Where did we leave off? Something about cold and raining in Rochester on Sunday, perhaps. What better to do on a cold and rainy day than do some shopping after watching some golf and tennis on TV - so that's what we did.
Sunday evening, we drove over to Brockport to visit a new brewery and winery out in the country. Interesting place called Five Sons (so-named because the couple had five sons, very original). Fun tasting the different beers and since it wasn't crowded (think only us four), the couple gave us a tour of the small brewery and talked about their plans. It had just opened up the previous Thursday, so still had a brand new feel to it. One of their sons is going to UC Davis in the fall - seems they have an excellent brewmasters' program there - who knew?
Afterwards, we went over to Kathy's mom's place in Brockport, picked her up to have dinner in the Old Stoneyard Bar and Grill in downtown Brockport. The town is right on the Erie Canal and is an old upstate New York town with lots of tourist shops and other neat stores. It would have been fun to wander around more, but see our previous note about the cold and rain. I always enjoy seeing the Erie Canal and would love to make a trip down it someday - but I think those days are dwindling - just takes too much time. After an excellent dinner, we went next door to a little chocolate and ice cream store. Couldn't resist picking up some chocolate for ourselves and family.
One side note about the beers brewed at the Old Stoneyard Brewery - they had a specialty gose beer. Gose beer is a beer made with a salty water base. At the OSB, they used the brine from their kitchen which gave the beer a different taste. I tried to find the recipe which they had printed on their menu, but couldn't. After reading the description, we had to try it. Even the waitress tried to dissuade us, saying it was a "different" taste. She was right - small sips were the order of the day. If I can find the recipe, I'll include it in a future entry - it's hilarious.
Monday dawned cold and rainy again and we were up early to say goodbye to Tim and Kathy. After they left for work, I drove over to a local bakery because Tom III had wanted some kimmelweck rolls. We had ordered them on Saturday for Monday morning pick-up. Gassed up the car and we headed out to Vermont. Took the NYS Thruway over to the Rome area and then north on 365 and 8 northeast over to the Vermont border. We travelled through the Adirondacks which is a really beautiful part of New York state. Lots of places for camping, outdoor activities, and a go-to spot for New Yorkers (and others). Would have been really beautiful on a sunny day, but we had to settle for the rain and limited visibility. Still have figured out a way to get that rain and water over to Reno, but we're working on it. Passed over the Hudson River - it's a little smaller here than down around West Point and the City.
Crossed into Vermont and drove over a pass (really high at 2132') near the Mad River Ski Area, then up Route 100 into Morrisville. The rivers were running full and the countryside is beautiful (think I'm overusing that word, but it's true). Tom III had them build a bypass around Morrisville, but we still found his house. Both Danny and Katie are home from school, so we had a fun evening. Food, conversation, and some pinochle playing. Been a long time since we played, but we enjoyed getting back into it.
Did I mention it was still raining?
No comments:
Post a Comment