Craft Show in Essex Junction, Vermont

On the weekend of October 22nd, I drove up to Vermont with my mother-in-law, Jean, and her friend, Leona. We had a wonderful time. We went with the intention of getting away from all the craziness and just enjoy crafting. On the way, we stopped at Paper Capers, a very nifty store if you live near it in Windsor, CT. Eventually, through all the traffic, we finally made it up to Williston, VT about 10:15 after leaving my house at 4:15. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn, and with Jean's AAA membership, we got a pretty decent rate.

The main focus of our trip was the Essex Fall Craft and Fine Art Show. It was much bigger than we had anticipated. If I remember correctly, there were 4 buildings and 2 huge tents filled with vendors, as well as others outside. Though we were definitely exhausted after spending a good part of Saturday and some of Sunday there, I recommend it to the craft buyer and also any crafter looking for ideas. Personally, I tried to stay away from getting too many ideas since I already have too many projects going now! However, I did make several purchases including a few rubber stamps, a Christmas ornament, some aromatherapy capsules, a stocking for Pinball, a barrette, some CDs by Tim Janis, and a huge �clair for Dan.

Though we enjoyed typical fair food for lunch at the craft show (I had a hot dog and fries, Jean had soup in a bread bowl, and Leona had a roast beef sandwich), Jean and I ventured out from the hotel in search for dinner. The receptionist at the hotel recommended a Chinese food place down the street called Men at Wok (299 North Williston Road, 802-878-2850). If you are in the area, I would recommend it. The food was decent, and you couldn't beat the prices for the amount of food that you got in a plate. In reality, we could have probably just ordered one plate and had enough for all three of us.

While we were waiting for our food, Jean and I went for a walk and came across the most wonderful little "mom and pop" candy store. It's called Ambrosia Chocolate Company Inc., and it's located at 266 Williston Road (802-872-9699). Sadly, they do not have a website yet, but if you are anywhere near the Williston area, you have got to check out this store. The truffles were to die for and they had every type of candy you could think of, along with two very helpful and charming young men ready to assist us as we needed. Jean discovered a love for chocolate covered espresso beans there, which caused her to be wide awake most of the night!

On Sunday, we packed up early to get to several "tourist" places before going back to finish the craft show and ultimately returning back to CT. To make a long story short, we had to revisit each place twice and we wasted a lot of time going in circles. A word to touristy type places, especially in the Burlington area where we were: please put your winter hours on your promotional material! It was so frustrating to visit your attractions and be turned away because your hours change, but you don't bother to advertise it.

Anyway, Jean, Leona, and I finished up at the craft fair, and our first stop was to Lake Champlain Chocolates. It was nifty to see the factory there, though it wasn't in operation because of the weekend. Personally, I picked up a few "reject" things and saved the rest of my money for our last stop. I found that the prices at Lake Champlain Chocolates were outrageous. I'd go back to Ambrosia any day, and the chocolate was better from there too.

So, our last stop before heading home was to Shelburne Farms. Dan and I had visited there before and fell in love with their awesome cheddar cheese, so since I was returning to the area, I had to bring some home to him. The farm itself is a nice place to visit too when it's operational outside of winter.

Though it was a long and exhausting weekend, we had a lot of fun and enjoyed ourselves. And we even got a little card making done!