Great Day

Saturday was a great day here. The weather was perfect...low 70's...tons of sunshine...zero humidity...no breeze...as David Berman sings, "It's sunny and 75. It feels so good to be alive." So, after the farmer's market and my daughter's nap, we headed out to Brookfield for some apple picking at Liberty Orchard and playtime around the floating bridge.

The apple trees were packed although from the dozen or so I've eaten so far, I think they could probably use another week on the tree. They're crunchy and crisp but a bit too tart. Another week may sweeten them up a bit. Regardless, we had a blast and the scenery was beautiful. The foliage hasn't turned at all yet which is unusual but the views were still enjoyable.

The floating bridge in Brookfield is an oddity and a fun place to hang out. The bridge spans a large pond and isn't anchored to anything underwater. It's connected to the two sides of the pond and just floats. The part of the bridge where the cars drive sits about six inches underwater but then sinks another inch or two as a car passes over it. It's not something to cross in your fancy tricked-up lowrider but most car are able to pass without a problem. On some cars you can hear the sound of sizzling water as the underbody of the car touches the water. My father-in-law refuses to drive over it in his Camry but he just needs to show more faith in our forefathers' engineering skills.

The original floating bridge in this spot was built in 1820 and has been replaced six times since then. This version of the bridge was built in 1978. There are always people hanging out and fishing on the bridge. Plus, my kids get a kick out of watching the water rise up around the tires of the cars and then jumping out of the way of the splashes. And that's not even to mention the scenery which is some of the best in pictaresque central VT.

Overall, it was a great day.