Today was all about touring. We stopped at North Star Sports, the bike shop where we left my e-bike yesterday, and true to his word, my new buddy Jeff in the service department had come in early and got the new brake lever spliced into the wiring on the bike. With the e-bike, it isn't just a matter of replacing the brake lever - it takes a special brake lever that will cut out the electric pedal assist or throttle when you pull on the lever.
We had sourced out a new lever with the proper wiring online, and it would have been around $30, plus my time to replace and rewire it. Jeff charged me $15 for the new lever and $15 for labor... I am a happy camper. Not to be confused with the crappy city campground we're in - no, I'm talking about my experience with North Star Sports. Before putting it back in the CR-V, I ran the bike up a hill next to the bike shop to make sure the pedal assist was working. All good.
From there, we went to Lake Champlain Chocolates...
They offer a factory tour. And, a "tasting". I'm in...
The tasting...
White chocolate, milk and dark chocolate, and cacao bits. Interesting - I am definitely a milk chocolate kinda guy. Then, some chocolate shopping...
That image above is a seascape made out of chocolate.
From there, we rolled south on I-89, heading to Waterbury, VT. Nice scenery along the way...
Waterbury is the home of Ben and Jerry, the ice cream enterprise...
These guys are master marketers. Well, the corporation that now owns the business has carried on with the Ben and Jerry premise. We signed up for the tour (you get to pay for this one), and looked around the store while we were waiting...
They don't allow photography during the tour, but I did take this one at the sampling at the end of the tour...
I have to say: this beats the heck out of wineries!
While in Waterbury, Joan wanted to visit the Green Mountain Coffee Visitors Center...
No tour offered, and they sell the coffee at full retail. Better selection and prices online (according to the coffee drinker in the family).
We looked around for a place for a late lunch; decided to head back to Burlington. This sign got my attention along the way...
Apparently, they have sleepy moose (mooses, meese??) around here, because they tell them to stay alert. Which is kinda silly, because moose, while being very cool animals, do not read. And even if they did read, they still do what they want. (We used to see them regularly in the Tetons.)
Late lunch, then back to the coach and some leash time for Izzy. The weather weasels were predicting thunderstorms for the afternoon, but they didn't materialize... I'm good with that.
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