Our fifth day of vacation was a driving day. We had to get from Burlington, Vermont to Portland, Maine, which is about a four-hour drive. We decided to break it up with a couple of fun stops along the way, so it ended up taking all day. The stops were definitely worth it, though!
Our first stop was in Norwich, Vermont to visit the King Arthur Flour campus.
They have a baking school, store, cafe and bakery. You know my Gene loves to bake (and Henry is his sidekick!), so this was paradise for him.
We are not complete brand loyalists, but we do purchase an awful lot of King Arthur flour and love it! Everyone had to sit on the throne.
Our master baker!
We had so much fun watching the bakers at work.
We also came home with a bag full of goodies, and now I have many many ideas for gifts for my favorite baker. The best part, for me, was lunch. We gobbled sandwiches on freshly baked bread and enjoyed the menu that included locally grown veggies and locally produced meats and cheeses.
We had a great visit at King Arthur, but next time, we'll have to plan in advance to take some classes.
Our next stop was at the Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, New Hampshire.
The village was founded in 1792 and was active for 200 years! At its height in the 1850s, over 300 people lived and worked on over 3000 acres at Canterbury. There were 19 Shaker communities, ranging from Maine to Kentucky, and there are still a few Shakers left living at Sabbathday Lake in Maine.
The Shakers believed in community ownership, celibacy, equality of the sexes, pacifism and simple living. They were quite successful and were entrepreneurs and inventors too. They are called the Shakers because of their ecstatic dance during worship. The Shaker motto is "Hands to Work, Hearts to God."
It was a beautiful day to be outside walking around the historic village.
We visited the Power House, which is set up as a hands-on learning area for children. Will tried his hand at the loom
while Henry colored his Hands to Work, Hearts to God coloring sheet.
Henry also tried on some typical Shaker garb!
You can see Will reading in the background.
We explored the other buildings, like this broom-making workshop,
the kitchen,
and the Meeting House, which was built in 1792.
We also visited the Shaker school. Though celibate, the Shakers took in orphans and raised them until adulthood, when they chose to stay with the community or leave.
The boys found the bathroom too!
Canterbury Shaker Village is a fascinating place and definitely was worth a stop on our trek between Vermont and Maine.
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