14 Jun 2024 - Vermont Teddy Bear, Mt Philo, Shelburne Vineyard, Burlington Hearth Pizza

 

We had a great day exploring the Shelburne and Burlington Vermont area.  Lorie and Hammy came to the campground to see our Alliance coach and pick us up for today's journey.  They brought us a wonderful selection of Vermont products including some sausage, pancake mixes, bread mix, jelly, honey, a lavender candle and of course some Vermont maple syrup!

We departed the campground and headed to the Vermont Teddy Bear company!  This company was founded in 1981 by John Sortino.

Inside the facility is an extensive gift shop where we bought tickets for a tour,  In a short time our guide arrived and we headed through the doors into the factory.  The guide reviewed some of the company history and showed us one of the first bears made by Mr. Sortino.  

A display of old bears made by the company

The original Vermont Teddy Bear

Next stop was the cutting operation where stacks of fabric or "fur" are cut by dies into the various parts needed for each bear.  

Hydraulic press 

Metal dies cut the fabric in a press

Next operation involves sewing the pieces into a bear.  The flat pieces are first sewn into tubes.  Then they are turned inside out to hide the seams.

Air or vacuum inverts the pieces.

Machines fill the bear pieces with stuffing.  They said all of the material is made from recycled plastic bottles and completely washable.  

The appendages that swivel are assembled and then the final hole is sewn shut by hand.  Then they are packaged and shipped.  Vermont Teddy Bear makes custom stuffed animals and are always adding new products to the inventory. They also make seasonal items such as for holidays.

 

Finally we saw the "hospital" where their lifetime guarantee repairs are completed.  It the stuffed animal is damaged beyond repair they will replace it or refund, from what we understand.  

We had a great time touring the Vermont Teddy Bear company!  

From here we drove to Mt Philo State Park and drove the 968 ft vertical climb to the top of Mt Philo.  The State Park encompasses 237-acres and became Vermont's first State Park in 1924. We enjoyed  breathtaking views of the Lake Champlain Valley and New York’s Adirondack Mountains from the top.  We saw others picnicking and others just relaxing in the Adirondack chairs that overlook the viewing area.  

A great view of Lake Champlain with New York and the Adirondack Mountains in the distance.

Vermont's Green Mountains, one which is named "Shellhouse Mountain"!  

Hammy, Lorie, Doreen and me.

I'm glad we were passengers in Hammy's Ram pickup and not trying to navigate the big ol' brown truck up the narrow mountain road.  There is at least one switchback that we likely could not have made the turn.

After we left Mt Shilo we headed for the Shelburne Vineyard winery and tasting room.  This is a local vineyard established by Ken Albert in 1998.  They grow a lot of their own grapes and supplement with others from Vermont and other regional producers.  They are "grown sustainably, picked by hand, and pressed, fermented and aged to perfection in our Shelburne winery". 

We were seated outside in the shade, and each ordered a flight sampler.  Doreen and Lorie had the Buttercup and I had the Daisy. Hammy ordered a custom flight.   They offer a variety of wines and ciders to sample and purchase.  

A couple of the standard flights.  There were other options available that I did not capture.

The ice wine and ice cider were very good but as we suspected, quite pricy.  We finished our samples and did not buy any bottles.

Our "doggie clock" had expired and so we drove back to the campground to let Liberty out and relax a bit.  Later we drove into Burlington and had dinner at the Burlington Hearth Pizza.  Their pizzas are cooked in an open hearth wood-fired oven right in front of us! 

This young lady handled the pizzas like a champ!  What a hot job!

A very delicious sausage pizza and the crust was magnificent!

 We had a great day with Hammy and Lorie!  It was so nice of them to volunteer and drive considering the limitations of our big ol' brown truck.  I would have still been looking for a parking place I think!

Tomorrow Doreen and I drive to the Von Trapp family lodge near Stowe VT for a tour of where the von Trapp family settled after escaping Nazi Austria. The von Trapps are the basis of the movie "The Sound of Music".   The family first went to New York, then Philadelphia, and finally settled in Stowe, Vermont in 1942.