Top of the Notch

I spent Sunday afternoon lazing about Plymouth Notch, Vt. It was a girl-only, somewhat aimless trip where my only objectives were to learn a bit of history at the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, soak in the sunshine (humidity-free!), and eat a tasty lunch.

Mission accomplished.

I feasted on chicken salad sandwiched between Vermont-made bread. I downed my first-ever Moxie, the first bottled carbonated beverage made in America. And I sampled the all-too-awesome cheese crafted by the folks at Plymouth Artisan Cheese.

Lunch at the Wilder Restaurant: Just $4.25 for a half-sandwich the size of my face, made on Baba-a-Louis bread, a dill pickle and chips. The bucolic view made it even tastier.

Live your life with Moxie. Sold at the Florence Cilley General store — the only beverage sold at the general store — Moxie is my new favorite carbonated beverage.

But I did more than eat.

I met this gal.

I checked out the 1924 Summer White House (and former dance hall), nestled above the general store:

And I fantasized about owning a tea room like this:

Spot of tea, anyone?

I saw Calvin Coolidge's tiny shoes, neatly lined up along a bedroom wall in his father's house:

This is the house, not the shoes.

And I contemplated what it may have been like to use chamber pots back in the day as I explored the three Top of the Notch Cabins rented by visitors to Calvin's Coolidge's birthplace in the early years of the last century.

Cozy.

Pardon the view. It's through a locked screen door.

And then I ate. Again. A Peanut Butter Lust Bar that I can't picture here because, well, it all happened so fast. There was no time for picture-taking.

For more information about the Calvin Coolidge Homestead, click here.