Some Tourist Attractions With Lukey and Kenzie

The day after our cruise on Lake Champlain, we did some typical tourist sightseeing around Waterbury with Lukey and Kenzie.  It was a quiet weekday morning so we beat the tourist crowd.  

We started at Cold Hollow Cider Mill...

Tasting the apple cider...   I found it to be a little bitter on this day but the taste does vary from season to season.

After tasting the apple cider, we roamed around the store looking for things to purchase.  (We found plenty and went home with plenty.)

Making the cider donuts...

The kids and Gee had planned on getting some apple cider slushies but the slushie machine was being cleaned so they had no slushies available.  We did, however, get a dozen freshly made apple cider donuts instead of the slushies...  oh...  and quite a few other products that would have been purchased regardless of whether we got slushies or not.

This is a view from out behind the cider mill looking toward the Worcester Range (and our house)...

After the cider mill, we went to Lake Champlain Chocolates to get some chocolate...

Since they couldn't get apple cider slushies at Cold Hollow Cider Mill, they chose to get some milkshakes made with Lake Champlain handcrafted ice cream.  It turned out being a blessing in disguise that the slushie machine was being cleaned.  If they had gotten apple cider slushies, then they would not have gotten milk shakes and the milk shakes were good!  Lake Champlain Chocolate handcrafted ice cream is certainly a better option than a slushie...

We arrived back at the house with a kitchen table full of tasty local products!

Later in the evening we went to Kenzie's figure skating lesson.  While Kenzie skated, Lukey and I shot photos...  a lot of photos!  Well, I shot a lot of photos and Lukey couldn't understand why I was capturing so many bursts of photos.  I'll write about that and share some photos soon.

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POST EDIT:  31 July 2023 - I wanted to mention (mostly for my own reference later when I skim through my blog) that all the photos in this blog entry were shot with my little Fuji X30 classic compact camera rather than my usual photography gear.  I'm really liking this little camera for these types of outings.  First, it is small and even pocketable in my jackets.  It is very compact and light (but solid...  a magnesium body) which is a relief for my spinal injuries.  Honestly, as much as I love capturing moments in photography, it is quite painful for me between my spinal injuries, my inflamed joints, and bad knees.  For instances when I do not need my cameras with larger sensors, this classic rangefinder-style camera is ideal!

I've been using this camera whenever we go shopping with the grandkids because it is so easy to carry around compared to my usual cameras and lenses yet it still captures far better images than I've seen from any cellphone.  (Besides, slick, thin cellphones with no places to get a solid grip are extremely awkward to manipulate for my big mitts.  Have I mentioned lately that I truly despise the design of today's cellphones?  And, it's not like I don't have exceptional fine motor skills and dexterity...  I'm a classical pianist!  Yet, I find it terribly difficult to manipulate a cellphone.)

The image quality is great, the colors are great (which is what I expect from Fujifilm), the tonal quality is great and it is a classic rangefinder-style camera.  What's not to like?  I'm wishing I had purchased this camera nine years ago when it was being sold as new!  It has been long discontinued so I had to purchase this camera on the used market after actively searching for one for many years.