A Memorable Time - Aug 9-12

He showed up answering an ad for part time work in 1991 at 20 years old but looking 16.  Billy ended up working for us for 12 years over a 17 year span.  That was then…

It had been 10 years since Billy left the company and we really stayed in very distance touch – nothing more than a few facebook likes and thumbs up.  Visiting him and his now grown family in Vermont was highly anticipated and he was outside waving us in when we arrived. 

In that Billy was always an employee, it was a nice twist to be together as peers.  We had an hour or so before daughter Aleah arrived followed by wife Carolyn and we spent the time recalling old memories with a lot of laughs. Before long we headed to Stone Corral Brewery where we had great service, met a family friend and enjoyed a great meal before calling it an early night with a big day planned ahead.

Vermont provides a great playground for an active lifestyle and we planned an early start Saturday morning hike to Burnt Hill.  The forecast was iffy so we were pleased that the weather looked to cooperate as we hit the trailhead.  The hike was our biggest yet with over 2100 ft of elevation gain in just over a 5 mile distance.  With great vistas and nature’s surprises to enjoy along the way, we made it through the rough and tumble path to the amazing views at the top.  The clouds threatened throughout the day but held off until just before the hike’s end and we got sprinkled through the overhanging canopy.

For those not familiar with our family business history, we made our own super premium line of ice cream for 28 years.  Ice cream was where our relationship began so it was only fitting that we headed to the Ben and Jerry’s factory on the way home.   Being a Saturday, it was packed with people and an hour wait for a tour so we kept it to a walk through and a few laughs before leaving to find a Claxton family favorite treat - fresh made apple cider donuts.

Of course, that should have been enough of an indulgence!  But NO!!!   The town of Waterbury had ever more treats in store and we hit the Crossroads Convenience store with an unending selection of microbrew beer and ciders to grab for the evening ahead.  On the porch at the exit we found another local specialty, Maple Creemees.  Soft serve ice cream made with pure VT maple syrup, we ordered small cones not expecting the monsters they handed us!  Arriving back at the Claxton hacienda, we cleaned up and snacked our way through the night enjoying Billy’s entertainment (a talented musician!) and a chiminea fire with family friends Gene and Lisa and called it a full day!

Being that mornings are a cozy time to share the RV, we invited Billy and Carolyn for breakfast.  I started the day testing my new oven and baking pumpkin muffins and warmed us all up with oatmeal porridge.  Billy, well trained in coffee appreciation (the other half of our business was coffee importing and roasting), brought over a pot and we took time to reminisce and make our plan for the day.


Apparently, yesterday’s hike didn’t discourage any of us and we headed out for another.  It was a lovely drive to the Snake Mountain trailhead.  On the way we made a stop at the Huntington Gorge where a meandering river turned into a whitewater canyon with lots of special rocks to pick through and save.  The parking lot at the popular Stone Mountain was packed and we shared the muddy trail with a lot of families out for their Sunday adventure.  The hike was not much shorter than the previous day but the elevation was half and we made it up in good time finding a spectacular view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountain range. 

Deciding not to repeat yesterday’s sins, we headed back to the house for a chilly but refreshing afternoon dip in the pool before preparing a wonderful barbeque feast.  Aleah and boyfriend, Dillan (aka Rosco) joined us and added some youthful energy as we played “do you remember”.  Knowing the workweek and our goodbyes would be soon upon us, we gathered around the chiminea as the moon rose and the day and our time together reluctantly came to a close.