, “A family owned boutique Inn along the banks of the Ottauquechee River that celebrates the spirit of Vermont. Offering 45 river facing rooms and suites and dining at the 506 Bistro. Conveniently located minutes to the Woodstock village center.” – WoodstockVT.com

The Inn gave out s’mores packs at the front desk. We stopped by to pick up a couple of packs and, well, see below…

Vermont’s only national park site, “the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is the only national park to tell the story of conservation history and the evolving nature of land stewardship in America.” – National Park Service

Most people put out pumpkins to decorate their yard in October, Vermonters take it to a whole new level. Here are a few of the yard displays we saw.

Vermont is a great state to visit, especially in the fall.