Stride Americana: The Very Hungry Travelers Hit Waterbury
On Sunday, they ate through 10 ice cream cones, 20 pieces of cheddar, 8 chocolate bars, and 12 cider donuts.
Vermont’s finest
If Eric Carle’s famously famished caterpillar made his cocoon in Vermont, Route 100 in Waterbury would have been the ideal location.
The last and only other time Steve and I were here, we had traveled up for a friend’s wedding. I was 5 months pregnant with Sam, and it was the first time that we were introduced to this stretch of highway chock-full of Vermont delicacies. I remember savoring every stop, taking a few extra bites here and there. You know, for the baby.
We started our culinary tour with the one place with enough pull to get the kids to willingly leave Dog’s Head Falls earlier that day: Ben & Jerry’s Factory. Of course, the scoop shop had to be the first stop, although Sam took note of the extensive playground and flavor graveyard on our walk in and made a commitment to return.
Factory entrance
Now THAT’S an ice cream truck
I dig their vibe
We all got our treats and settled in to enjoy, when one of the moms spotted a tie-dye station nearby. We all agreed this would be the perfect souvenir, connected to the Ben & Jerry’s brand but created hands-on by the kids. Sam opted for a red, white, and blue starburst pattern so he could wear it to the Stateside Festival on the 4th.
After craft time was done, the kids played briefly on the now-scorching hot playground. We agreed it was time to move on, but not before visiting the famous flavor graveyard. This mock cemetery is full of the company’s former flavors that are no longer on the market. Some lasted years, others were but a small blip on the timeline. Ah, Economic Crunch. We hardly knew thee.
On our way to pay our respects
Sam’s favorite (of course)
I would have loved this one! 🇬🇧
Our next stop just 3 minutes down the road brought a trifecta of Vermont staples: cheese, chocolate, and flannel. We swept our way through Cabot Creamery, Lake Champlain Chocolates, and Vermont Flannel Co., doing our part to support the local economy by stocking up on treats and a cozy new blanket.
Lake Champlain Chocolates
Found in the Vermont Flannel Co.
The final stop of our food tour brought us to Cold Hollow Cider Mill, a delightfully kitschy Waterbury institution complete with retail store, café, and fresh cider made with a traditional press. Most importantly for this food tour though, they also happen to have the absolute best apple cider donuts you’ll find anywhere. If you’re lucky enough to get them hot out of the fryer, they just melt in your mouth and taste like the perfect bite of Fall. Today, we stopped first at the press in the back of the store for the obligatory cider samples, and then huddled as a group at the front of the store around a white paper bag of the cinnamon-sugar-covered treats.
He’s a sucker for a free sample
We closed out the afternoon with the kids enjoying the outdoor games, including a giant Connect Four and a Jenga set that they used to create a domino run. We parents settled into the Adirondack chairs as food comas started to descend upon us. The hungry caterpillars were getting ready for their cocoons.