Thursday: Last day in Magog, Canada
Andrew and Henry played golf on the nearby Hermitage
9-hole course, which is nestled between the lake and a lovely forest. They
barely saw another soul and Henry’s golf was a triumph of experience over
youth. I did a bush walk through the same forest, equally deserted, but was
lucky enough to hear, then spot, a rare owl.
In the late afternoon the two of us took a
canoe out onto the lake. The water was millpond calm and we managed to paddle a
reasonable distance along the shore for an uninterrupted view of some truly
amazing Quebec real estate. Mount Orford shrouded in mist in the distance was
also beautiful.
Melodie later showed me photos of Magog in
mid-winter: it’s hard to believe it’s the same place with a frozen expanse
where the lake should be and hardy locals driving 4WDs into the middle to fish
through holes in the ice.
Friday: Vermont
We said goodbye to Melodie, and Henry drove
us down through Quebec (pronounced Kebec, not Kwebec) and across the border
into Vermont in a lazy two and a half hour trip from Magog.
The US border guard at Stanstead was a laid
back local who was far more interested in the fact that anyone could possibly
have 11 weeks holiday than whether we were undesirable aliens. Stanstead literally sits on both sides of
the US-Canadian border and neighbours cross the street - and countries - to
have a chat or to mow each other’s lawns. George (Baby) Bush wanted to put a
concrete wall across the entire 3,000 km border after 911 but the locals in
towns like this wouldn’t have a bar of it!
We stopped for a coffee at the Brown Cow
café for the usual bad American brew (why do we persevere?!) and a chat with
the friendly owner, who reminisced about his exchange student from Port
Macquarie and was selling raffle tickets: first prize a gun.
Vermont is drop dead gorgeous. Andrew
reckons the Vermont logo should be a ride-on lawn mower, given their
prevalence. The trees are beautiful now but must be amazing in autumn. Also
love the brightly coloured timber houses and barns, most of which seem to be
converted into “antique” shops.
At Burlington “international” airport we
sadly farewelled Henry and picked up our hire car. The Avis guy – this time an
Aussie from Cairns – upgraded us to a great big something (Ford Escape???)
which he assured us isn’t a gas guzzler….on va voir as they say in France.
We drove south through some lovely
countryside with the Green Mountains to our east, stopped for lunch in
Middlebury, a small university town, and arrived in Woodstock (still in
Vermont) in the early evening.
Woodstock –picked via Google for its
proximity to wiggly green roads - is not the famous music festival Woodstock
but is New England at its best: every street and building a piece of history
but not too twee. We had dinner at Bentley’s, a great restaurant-cum-bar with
delicious food, mean blood orange daiquiris and a big flatscreen TV they had
kindly tuned to the London Olympics opening ceremony – wow what a spectacle!
Saturday: More Vermont
This morning we went back into Woodstock,
where the annual book festival was on the town green so we lashed out and spent
$11 on half a dozen 2nd hand books and (yet another) indifferent
coffee in the main street. We then pottered on in the Escape to Queechee Gorge,
which the local tourism authority ambitiously describes as the Grand Canyon of
New England. But we did spot a couple of very playful chipmunks and some
colorful (almost A-team) birds.
In the afternoon we came across a fantastic
pick-your-own blueberry farm – nearly two kilos for $10 and the biggest
juiciest berries on bushes nearly 2 metres tall - eat your heart out Iona! We also
enjoyed the longest covered bridge in the US at Windsor, a town that has seen
better days but still attracts tourists for this attraction alone.
Torrential Sydney rain cut short our
afternoon wanderings through southern Vermont and a big hotel room with hot
tub, view of the Connecticut River and unlimited Wi Fi across in New Hampshire beckoned.
It might even be a Thai takeaway in front of the Olympics kind of night….
