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Hildene: Lincoln Family Summer Home

We visited the Hildene house, which was the private family house of the Abraham Lincoln’s only child that lived to adulthood, and became quiet wealthy.

Large Georgian Revival mansion with black shutters and multiple chimneys set on a sweeping green lawn framed by mature trees *Hildene House from the front.* Large Georgian Revival mansion with green shutters viewed from formal gardens with trimmed hedges and brick pathway *Rear of the house from the formal gardens.* Brick path runs between neatly trimmed hedges and colorful flower borders toward a pergola, with mountains beyond. *Hildene House formal gardens.* Formal dining room with set oval table, upholstered chairs, fireplace, candles, floral centerpiece, and portrait painting above the mantel. *Hildene House dining room.*
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Afternoon ice cream at Cold Cow Creamery. Tyler opted for a Blondie bar from a coffee shop instead. The Maple Shake was tremendous.

Three hands holding ice cream treats outdoors including two large scoops in cups and a vanilla milkshake with a green straw.
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A Mile of the Appalachian Trail

I have had a growing interest in the Appalachian Trail ever since I read Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. So it was a special treat when we were driving back down Bromley Mountain and there was a parking area that connected directly to the Appalachian Trail.

We decided to hike a mile up the trail and then come back. It was fun to pass some through-hikers on the trail, and to taste a little bit of the AT.

Family of four smiling at an AT/LT Trail North sign showing Summit Bromley Mtn 3.0 miles, surrounded by green forest. *Trail head from parking lot.* Wooden trailhead kiosk with Vermont Route 11/30 and Appalachian Long Trail information panels, hiking sticks and water jugs at base. *Trail head map and information. Walking sticks and water available.* Three hikers crossing a rustic wooden footbridge over Bromley Brook in a lush green forest, with a carved wooden trail sign in the foreground. *Bridge crossing Bromley Brook.* Narrow dirt hiking trail winding through dense green forest with two hikers visible ahead and a white AT blaze on a tree trunk *Densely wooded trails with white trail blaze for AT.* Narrow wooden boardwalk stretching through a lush green forest over muddy ground, flanked by trees and low vegetation. *Board walk to make it through muddier sections.*
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Alpine Slide at Bromley

In my head Alpine Slides look dangerous. There is no good reason for that. Visually they look like a luge track and it makes me think of people on bobsleds going at insane speeds. Now having done it, this analogy seems utterly ridiculous, but that is what was in my head. When Tammy put the Alpine Slides at Bromley Mountain on our plan for the day I was anxious.

Mazie, Tyler and I were all first timers on the Alpine Slide. Shortly after getting going I realized this was all just a bunch of fun. The slide was very long and had a ton of fun turns. As a bonus, the chair lift ride up was gorgeous as well. Mazie had a blast and would have gone a dozen more times. Tyler got into the groove of it after a while too.

Two people ride a chairlift up a wooded hillside, carrying yellow sleds, above a winding concrete alpine slide track on green grass below. Child riding a sled down a winding concrete alpine slide on a green hillside, with a chairlift carrying two riders above Blond boy grins while riding a yellow sled down a concrete alpine slide track on a grassy hillside, with several riders following behind.
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Vermont Road Trip Log: Day 6, Thursday

Weather: Perfect!

  • Hung out at schoolhouse and made breakfast using eggs from the farm.
  • Walked the farm and checked out Studio Hill.
  • Left for Saratoga Springs.
  • Lunch at Kaleidoscope Cafe and met Bruce the owner.
  • Went to Saratoga Springs race track and watched and bet on three races.
  • Drove to Walloomsac
  • Dinner at Taproom at Browns Brewing
  • Battlefield memorial
  • Movie at Hathaway’s Drive-in.

Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of Vermont Road Trip.

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We saw the Jungle Cruise at Hathaway’s Drive-in! It has become a bit of a tradition to go to a drive-in movie on trips.

Drive-in movie theater at dusk with the Disney castle logo on a large outdoor screen, cars parked on a grassy lot Jungle Cruise movie title card on a large outdoor drive-in screen at night, with a lit restroom building visible below.
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Saratoga Racetrack

We went to the horse track today! 💸

Stone entrance sign reading Historic Saratoga Race Course Established 1864 July 15 September 6 flanked by red and white flowers

We’ve been to Canterbury Park with the kids and have had fun. Saratoga however is much, much bigger. It took us a while to just figure out where to go and sit. Then it took us a while to figure out how to read everything and understand how it all worked. But, after a bit we mostly got the hang of it. By the end I felt confident to go up to the betting stands and say stuff like “$10 on 5 to place”. Careful reading of the program was a big help.

Our bets for the day. We only had two winners. I made an epic bad on on Race 6 after getting enamored with the idea of an “Across the Board” bet, which is actually three bets in one: one to win, one to place, and one to show. I thought the bet divided amongst them but it actually multiplies, so I ended up betting three times what I thought. Ooops. And that horse was absolutely terrible in that race, coming in last by several lengths.

We had a super fun time and it was cool to be at such a historic race track.

Race 5

Tyler bet on Swinging sticks to place.
Mazie bet on Magnificent Chrome to place.

Race 6

Mazie bet on 9 to show.
Tyler bet on 5 to show. Winner!
Jamie made a terrible bet on 1 “across the board”.

Race 7

Tyler bet on Mystery Bank to show.
Mazie bet on Land Biscuit to show.
Mazie bet on Mister Kringle to show. Winner!
Tammy bet on Life on Top to win.
Jamie bet on Landbiscuit 7 to place.

Horse race in progress on the grass turf at Saratoga with a pack of jockeys mid-race, odds board and scoreboard visible, spectators lining the rail below. horses racing on the grass turf at Saratoga with a large odds scoreboard and crowd of spectators watching in the foreground Horses and jockeys racing on the turf course at Saratoga during Race 7 as spectators watch from the rail, with the odds board showing BABE as unofficial winner.
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Beer flight at Brown’s Brewery.

Four-beer flight on a rustic wooden paddle at Browns Brewery with a handwritten card listing Raz Sour, Nigel, Cherry Raz, and Joann
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Great sign for a brewery.

Yellow diamond caution-style sign reading Yeast At Work for Browns Brewing Co above a white taproom hours sign in a wooded setting.
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Kaleidoscope Cafe

On our drive to Saratoga we spotted Kaleidoscope Cafe and decided the mix of BBQ and homemade Ice Cream was the perfect combination we wanted for lunch. We stopped in and Bruce, the gregarious owner, welcomed us and gave us a rundown of the menu. Everything here is made by him personally, except the hot dogs. He gave me a sample of all four of his BBQ sauces. I wanted to buy a couple of bottles to take home but he’s not selling that, yet. We had brisket and pulled pork and all of it was great. The mac-n-cheese goes perfect with the brisket.

Man in plaid shirt taking a selfie with a young blond boy and a smiling bald man in a blue apron waving behind a diner counter with a chalkboard menu above listing BBQ and ice cream items.

We of course had ice cream as well. The Peanut Butter Infusion was amazing, but equally great was the Sweet Blue-Nilla which we tried in both scoop and shake options. Easily the best blueberry ice cream I have ever had.

We had a great time and heard some of Bruce’s story, and how he opened Kaleidoscope just last year in the middle of the pandemic. He’s powered through and pivoted a bit but is continuing to build out a great place for BBQ and Ice Cream. If you are in the area, you need to make a stop and say Hi! 👋