Sunday Vibing

I took my own advice from my last post and did indeed make my way to Cafe Provence in Brandon for Easter brunch. What a cool place! I first noticed was how much light there was and how amicably decorated it was to take advantage of all the light. And the brunch was just as I envisioned. No eggs benedict - my favorite - but no complaining because I tried new items to tantalize my tastebuds - shrimp puffs, seafood salad, and delicate ham and salmon bits. I enjoyed old friends as well such as scalloped potatoes and pate!!! Mitch was quite grossed out by my liking pate, but even more distressed by the seafood salad - there were octopus bits in it! For fun, I rested one on the side of my plate to stare at him most of the meal. I think the waitress thought we were strange, but she was super nice anyway!

After brunch we decided to take a walk in downtown Brandon and enjoy some of the third installment of Art in the Snow, a creative way to get folks to enjoy this artsy town when cabin fever strikes. A little too artsy for us hippies, but we enjoyed getting cultured in a small Vermont town. We browsed in 4 Conant Interiors - talk about uberly swanky!!! Great interior art/furniture pieces for you Vermont second home owners. Great ideas for us Gen Xers to recreate while second hand shopping. Then we headed into the Brandon Artists Guild and greatly enjoyed the varied paintings and wall art by Vermont artists. I was psyched to see pal Kimberlee Forney's work being highlighted and got really interested in Mike Mayone's paintings - I think I need some!

While the sun was glorious this Easter Sunday, it was windy and cold, so we parted ways with Brandon and vibed back north on backroads of course through the Green Mountain National Forest. We couldn't see any signs of spring yet, but for some reason our skiing vibes are diminishing and our spring life vibes are clawing to get out from under our itchy skin (well, Mitch's skin is itchier than mine because he doesn't lavish in spa time as much as I). This is due to the big surprise that I said I would unveil, and I lied! No, I didn't lie, I just wanted to get this post in first. But, stay tuned - next one is a biggie!!!!!!

And in the meantime, go do some maple surgarin' while the sap flows - you want to go when it gets below freezing the night before, but up in the 40's when you vibe around. Check out www.vtmaple.org for more info. (Tip: You can still go vibing without a Vibe, it's all about the energy!)

Vermont Vibing, Carter Roots

My awesomely fantastic cousin, Rebecca, came to visit last weekend for a 24 hour stint in Vermont Vibing. Arriving at the Burlington International Airport in the early evening hours last Friday, I vibed over to get her and her lack of airport lost luggage - figures. An art professor down in the gas guzzling nation of Texas, my definitely heady-yet-more-indy cuz is in Vermont doing an artist residency at Johnson State College. We snatched up The Mitch at my place and headed where you take out-of-towners for Vermont goodness (but I never eat at otherwise), American Flatbread, followed by a lack-of-live-music Radio Bean (har-humph). But none of this mattered, because this was a night of conversation and yummy beer!

The next morning I made Rebecca Eggs-A-Vibe (see recipe in earlier post please) and we made our way out on a most authentic of Vermont Vibes adventures. Our first stop is top-secret and while Rebecca was the very first to visit, this secret will not be unveiled until the next post! From the top-secret Vibes locale, we cruised through Waterbury and stopped for a brief visit at the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Waterbury Station - a little pit stop I have never been to before and highly recommend for those traversing through the Waterbury area. From there we viberized (ooo, a new one!) into Montpelier for a water bottle and outdoor gear drooling at Onion River Sports.

We then joined our waspism forces of the Carter variety and vibed towards a place so dear to our hearts. Unfortunately we did not take any pictures, but this one of Caspian Lake pretty much sums it up.


We took Route 12 to get there and enjoyed views of Lake Elmore where people are still hanging out on the ice (this scares the crap out of me). We took some time to hang out in Hardwick and poke around the Buffalo Mountain Co-op followed by a yummy localvore meal at The Village Restaurant across from the co-op (couldn't find a good weblink for them, but it was good - and open in the mid-afternoon!).

Then we got to visit my aunt and uncle's cottage in Greensboro for Rebecca to gear up on cross country skis and yoga mats for her late winter jaunt in Vermont. And the marvelous day ended with me getting to pretend to be an art student at Rebecca's orientation meal at Johnson State - even in my hippie/VT flannel get-up, they thought I belonged.

What a truly remarkable day to reconnect with family, bond over many similarities, and chuckle at the simple things in life. Rebecca - I look forward to more positive vibes and here is a picture to maybe use in your artwork!!!

Where to Go for Easter Brunch

I think going to a Vermont restaurant for an Easter brunch buffet is one of the best ways to spend Easter Sunday. Of course, it's nicer when Easter is in April and the Sunday drive can actually include seeing a few buds popping out of the Earth, but regardless, the glorious arrays of Easter brunch displays around Vermont are worth an excursion in their own right. And who cares if you don't celebrate Easter or not - to me it's a feast to encourage spring and the delight that comes with the rebirth of the Earth.

I don't think it's a buffet, but Mary's Restaurant at the Inn at Baldwin Creek in the sweet village of Bristol, offers an Easter Brunch with all the classic delicious dishes that make Easter Brunch so decadent - Crab Cakes and Eggs, Maple Glazed Ham, Stuffed French Toast - mmmm. Brunch is from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm and ranges from $16-$30.

If you really want to step it up a notch and don your best Easter attire (which in Vermont doesn't mean a floral dress and sandles), head over to Stoweflake for a whopping $45 brunch buffet in the glamor capital of Vermont - Stowe. But, seriously, when the display includes Smoked Fish Display with Appropriate Garniture and Fresh Sliced Fruit Presentation with Fruit Salad Watermelon Ship, can you really complain about the price? I think not, especially when the display also includes Grilled Chicken Tournedo with Sweet Pea Puree and Caramelized Vidalia Onions and Crab-Stuffed Sole with a Fire-Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. If there was ever a time to eat like a tourist, Easter is it! The Stoweflake Brunch is served from 11:30 am - 2:30 pm.

In the unspoiled village of Brandon, Cafe Provence is calling my name to switch Easter brunch traditions this year - and I just might. The menu selection for the brunch buffet is uberly extensive and has all the items I love for my Easter pallet - there's a Cold Salad Buffet (with pate!!), a Carving Station, an Omelet Station, a Hot Buffet, and a Dessert Station. The price is $26.95 and there are three sittings - at 10:00 am, 12:00 noon, and 2:00 pm.

For those looking to head into the historic town of Middlebury, the Waybury Inn offers perhaps the most traditional brunch buffet of the bunch. For $26.75, the Waybury Inn's Easter Brunch Buffet features various Tea Sandwiches, Oysters in a Half Shell, Atlantic Salmon, and one of the desserts is even a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup with Cadbury Eggs! Easter Brunch is served from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm.

Of course, the brunch I would really like to go to is the farthest away. The Arlington Inn, down in Southeastern Vermont near Bennington and Manchester, offers a vast display for Easter Brunch featuring pate and smoked meat plates, rainbow trout, crepes. While the brunch certainly seems as delicious as the others, it is the stately Greek Revival mansion that is home to the Arlington Inn on historic Route 7A that really calls my name. Brunch at the Arlington Inn is $23.95 and is served from 10:30 am - 2:30 pm.

Enjoy the brunch you choose and don't forget to check other other cool Vermont Vibes in the area - a great way to search can be found at www.vermontvacation.com.

Vermont Cats

I am feeling kooky today. Maybe it is because I leave in one day to see two nights of my favorite band, moe. Perhaps it's because my big, bad birthday is in less than a week. Perhaps it's because my usually hanging out office cats are being upstairs non-hanging out cats which is not good for a crazy cat lady since cats are what makes us sane. I think it's really because I wanted to post a few pictures of my sweet little loves - Fee and Tela - the source of purrsitive vibes all the time (even when they're upstairs).

And since my cats are really not of interest to Vermont Vibes readers, I thought I would force you to look at them followed by some cat related news and links in Vermont.
Ok, thanks. So, besides, UVM sports teams being the Catamounts, UVM is also home to two A Capella singing groups, which are really good! The Cat's Meow is the women's group and the Top Cats is the men's. Check out their sites and catch a performance!

Affectionately Cats is from what I hear to be the best all cat animal hospital. Mine like to flirt with little pooches so we go to a co-breed vet.

Vermont Fancy Felines are the group who holds the Vermont Cat Show in January every year. Fee has been in that and has three first place ribbons in the household cat category!

Snowcats are uberliciosly heady snow vehicles that all Vermont Vibers should be familiar with and attempt to ride on one day.

And last, but probably of most interest, is the semi-famous My Himalayan Cat Goma Blog. It is imperative that you check this out. The Stuck In Vermont videoblog has a fantastic interview to give you a flavor of Vermont's best feline fun. When I finally hold a cat play group, I am so inviting Goma and Sachie!