Scenes Around Rutland

Yankee Candle

Steve woke up early to capture some of the beautiful sites around Rutland. We've been driving past these places almost every day.

Later we took all the children up to Yankee Candle Company in South Deerfield, Mass. The trip takes almost all back roads. The winding roads and beautiful farms are like a picture book. We set up a code: honking twice when we wanted to stop for pictures. Some children began to express doubts that we would ever get there.

This house and barn are our favorites. They are so beautiful together.

At long last, we did arrive at Yankee Candle. It was shocking to find a place in the middle of nowhere so crowded. The flowers around the store were so beautiful, we just couldn't believe the hundreds of mums!

Naturally, this became a prime opportunity for picture taking!

Our first stop inside the store was the fairly empty candle making museum. The chandler in the museum was quite terse to begin with, but Steve soon won him over with his interest. He then gave us a great presentation, lasting about 45 minutes. The boys were fascinated, very polite, and all asked great questions. The man even let them help make some candles (very unusual). I think, by the end, he enjoyed it as much as we did.

We then hit the store. It is an immense maze of room after room. The toy section was, naturally, the favorite. This giant LEGO Bionicle was considered awesome!

These pictures were taken in a room of nutcrackers.

When we returned home we all stacked wood.

Notice the partial woodpile behind Spencer.

Because the house was sixty degrees inside, we lit the first fire for the winter. Jennie and Adam heat with wood all winter long. We have loved having the fire. It keeps the whole house toasty.

Salem and York

Friday morning we left for Salem, Mass as soon as Adam got home from work.

We thought the New England Pirate Museum looked fun for seven boys. However, museum is a terrible word to describe this scam. For eight dollars a person we went to a "treasure room" boasting one authentic pirate coin; walked through some darkened hallways with dummies dressed as pirates and heard bad puns and pirate stories told at the speed of light. The whole thing lasted ten minutes. After a quick assessment, we decided the whole town was just as attractive, and decided to head for Maine.




One hour later we arrived in York, Maine and drove out to the Nubble Lighthouse. The town and the ocean were beautiful.The boys loved climbing on the rocks.

Family pictures weren't as much fun.

Sammy is a natural climber. He was in heaven.

We loved watching the Sea Birds. We also saw an occasional flock of geese flying south. Also, unlike children, sea birds don't object to having their pictures taken.

The boys loved being able to let loose on the grass next to the beach.

The adults loved the beautiful homes and inns in York.

The green in York was so beautiful. We heard Uncle Willard wanted more trees, so we're trying to get some good specimens. This is on the green in York.

We stopped at the Stonewall Kitchen flagship store in York. They make gourmet condiments, and had lots of samples through the store. This is Spencer's heaven.

The other boys played outside on the lawn, with Adam and Jennie taking turns watching them.

We started trying to get dinner at 4:15. Most places had closed for the season or were way too expensive. We ended up finding a Weathervane in nearby Kittery at 6:00. Unlike our meal in Plymouth, this one was served in record time.

We brought home a wild Maine blueberry pie. The children and adults were very tired when we arrived home at 9:30.