The first thing we did after breakfast was to dinghy to an old rickety set of stairs along the bay where Jonny tied up to a tree. We went for a lovely walk in the woods along a path that climbed a hill high above the coast. Much of this area is undeveloped and designated state park land. As always, Archie enjoyed running freely along the path and chasing unknown critters as he spotted them in the woods.
By 11:30 we hoisted the anchor for the less than two hour cruise up Otter Creek to the idyllic setting of Vergennes. We hadn’t been here since our first cruise nine years ago and it was one of the most memorable places that we have stayed in our travels. This time we weren’t quite sure what to expect. We had received a report from the two Johns that the recent flooding had caused the floating docks there to have to cut their chains because there was so much strong water gushing from the falls in this historic town. With the runoff from the mountains and the strong water flow, a lot of debris can fill the creek and cause more problems for boaters.
We were very fortunate in that we found none of these issues while cruising the river. We did encounter several small antique looking vessels with wood-fired steam engines that would gleefully toot their horns at us as they passed. It must have been a convention of some sort!
When we arrived at Vergennes, the docks were intact and there were no other boats. However, with the strong water flow still emanating from the falls the docks were floating further away from the shore and there was a huge build-up of foamy, sudsy water billowing in the space in between. We tied up easily and Jonny ran the power cord through the water and plugged us in. These docks are free including electricity and water. The town has a box and requests a donation of between $10 and $20 for the night, Certainly a fair deal!
We were in such a beautiful setting with the falls behind us and a beautifully maintained historic home in front of us. The older gentleman who lives there provided us with helpful advice about the area. The home has been in his family for 100 years!
That afternoon it rained a little so we mostly stayed on board. I did Spanish homework while Jonny did a number of boat chores. We had dinner on board - a new recipe I found on-line - a traditional Ukrainian dish with chicken, cabbage, paprika and a few of other ingredients. It was relatively simple and quite good!
The next day, after my Spanish lesson I did some long needed interior cleaning and defrosted the freezer while Jonny caught up on our finances. That evening we treated ourselves to a dinner out. We walked up the rather steep hill into the charming and historic town of Vergennes. Known as the smallest of Vermont’s ten cities, it has a population of 2,500. It was first settled in 1766 and it was here that the fleet that defeated the British on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812 was built and armed. The Otter Creek Falls provided power for the mills and factories that grew through to the late 19th century but since then the industries that were once active have declined and the recent focus has been more geared towards tourism.
As good tourists, we had reservations to eat at the Black Sheep Restaurant where we had dined during our previous visit. They have an unusual pricing model whereby they charge $10 for each of their appetizers and $28 for each of their entrees. The choices of both were very appealing and we had a delicious dinner trying four different items. We had Archie with us so we sat outside in a covered area by the sidewalk and we had a lovely evening - a date night!
We walked back down the hill to Zendo where the nearby falls were nicely illuminated by the moonlight.
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