Who's the Real One?

Addison, Vermont
10 Acres Campground

In yesterday's blog I was telling you about someone mistaking Bill for his brother in law.  He sent me a photo and I didn't get permission to use it, until after I published yesterday.  You be the judge.  Which one is Bill Mains?

Vote for #1 or

Vote for #2

Kind of strange isn't it?  I've always heard we have a double out there somewhere.  

We took a short drive over to Middlebury today.  It is a beautiful town.  We stopped in Danforth Pewter shop.  Knowing how much Bill appreciates any form of art, I thought he'd enjoy it.  The studio was very nice, with jazz playing as a background and beautifully displayed pewter pieces.  

We had hoped to see the artists at work, but they only work weekdays.  

They have eighteen people that work in the workshop through the week.  They create a lot of pieces.

They also do castings.  

They have some of the original pieces from the family dating back to 1768.

Here's how a piece would begin.

Here the piece is starting to take shape.  One more step and it will be finished.

The girl told us that they were featured on the TV show, How it's Made.  

This flag was presented by Senator Leahy in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Danforth Pewter.

Look what Bill bought for me.

While he's paying for this, I found another jewel in this shop.

It was a tasting room for Whistlepig Rye.  I don't remember ever tasting Rye before, but it was the drink of the colonists, so when in Rome......  

I have to say, it was very good.  It is made in Shoreham, where we were yesterday for the ferry ride. 

There was even a drink made with maple syrup.  

Click on this photo to enlarge it so you can read the details of Whistlepig Straight Rye Whiskey.  I don't think I've been in a town the size of Middlebury with so many distillery's, winery's or brewery's.   I guess I know what they do here in the winter.  Jim and Martha Abernathy, you'd love it here.  

Right up the road was the Morgan Horse Farm so we thought we'd check it out.  The girl said to follow the road past the covered bridge.  All the covered bridges seem to be different.  

The sign reads, Pulp Mill Bridge 1853 and restored in 2012.

It was solid, not like the Bridges of Madison County.

I expected a bigger farm for the Morgan Horse Farm, but it was pretty.

The moment you turned into the driveway there were signs saying admission fee.  I think I counted 3 or 4 before we parked the truck.  

When we entered the barn it was five after twelve.  I saw a sign that said tours on the hour.  Lucky for us, the tour hadn't started yet.  The fellow that gave the tour, wasn't very good in his delivery.  He sounded like he was reading a boring book without looking up, but it was only $5.00.  

This horse's name was Justin Morgan, which was the owner. Horses in those days were named after the owners.  He died in 1821.  We learned that every horse he sired looked exactly like the stud.  It was later learned that all of his genes were dominant, resulting in each horse looking like the sire .  

I believe we were told that the barn was built in 1878 and still has the original roof.

The foundation is made out of marble.

It's a shame today's roofs don't last that long.

This tour guide knew the name of every horse.

We took a walk through the barn and were told how they name the horses.  

They actually groom the horses with a vacuum.

When we walked over to one stall our guide told us that the horse kicks the door of the stall for attention.  Sure enough, it started kicking the stall door.  He's almost kicked  through the door. He would stop once you paid attention to him.

They have an indoor arena for the horses when it's cold and nasty out.  

There is a separate barn for the colts.  

This colt was just running around the grounds and once they brought the mare up, the colt decided to lead the way.

They have an apprenticeship program which allows for room and board.  You are required to work six days a week without pay.  The guide told us that at the present time they don't have an apprentice  If you know of someone, have them call.  Of course, saying you worked on the Morgan Farm on a resume would be worth more than any payment you may have received.

It was different from a lot of places we've visited.  

Turtle Safely.......