Friday, July 29, 2005

Vermont Vacation Part Uno

Here we are in gorgeous Vermont...and let me tell you...this has been a wonderful vacation so far. And it's only half over! We hopped in the car Thursday evening, and Brad, being the indomitable chronicler that he is, immediately pulled out his camera and took "The First Picture Of the Vacation: Departure" as we sat in the driveway.

And then he grabbed the map to held it up in front of us to take another picture, and then some stranger - a guest of our landlords, I guess- pulled into our driveway and parked next to us as we were smiling for that picture. I felt raaaather silly.

ANYWAY- we zoomed northwest into a spectacular sunset and made good time to Burlington. We couldn't find our hotel at first because they had CHANGED the name on us. Ah well. We are very impressed with our room - the colors, the furniture...my favorite part are the PILLOWS. I am now convinced that one should not be cheap on pillows. I'm going to go home and buy the most expensive, luxurious pillows EVER MADE. And also - the blankets. They're DOWN. As in- goose feathers.

A little sidenote: Yesterday was Brad's birthday. I got him a watch - a very special watch- one which I have been resisting for years. It's a calculator watch. The ultimate symbol of geekdom. But to show him how much I love him, I have relented and bestowed the privilege of wearing said watch. And I bought him a blogger T-shirt- with the symbol ( the demented looking B of blogspot) on it and everything.

Okay- back to vacation. After breakfasting at good old Dunkin Donuts this morning, we explored Burlington and the surrounding environs by car. The weather was beautiful. I mean- idyllic. Perfect. I wondered if we might stumble across the place where our family vacationed about um...twenty years ago- in Shelburne- right on Lake Champlain. Not that I would have really recognized it...but it was neat to think that we could have driven close to it. We drove back to the middle of Burlington and down to the waterfront. We parked and rented bikes and took off on a ride...that ended up being TWENTY MILES LONG. Yes- you read right. Twenty. 2-0. If it had been up to me, we probably would have gone about one quarter of that. But Brad looked at the map, saw a causeway that went out in the middle of the lake, and decided that we were going to the very end of it, ten miles away. So we did. It was unspeakably beautiful. But, being the flabby noodle that I am, I'm still feeling the effects of it. We had lunch at a little outdoor booth thingy after coming back to the middle of Burlington - including a dessert of Ben & Jerry's- what Vermont vacation would be complete without B & J's?!! And then I had to take a nap and relax for a few hours to recoup!! Yes, I am a wimp. We had dinner at a Chinese place...and now we are lounging around, revelling in the reality that although it feels like Saturday night, it's only Friday night.

It's just SO beautiful here. And not just weatherwise. I have to recommend this place to everyone - even if it is Vermont and anti-Bush bumperstickers on the backs of Volvos are rampant. (Actually- it's not that bad.) The lake- the mountains- the old buildings in downtown Burlington, the farm country in Shelburne- it all feeds a beauty hunger in my spirit.

11 comments:

KJ said...

Hurray! Thanks for including the pictures to add to the wonderful post! I'm glad to hear you're having such a wonderful time and, as I've just been saying to a friend, I'm glad you guys are married! I like you both so much! Keep up the good work of enjoying yourselves on vacation!

ljm said...

Wow--that sounds awesome! So peaceful...Glad the weather's been nice. And happy late bday to Brad!

Loreo said...

Happy birthday, Brad! You guys are a really cute couple, and it's real nifty you're having such a nice vacation!

pennyjean said...

I'm so glad you guys are having such a relaxing, peaceful and much-deserved break. Happy Birthday, Brad! I love you both!

Mrs. RF said...

I enjoyed the pics, and hearing you are having such a great time! Continue to enjoy! Sounds like a great place!

KMS said...

You're back on my old stomping grounds. Yep, good ol' Burlington, home during my college days. I'd tell you to look up my college, but they closed it a couple of years after I left. I don't know what's become of it now. But I can still picture the charm of Burlington!

Booker said...

Good job! You have done some travelling for me. I feel like I've been there and everything! Nice pix too. Armchair travelling is the best, IMO...

CKS said...

I wish you were miserable. It's awful your vacation is so nice. I can't stand either of you, and you're even worse together than apart. Go soak your heads in Champlain.

CKS said...

[Big Smile]

Okay, so I read all the burbling comments and was overcome by an insurmountable urge to be a contrarian. Since it was, indeed, insurmountable, I made the previous comment.

Indeed, the opposite of all I said is in fact the truth. Ummm, wait a minute...yup, of all I said. May joys unspeakable hound the rest of your vacation.

Furthermore, my flabby noodle friend, maybe if you took the Shelter girls on said bike ride a few times, you'd toughen up a little. You always said you were looking for things to do with them...

Kristi said...

Craig, I was going to write something really mean about flabbiness and bike riding, but I'm exercising GREAT self-control!

Brad & Claire, great pictures and hope you keep having a super time! I'm jealous, but that's okay. :-)

TripleNine said...

Happy birthday brad! You made me really jealous with the 20 mile ride down a causeway. Must have been great fun. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the time.