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Lobsters, Wineries and Foods of New England

Program Number: 12312RJ
Start and End Dates:
7/28/2013 - 8/3/2013; 8/11/2013 - 8/17/2013; 9/8/2013 - 9/14/2013; 9/15/2013 - 9/21/2013; 9/22/2013 - 9/28/2013; 9/29/2013 - 10/5/2013; 10/6/2013 - 10/12/2013; 10/13/2013 - 10/19/2013;
Duration: 6 nights
Location: Newport, Rhode Island
Price starting at: $1,445.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city
Program Type: Food & Wine; On the Road Activity Level: t (see description)
Meals: 18; 6 Breakfasts, 6 Lunches, 6 Dinners    

Experience the diversity of New England cuisine and the region's beautiful scenery during a weeklong journey through Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Discuss with professional winemakers, lobstermen, fishermen and farmers the products they grow and harvest from the lands and seas. Learn about specialty products created by local entrepreneurs and enjoy field trips to vineyards, farms, sugarhouses, markets and the ocean.




Highlights

• Visit a sugarhouse in Vermont's beautiful Green Mountains preparing traditional Vermont maple-sugar treats, including “sugar-on-snow," boiling maple syrup served over ice.
• Meet with local lobstermen and fisherman in the picturesque coastal Maine to discuss the challenges of fishing in the Gulf of Maine.
• Visit a Vermont organic dairy farm for a presentation on organic cheesemaking at a small Vermont farm.



Activity Particulars

Walking up to one mile over varied terrain, unpaved and uneven surfaces, boarding a boat. Standing on field trips.




Date Specific Information

7-28-2013, 8-11-2013, 9-8-2013, 9-15-2013, 9-22-2013, 9-29-2013, 10-6-2013, 10-13-2013

Enjoy the latest in hearing technology — listening devices — on this date.



Itinerary Summary

Arrival Newport, R.I., 2 nights; coach to Ogunquit, Maine, 2 nights; coach via New Hampshire to Brandon, Vt., 2 nights; coach to Newport, R.I., departure.




Rutland

During the early 1800s, Rutland was known for farming and its sheep industry. During the Revolutionary War the city was a crossroad for the fighting force known as the Green Mountain Boys. By the mid 1800s, Rutland had become one of the largest marble producers in the world and is today the largest city in southern Vermont.



Newport (Rhode Island)

Lavish mansions, billowing sails, and a plethora of culinary and scenic delights characterize this world-famous seaport, beloved by the East Coast elite during the 19th century. The Gilded Age lives on in Newport, as does the earlier Colonial period, as dozens of historic homes and buildings recall bygone eras of seafaring and socializing.



Ogunquit

 Known to the Abenaki tribe as “beautiful place by the sea,” Ogunquit is an idyllic town with pristine beaches, granite cliffs and vibrant evergreen forests. Artists discovered Ogunquit's beauty more than a century ago, and helped transform the quaint fishing hamlet into one of the most picturesque and enjoyed seaside resort villages in New England.



Brandon

With its entire downtown recorded on the National Register of Historic Places and the town’s bucolic location among the rolling hills of central Vermont, Brandon is a unique, historic destination near the Green Mountains.
Accommodations
Hotels in Newport, Ogunquit. Historic inn in Brandon.
Meals and Lodgings
   Holiday Inn Express
  Newport, RI 2 nights
   Ogunquit River Inn & Suites
  Ogunquit, ME 2 nights
   Brandon Inn
  Brandon, VT 2 nights
 Holiday Inn Express
Type: Hotel
  Description: Close to downtown Newport and other area attractions
  Contact info: 855 West Main Road
Middletown, RI 02842 USA
phone: 401-848-7128
web: www.hiexpress.com
  Room amenities: Cable TV, phones, micro wave ovens, coffee makers, refrigerators, high speed internet, newspaper
  Facility amenities: exercise room features cardiovascular and weight training equipment, Whirlpool, Daily Housekeeping On-site Guest Self-Laundry Facilities (washer/dryer), Dry Cleaning Pickup/Laundry, indoor pool, high speed internet
  Smoking allowed: No
  Elevators available: Yes
  Additional nights prior: $169 - $229 Please call Hotel Reservations at 800-333-4121. Please refer to Road Scholar for a 20% to 30% off of their rack rates.
  Check in time: 3:00 PM

 Ogunquit River Inn & Suites
Type: Hotel
  Description: Located overlooking Atlantic Marshes
  Contact info: Route One
Ogunquit, ME 03907 USA
phone: 207-646-9611
  Room amenities: Air conditioned, iron/iron board, cable television, refrigerators, phones
  Facility amenities: Outdoor heated pool, Jacuzzi, lawn croquet
  Smoking allowed: Yes

 Brandon Inn
Type: Inn
  Description: The historic Brandon Inn flanks the village green and is the center-piece of the charming, New England town of Brandon, Vermont.
  Contact info: Route 7
Brandon, VT 05733 USA
phone: 802-247-5766
web: www.brandoninn.com/
  Room amenities: Bedrooms are large and elegant, individually decorated with period furniture and colonial wall-papers. All rooms have telephones, free Wi-Fi and air conditioning in season.
  Facility amenities: A Queen Anne-style brick inn that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Inn has been here since 1786. The huge Victorian parlors on the main floor are accented with carved moldings and ornate pillars. There are two gilded floor-to-ceiling mirrors and a circular love seat, as well as comfortable seating for reading.
  Smoking allowed: No
  Bathroom: All rooms have private bathrooms. Some claw foot tubs, tub/showers, standard stand up showers
  Elevators available: Yes


Travel Details
  Start of Program:
Arrive at the hotel between 3:00-4:30 pm. You will be staying at Holiday Inn Express that night.
  End of Program:
Ends after lunch. Drop off at the TF Green Airport in Providence at around 1:30 PM. You will be staying at Brandon Inn the night before.
  Required documents:
The Road Scholar Health & Safety Form is required.
  Parking availability:
No charge
Transportation
To Start of Program
  Location:  Newport, RI
  Nearest city or town:  Newport
  Nearest highway: Interstate 95
  Nearest airport:  TF Green, Providence, RI
  From End of Program
  Location:  Brandon, VT
  Nearest city or town:  Brandon
  Nearest highway: Route 7
  Nearest airport:  Albany, NY
Travel Details
 

Newport/Providence

 

From Airport

 
 

Service:

 

Commercial Van/Shuttle
Cozy Cab
phone: 800-846-1502
Advanced Reservations Required

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

Approximately $25 + $6 see below
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

45 Minutes 
   

Call for reservations Cozy Cab will bring you to an initial location, then they will arrange for another cab that will bring you to our hotel for an additional $6
 

Newport/Kingston

 

From Train Station

 
 

Service:

 

Taxi
Wright's Taxi
phone: 401-789-0400
Advanced Reservations Required

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

$55 - $75
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

45 Minutes 
 

Distance:

 

30 Miles
   

Call for rates and reservations
 
Driving Directions
  From Boston & Points North Take Rt. 128 South to Rt. 24 South through Fall River. Continue on Rt. 24 (follow signs for Newport) over the Sakonnet River Bridge and take Rt.114/West Main Rd. south for seven miles. The Holiday Inn Express is on your left, next to Chili's Restaurant
  From Providence Take Rt. 195 East through Fall River to Rt. 24 South. Continue on Rt. 24 (follow signs for Newport) over the Sakonnet River Bridge and take Rt.114/West Main Rd. south for seven miles. The Holiday Inn Express is on your left, next to Chili's Restaurant
  From the South or West Take I-95 North to Rhode Island. Take exit #3A for RI-138 East/ S Kingston and follow for 14 miles. Turn left at RI-138 E/US-1 N/Tower Hill Rd. Exit onto RI-138 E toward Jamestown/Newport Partial toll road. Merge onto RI-138 E via the ramp to Fall River/Cape Cod Partial toll road. Take the exit towarrd RI-138 E/Admiral Kalbfus Road, turn left at RI-138 E/Admiral Kalbfus Road. Turn left at RI-114/West Main Rd. Follow 1.4 miles, the Holiday Inn Express is on your right, next to Chili's Restaurant
Elevation Note: None

Equipment Requirements: None
The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.


Daily Schedule

Day 1: Afternoon Arrival/Welcome
(Sunday, September 8)
   
 Afternoon: CHECK-IN: Please arrive at the hotel between 3:00-4:30pm. Check into your room at the front desk and then register with Road Scholar staff in the Main lobby. At this time you'll be given a welcome packet containing your name tag, up-to-date itinerary and other useful information.
 Dinner: Dinner is served at local restaurant.
 Evening: ORIENTATION: After dinner we will have our Orientaion. This will provide you with information about the hotel, program itinerary, instructors, venues and on site staff.
   
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Express
Meals Included: Dinner

Day 2: Kenyon Corn Meal, Newport Vineyard,
(Monday, September 9)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.
 Morning: FIELD TRIP: This morning we visit Kenyon Corn Meal for a presentation on Johnny Cakes and and a program on grist mills in Rhode Island. Kenyon's Grist Mill is the oldest operating manufacturing business in Rhode Island. Although our current building dates back to 1886, we've been grinding meals & flours on site since 1696. Our single pass grinding process is between two, very large Westerly, Rhode Island granite millstones. This method of grinding continues to withstand the test of time to be the health conscious choice. Our genuine stone ground cornmeal is most popular, especially stone ground white cornmeal (or johnny cake meal) to make johnny cakes. This traditional Rhode Island food dates back to the colonial time when Native American Indians introduced corn to the settlers. At first, they were known as "journey cakes". Settlers often took them along on their journeys. But, as Rhode Islanders were more known for dropping "r's" in words, "journey cakes" slowly became "johnny cakes". Kenyon's has always been available for milling farmer's grain into meal or flour, a tradition that the Drumm family has proudly upheld. We are currently working on a team effort producing local rye flour and bread with Schartner Farms in Exeter, Seven Stars Bakery in Providence, and Farm Fresh Rhode Island. Throughout the years, we have always supported local farms and have been continuously looking for and grinding native grains when available, such as the rare crop of Rhode Island Flint corn. Although we try very hard to purchase our grains as local as possible, it is also important to consider the farming methods used. As always, we do not use, or source grain with any additives, pesticides or preservatives.
 Lunch: Enjoy a traditional seafood lunch at a local restaurant.
 Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Afternoon Class and visit to the Newport Vineyards. Newport Vineyards was originally planted in 1977 on a hill overlooking Rhode Island Sound with the goal of producing fine wines and as a way of preserving beautiful agricultural land from rapid development. Aquidneck Island is blessed with one of the most desirable farming areas in the country, if not the world. This extraordinary micro-climate is created by a combination of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream to the south and the moderating effects of Narragansett Bay. These conditions provide a long, cool growing season ideal for developing complex flavors in wine. Since the original vineyard plantings in the 1970s, Newport Vineyards, under the ownership of John and Paul Nunes, has grown to 60 vineyard acres.
 Dinner: Dinner at the Atlantic Beach Club
 Evening: FREE EVENING: Relax at the hotel.
   
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Express
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Green Meadows Organic Farm, Lobster Cruise
(Tuesday, September 10)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast is served at the hotel
 Morning: FIELD TRIP: Today we visit an The Green Meadows Organic Farm, owned by descendants of the Patton family for a presentation on organic farming and CSA farming. Green Meadows Farm is a property with a long history as a private estate. The main house has been dated in its central part to 1786. Successive owners added pieces to it over the years, hence its rambling character! Major and Mrs. George S. Patton Jr. bought the property in 1928. The Pattons lived here only occasionally until World War II, when Beatrice Patton took up residence, expecting to welcome her husband home from the war, to retirement. Unfortunately, an untimely vehicle accident caused General Patton's death in 1945, so he was never here in extended residence. Mrs Patton lived here until her death in the hunting field in 1953. Upon his retirement after 34 years as a career Army officer, the next George Patton and his family moved here permanently in 1980. Major General Patton was determined to make something more of his property than "leisure land", so with the help of agricultural, environmental, and forestry experts -- and the advice of seasoned farmers -- he initiated Green Meadows Farm, originally as a blueberry operation. Naming his fields for brave soldiers who had lost their lives in service with him in Vietnam, he and his farm personnel have worked hard to maximize the potential of the land.
 Lunch: Lunch is served at the Green Meadows Organic Farm.
 Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Afternoon Lobster Cruise w/speaker in Kennebunkport, Maine Hop aboard a real lobster pulling boat and learn about the industry as you watch the captain pull up the traps revealing the day's catch.
 Dinner: Dinner at the Historic Colony Hotel.
 Evening: PRESENTATION: This evening, enjoy a discussion with a local food expert.
   
Accommodations: Ogunquit River Inn & Suites
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: City of Portland, Cold River Vodka, Wilbur's Chocolate
(Wednesday, September 11)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast is served at hotel
 Morning: FIELD TRIP: Visit The Portland Fish Exchange. The Portland Fish Exchange is America’s first all-display fresh fish and seafood auction, operated in Portland, Maine. The Exchange offers a fair and open marketplace bringing together fishing vessels (sellers) with seafood wholesalers and processors (buyers). Fresh fish and seafood are unloaded from fishing vessels daily and displayed for buyers to make purchasing decisions. The auction is conducted at mid-day. Products purchased are destined for restaurants, markets, and processing plants within hours of vessel landings. The Portland Fish Exchange Board Governs the Portland Fish Exchange.
 Lunch: Lunch at local restaurant featuring a traditional Maine Lobster Roll
 Afternoon: Program at the Cold River Vodka Distillery. The idea for Cold River Vodka originated with brothers Lee and Donnie Thibodeau. Growing up in Presque Isle, the heart of Maine’s potato country, they listened to their father and uncles tell about their history of turning potatoes into vodka. However, the realities of tending to the potato crop and the rigors of the annual harvest left little time. Three years ago, the idea of commercially producing vodka resurfaced between Donnie and Lee as they were driving back to their childhood home in Presque Isle. After years of thinking of business ideas and talking about the future of Maine’s potato industry, the two decided to make the best vodka from Maine potatoes. Maine’s agricultural industry is always searching for ways to add value to staple crops. This goal complemented the Thibodeaus’ desire to preserve Maine’s open space and become the only distillery in the country that would oversee its entire production – from planting potato seed to bottling vodka. They called longtime friend Bob Harkins, who had recently left his post as a ski area executive, and asked him to explore the feasibility of producing vodka using Maine potatoes and Maine water. With that call, the business was born. The three needed someone who knew distilling and soon discovered Chris Dowe. After a decade of installing and consulting on breweries across the country, he wanted to spend more time with his family in Maine. The four partners and their wives chose the name Cold River Vodka. Glaciers carved the Cold River through the backbone of western Maine millennia ago. From the aquifer that this clear, pristine river feeds, the distillery takes its water. From a dream to a reality, from the ground to glass, from spud to super-premium spirit — this is Cold River Vodka. This program is followed by free time in Freeport.
 Dinner: Lobster bake dinner at Foster's York Harbor Pavilion
 Evening: EVENING ENTERTAINMENT: Sing along with the Captain at Foster's York Harbor Pavilion
   
Accommodations: Ogunquit River Inn & Suites
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Flag Hill Winery/Distillery, Goat Demonstration
(Thursday, September 12)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast is served at hotel
 Morning: FIELD TRIP: Visit the Flag Hill Winery and Distillery for program and tasting. Established in 1990, Flag Hill has grown from a family operated business to the largest vineyard in NH with an established winery producing distinguished wines from our own vineyard. Embarking on a new venture, owner Frank Reinhold secured Flag Hill as the first distillery in NH in 2004, producing high quality distilled spirits such as General John Stark Vodka and Josiah Bartlett Barrel Aged Apple Brandy.
 Lunch: Lunch en route to Vermont
 Afternoon: PRESENTATION: Meet with local goat farmer who will talk about and demonstrate goat milk products.
 Dinner: Dinner is served at the Brandon Inn
 Evening: EVENING ENTERTAINMENT: Light entertainment in the living room
   
Accommodations: Brandon Inn
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Neighborly Farms, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Morse Sugar Farm
(Friday, September 13)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast is served at the inn
 Morning: FIELD TRIP: Program at Neighborly Farms for a program on organic cheddar cheese making. Established as an operating dairy farm more than 30 years ago, Rob and Linda Dimmick along with their three children Bobby, Bailey, and Billy are continuing the tradition on the family farm. Nestled in the rolling hills of Randolph Center, Vermont, Neighborly Farms decorates the countryside with its red barn and white post and beam farmhouse built in the 1800s. The farm operates on 168 acres with cropland and grazing fields to support the dairy and a sugarhouse for producing pure Vermont maple syrup. The clean and tidy barn is home to 48 Holsteins—the black and white cows that symbolize rural living at its very best.
 Lunch: Enjoy lunch prepared by local Vermont restaurant.
 Afternoon: FIELD TRIP:Program at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill with guided tour of process. In 1974, Eric and Francine Chittenden, descendants of Vermont’s first governor, were starting out as farmers near the base of the Cold Hollow Mountains in rural northwest Vermont. They started making apple cider for friends, with a press that Eric picked up somewhere. (Eric was always finding cool old stuff.) Before long, the couple saw real business potential in making cider the true, traditional way. Eric and Francine created a vision. They would make enough cider to distribute to supermarkets, and become a real Vermont tourist attraction. Searching for the perfect location, they settled on Route 100 in central Vermont, between Waterbury (with its Interstate 89 exit) and Stowe (with lots of skiers and tourists). In 1976, they bought the old Gibbs farm in Waterbury Center. After decades of additions, the old place sure doesn’t look the same! Added has been a Jelly Room, large production facility, two cold-storage rooms — for apples and finished product — and a large bottling facility. But the original barn still houses our cider press and our store, where we make our cider donuts and feature specialty foods, baked goods, cheese, honey, maple syrup, hot beverages, and lots more Vermont goodness. The Chittendens lived in the house, raising their three kids there, right up till they sold the business in 2000 to Paul Brown and his wife Gayle. Our final stop today is at the Morse Sugar Farm w/traditional sugar-on-snow. The Morse ancestors who helped settle Central Vermont were taught how to tap maple trees by Native Americans. Hot Rocks were used to evaporate the sweet sap until only sugar or "sinzibukwud" remained. Pioneers could boil a year's supply of sugar thus making Americans self-sufficient in sugar production. Ben Franklin promoted massive sugar production in the Northeast to make the country less dependant on "foreign" sugar.
 Dinner: Dinner is served at the inn
 Evening: Free evening
   
Accommodations: Brandon Inn
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Morning
(Saturday, September 14)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast is served at the inn
 Morning: EXCURSION: Visit the Vermont Country Store in Rockingham where you will enjoy samples of many of Vermont's fine foods. Continue on to RI for drop off at the TF Green Airport in Providence and independent departures from Newport hotel.
 Lunch: Lunch along the way
 Afternoon: We will drop off at the TF Green Airport in Providence at around 1:30 PM and then at the Holiday Inn Express at 2:30 PM for departures. Please do not make plane reservations before 3:00 PM.
   
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Free Time Opportunities
  
  Newport, RI Discover New England
An excellent web site for everything in New England with links to tourism information for each state. For additional information, visit www.discovernewengland.org
  Ogunquit, ME Discover New England
An excellent web site for everything in New England with links to tourism information for each state. For additional information, visit www.discovernewengland.org
  Brandon, VT Discover New England
An excellent web site for everything in New England with links to tourism information for each state. For additional information, visit www.discovernewengland.org
Important information about your itinerary: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information featured on this website. Itineraries are based on our best information at this time. Circumstances beyond our control may require us to adjust itineraries or other details. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. Information will be sent to you from your Program Provider approximately three weeks prior to the program start date. The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.

Suggested Reading List


America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking


Author: Keith Stavely, Kathleen Fitzgerald


Description: From baked beans to apple cider, from clam chowder to pumpkin pie, Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald's culinary history reveals the complex and colorful origins of New England foods and cookery. Featuring hosts of stories and recipes derived from generations of New Englanders of diverse backgrounds, America's Founding Food chronicles the region's cuisine, from the English settlers' first encounter with Indian corn in the early seventeenth century to the nostalgic marketing of New England dishes in the first half of the twentieth century. Focusing on the traditional foods of the region--including beans, pumpkins, seafood, meats, baked goods, and beverages such as cider and rum--the authors show how New Englanders procured, preserved, and prepared their sustaining dishes. Placing the New England culinary experience in the broader context of British and American history and culture, Stavely and Fitzgerald demonstrate the importance of New England's foods to the formation of American identity, while dispelling some of the myths arising from patriotic sentiment. At once a sharp assessment and a savory recollection, America's Founding Food sets out the rich story of the American dinner table and provides a new way to appreciate American history.



Good Maine Food: Ancient and Mordern New England Food and Drink


Author: Marjorie Mosser


Description: Old recipes, like old friends, are usually most dependable, observes noted author Kenneth Roberts in his pithy introduction to this classic recipe compendium put together by his niece, Marjorie Mosser, in the 1930s. The long career of this bible of Maine cookery has proved him right. With Robert's outspoken commentaries sprinkled throughout, excerpts from some of his best-selling books, and maxims from Maine kitchens, this old favorite is a must-own collection for any modern cook. Down East Books is proud to present this revamped edition-with a brand new foreword by food historian Sandra Oliver-as part of the all-new Best Maine Food cookbook series.



Maple Sugarin' In Vermont: A Sweet History


Author: Betty Ann Lockhart


Description: Come along for a trip through maple time in Vermont, from the 1600s to the mid-twentieth century. Betty Ann Lockhart introduces the origins of the 'Flavor of Vermont', the tools of the sugaring trade and the personalities who launched maple sugar to world fame. The Abenakis were discoverers of the sweet sap that flowed from Vermont's trees, and Thomas Jefferson was an early promoter of it. During the Civil War, maple sugar was cheered as the moral alternative to cane sugar- the latter having been produced by slave labor- and in subsequent wars, it was shipped to U.S. troops around the world. Enriched with maple-inspired songs, recipes and legends, Maple Sugarin' in Vermont illuminates not just the industry, but also the culture of maple sugar in the Green Mountain State.



Sweet Days and Beyond: The Morse Family - Eight Generations of Maple Sugaring


Author: Burr Morse


Description: In his charming account of growing up in a maple sugaring operation in Northern Vermont, Burr Morse, a seventh generation maple sugar farmer, shares wonderful stories and folk tales that offer a deeper understanding of the hard work and dedication it takes to live such a lifestyle. Delightful images bring to life the four seasons, animals, and other characters who share his world. The result is a five season Vermont experience full of sweet and sometimes bittersweet tales.





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