Tuesday July 22, 2025 Downtown Marriott Hotel, Kingston, Ontario to Essex Junction, Vermont

Deb here. Great sleeping in our comfy hotel last night. Breakfast was included with our room, so we had a delicious (and big) breakfast downstairs in their restaurant, including croissants, fruit salad, eggs or pancakes, sausage… the whole shebang.

By a few minutes before 9 we were packed up and in our van, ready to head for Vermont. Google Maps wanted us to drive on Rt 401, the 4 lane highway, but we opted to take a road that paralleled it called the 1,000 Islands Parkway. Absolutely gorgeous terrain as we drove, right along the St. Lawrence Seaway and past many small islands, camps and boats. Eventually we reached Cornwall, Ontario, at which point we crossed the bridge into NY state. 

Our route then took us across the top of New York and on into Vermont at Rouse’s Point. Vermont couldn’t have given us a warmer welcome with the sunshine, blue skies, green grasses and sparkling water. What a beautiful drive.

We decided to meander through the Champlain Islands, and we stopped to visit a friend of John’s, Guy Kirchoff, at his home in North Hero. We had a great visit with Guy and his friend Beth, and after chatting for a while made a plan to catch up with them again later in the week.

From there we continued to South Hero and stopped at Seb’s Snackbar for maple creemees. What a treat after 2 years of not having this delectable deliciousness! We even asked for maple crunchy sprinkles on top of the creemees, adding to the decadence.

On we went to Burlington, where we stopped for a visit with Tom Roberts, another dear work friend of John’s. Tom and his wife Kathy live in a condo right near Lake Champlain, and we sat out on their deck for a visit.

By this time it was close to 6 p.m., and we had a date to meet our friends Darcy and Al, and Kathy and John at Burlington Beer Company. Unfortunately Al tested positive for COVID with no symptoms, but he stayed home. The five of us had a tasty dinner and fun conversation. It’s always the best to catch up with old friends.

It was closing in on 8:30 by the time we left. We headed to Darcy and Al’s home and parked our van there for the night. A perfect day back in the 802!