We started a "gorgeous" day  with breakfast by Quechee Gorge, and then explored along the White River and across the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain to Ausable Chasm before dinner. It was a beautiful day on the cusp of spring turning to summer and we knew we would have enough daylight for this ambitious expedition.

Sadly, our trajectory brought us across virtually no interesting new markets or farms. the mountain path was too rugged for most Vermont-style agriculture, and the Champlain Valley has been well-explored by us. The New York side of the lake is less populated, bounded by the lake on one side and the Adirondack State Park, so there are few markets for agricultural products anyway.  I didn't even get the local specialty, a Michigan Hot Dog.

But we did end the day with an excellent dinner at The Shore Acres Inn in North Hero, VT in Lake Champlain.

The special was soft-shell crab, another of the classic harbingers of spring like asparagus and peas. I had been hoping to sample this springtime classic before summer arrived, but they are not really a New England specialty. Fortunately the soft-shell crab is popular in New York and Philadelphia, and many of the Hero Islands visitors are from those southerly precincts. I really enjoyed it, and consider it a fine send-off to an excellent spring adventuring season.