PAXTON — The first outing for the 2024 season for Paxton-area seniors is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21.
Nancy Wilby, with the support of the Friends of Paxton Council on Aging, is continuing the trips her husband, Robert Wilby, and she have run for more than a dozen years. Robert died last August. In addition to the three trips below, four more trips are in the planning stages to finish the season in December and will be confirmed soon. All area seniors are invited to participate.
Our first destination on Tuesday, May 21, is the Quechee, Vermont, area. The group will start the day at the Simon Pearce Flagship Store in a restored mill amid an array of products that would set a fine table. This company is known for making fine glassware, and the group will see a glassblowing demonstration while there. In fact, they have a dinner restaurant at this location (not open for group lunches) where diners get to use their fine glassware.
The tour group will then move on to the nearby Public House Pub for lunch, with a choice of three entrees: BBQ pulled pork sandwich, Woodstocker (grilled chicken, bacon, cheddar, etc.), or Public House chop salad (mixed greens, pasta, bacon, chicken, blue cheese, tomato, etc.), all of which include beverages and dessert. Afterward, we will drive a very short distance to view Quechee Gorge, which is affectionately known as “Vermont’s Little Grand Canyon.”
Following that, we will reboard our luxury Wilson Bus Lines motor coach for the 20-30 minute ride to Norwich’s King Arthur Flour. This kitchen store prides itself on selling all kinds of King Arthur flours and grains, spices and herbs from around the world, kitchen appliances, implements and gadgets, dressings, marinades, cookbooks, kitchen linens, international food and specialty ingredients. Meanwhile, if you’re not a shopper, there is a cafe or cafeteria where you could buy a cup of coffee, a cookie, or whatever your heart desires.
The second outing of the season, June 22, is a Saturday, which is different for us as we usually travel weekdays. Our destination is Moultonborough, New Hampshire’s Ossipee Mountain attraction, Castle in the Clouds, formerly known as Lucknow Mansion. A trolley will take us up the hill to the castle where we will tour the 16-room arts and crafts-style castle and enjoy the mountain view with Lake Winnipesaukee nearby. We are invited to stroll the garden as well.
A complete lunch at Patrick’s Pub in Guilford, New Hampshire, with choice of two entrees, roast chicken breast or baked haddock Provencale, with sticky toffee pudding for dessert, will precede the tour of the castle. Come and join us for a Saturday outing in June.
Tuesday, July 23, 2024, finds us headed first to Jonathan’s Restaurant in Ogunquit, Maine, for a lovely lunch of three entree choices with a complete menu (chicken piccata, lemon baked scrod or roast pork loin) in a restaurant that people rave about.
Then we’ll board our motor coach for the ride to Portland, where we’ll board for Portland’s Harbor Lights and Sights Cruise, a 1¾-hour afternoon Casco Bay cruise amid iconic lighthouses and the picturesque waterway, Diamond Pass, enjoying the bustling inner harbor and main shipping channel, where we’ll view lovely lake homes, close-up Civil War-era forts and lighthouses that guide mariners into Portland Harbor.
For reservations or to get on our mailing list if you haven’t traveled with us previously, contact Deb Grensavitch at 508-754-6366 or email grensavitchd@aol.com. Flyers will be emailed or mailed to any potential travelers who request them.
For more information, call Deb as above or Nancy Wilby at 508-792-4662 or 508-414-0261 or email Nwilby1@yahoo.com. Note that Deb will handle reservations this year.
Come share a wonderful summer with us.
