Shelburne Farms Meander

It has been far too long since I took a stroll at Shelburne Farms. I can't even remember the last time. So this weekend, with the warm weather and the Maple Open House Weekend, it was the perfect time to indulge an aimless wander.

Being uber dorks, Dan and I snapped simultaneous pics with our own cameras (pguon) and took the long trail through to the inn. It is lucky we had on our mud boots cause that trail is sloppy. If we had gotten up just a little bit sooner, we might have made the 4-H Club's pancake breakfast. Mmmm...

We stopped for maple syrup shots on the way into the woods and on the way out. I think I downed about 4 shots total. Za za zing!

I talked to Mark the Sugarmaker for a long time about the complex and nuanced Art of Sugaring (you, too, can learn Sugaring 101 in the Stuck in Vermont vlog this week, coming out Wed).

For instance, did you know that it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup? And did you know that sugarmakers stay up into the wee hours burning the sugar water down to maple suger and arguing about which grade of syrup tastes best?

After strolling, snapping, syruping and vlogging, we headed to Shelburne to soak up the bar atmosphere at The Bearded Frog. After all that walking, we had worked up quite an appetite and proceeded to gorge ourselves on Bloody Marys and cheeseburgers.

Oddly enough, this meal didn't seem to upset my tummy when I performed The Trojan Women hours later. In fact, it was poor Alex who had to rush off the stage to puke mid-show. I think it was the maple syrup that kept me together. That stuff is like nectar of the Gods.