Event: Annual "Table Tour" (Once a year!)
Location: Viles Aboretum, Augusta Maine (153 Hospital St.)
Directions: From Portland...head north on 295 towards Augusta! Take Exit 49... bear right off the exit onto Rt. 201. Stay on Rt 201 for about 4.5 miles go throgh the rotary and take Rt. 27.. go over the bridge above the Kennebec River... then left ot stay on Rt. 9... go through the next rotary (I am not a fan of the rotaries!) Stay on Rt. 9... and after going up a hill and through a traffic light, the Arboretum will be on the left.
Cost: Event Cost is $20 per person (if ticket's bought by Jan. 1) Children under 10 are $10 each and toddlers are free!! (Coming here on other days doesn't have fees!)
Parking: There is some parking at the Aboretum but that lot was full when we got there at 10:30... so they had additional parking across the street in a large lot, plenty of room!
FMI: Visit the Aboretum's facebook page or website for more info! I think they may open the trails on other days... but I am not certain! Look them up for more information! And of course... I learned about this event from Fitmaine.com... Shannon did it again!!
Notes: How do you say Aboretum? Ay bore eh tum? Aybor eat em? Arbor (like the tree) eetum?
Learn the correct way here!
I had emailed ahead of time to see if this was a dog friendly event... and the answer? YES! They said as long as dogs were leashed. There were only a couple of other dogs around... which meant Gladys got a lot of love!!!
We started out meeting a friend at a Park & Ride... carpooling can be fun! Gladys wondered why she was in the back, but after she got to meet K... she was happy to give up her front seat for her!
We got there around 10:30 and had plenty of time before the event started (at 11:00) to get our snowshoes on... (Oh... many people were on xc skis today too!)
I am not sure how many people were here, but the first stop for us all was the cocoa station. The line was pretty long at the first stop, but after that the crowd thinned and the lines were not that bad... and there was PLENTY of food for all!
(I would say that starting a little after the start time would be more than okay.. and you may even avoid some of the backups at the stops!)
Gladys was so happy to have so many humans to interact with..
The property was really pretty. Our path started out (after cocoa!) up through a field... there was no wind today making this PERFECT!
There was a gradual incline but as you can see, Shannon was able to drink her cocoa while going up the hill!
This was really pretty!
After the field we headed into the woods...
I made Gladys pause for a moment and she was a little annoyed, but actually made for a decent pic!
As we were snowshoeing we had some fun conversations. Somewhere in here I was reminded of yet another great thing about being outside in the winter... NO Mosquitoes!! Ha ha!!
Second stop.... SOUP/CHOWDER... I chose the corn chowder... it was good.. not as good as my dad's, but good... the people who had the tomato soup said it was really good. While waiting in line, Gladys got some love!
and gave some love!
Notice Shannon's one legged snowshoe pose in the background!
I did not share my chowdah... but I did share my bread!
After the chowder table we headed through the woods... this was my favorite part of the trail... to be amongst the tall tall trees.... spectacular! ...such a peaceful area...
How could I forget to mention the SPORK? At the first stop you turn your ticket in for a spork... that you carry with you for the duration... Shannon later found the perfect way to transport the spork...
I would definitely do something like this on my own, but it was really fun to have some other people to adventure with!
So pretty!!
Up another long but slight incline...
Shake shake shake! (Shannon got these great pics!)
After the forest we were back in the field.. in a different part of it...
In this area there was some pristine snow! I had to make a snow angel! (Which is hard to do wearing snowshoes, a big fanny/waist pack, and having Gladys belted to me!!)
Shannon's snow angel looks a little more... angeli-ish!
We made it to the next food stop... which was more than a table.. it was a house with a TACO BAR! (not kidding!)
Oooh.. do you see it? the Spork?? Best way to keep track of it!
This was a crowded yet efficient table stop...
Yup.. that is some chili and below that is a taco with peppers, onions, chicken, and... a piece of cornbread! I think the chili was my favorite food item of the day!
Gladys was happy to have a break and get some sun... (she did get some snacks and water too!)
And.. she got belly rubs... this is the only person she sought belly rubs from... and he was quick to provide them!
We then went to the next table... lasagna... I did not sample it.. I had plenty to eat at the taco bar!
While others lasagna'ed... I walked around a bit... and found this pyramid... which I have named "The Point"... thinking that maybe the point of this thing we call winter... is to get out and explore and enjoy it!
And this tree... My kayak blog followers know I have a thing for certain trees... this one is a beauty!
This photo is of my snowshoe tracks and Gladys's paw prints... partners in adventure!
We returned unscathed to our starting point.... but the adventure was not over!
We took off our snowshoes... I took mine back to my truck and let Gladys have a nap in the truck (she was tired and was ready to chew the snow from her paws!) before returning to the Aboretum for dessert!
Dessert was inside, in the basement (along with bathrooms!), there was a buffet of desserts... pies, brownies, blondies, cinnamon buns, cheesecake bites... holy moly! And there was live music!
We opted to sit outside... it was afterall about 33 degrees with sunny skies and no wind... how could we not sit outside??
Embrace Winter!!!
It is worth it!!!
I still prefer kayaking season (which is all seasons except winter...) but... I have really had fun so far this winter.. and while Pauxatony Phil says spring will come early... (Thanks Phil!!) I am going to embrace the next six weeks of winter!!!
Thanks to Shannon for the pics of me!
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