Part Deux - Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jog

I believe I left off on Saturday...? We drove up through the Lake Champlain Islands. Another beautiful day and lots of scenic vistas. We drove across the bridge into New York and on our way across, Brad calmly pointed out that there was a boat on fire in the midst of a marina off to our left. And so there was. Very massively on fire. It produced a big pillar of black smoke which could be seen for miles. I took pictures. But unfort. as we drove away, Brad asked if I had zoomed in. A sinking realization dawned upon me. I started yelling incoherently. Well, not really incoherently, but...I yelled. Needless to say, I was not zoomed in so they didn't turn out that great. I felt like a First Class Fool. Oh well. This is why Brad usually takes all the pictures. He doesn't forget to zoom in. So we drove back to Burlington and walked around the city exploring some more. We consumed a very late, tasty lunch at Quizno's and then went back to relaxing at the hotel.

This morning, moments before we were going to check out and begin our leisurely drive home, I heard a faint, strange, sireny sort of sound out in the hallway. I stood close to the door, listened attentively and heard a voice on some sort of PA system telling the hotel populace that an emergency had been reported and that we should walk to the nearest exit. I was glad that it wasn't the middle of the night because I am SURE that we would have slept through it...Anyway- we obeyed and hopped over to the Gift Shop next door to the hotel and a few minutes later, it seemed safe to go back. Firefighters were emerging from the hotel and getting back into the truck none the worse for wear. My guess is that there was a hair straightener involved somehow.

So, we're back safe and sound in good old Sullivan.

There is a small, green tomato on my plant! I am still waiting for the promised "bushels of fun."

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.

Living in an Inspirational Poster

Brad and I have recently been house/dog-sitting for Brad's boss who has a lovely little house on Granite Lake. While there we haven't done much stuff with the laptop- thus the recent drought of posts.

Thanks to all who sent support and love our way on Sunday, Andrew's birthday. It was much more difficult than I had anticipated; your prayers, emails, and even a card (! First time I ever received a card for someone else's birthday!) were very much appreciated. . .After church and some visiting, I retreated back to Sally's with Daddy, Mama, Melissa and Laura. We had a very peaceful, enjoyable time on the lake...It was perfect weather - the height of New Hampshire glory. Most of us went out in either the kayak or rowboat at one point or another. As Melissa glided away from us on the kayak, she shouted back," I feel like I'm in an inspirational poster!" And she looked it too; all she needed was a gold frame around her and a caption below her like,"COURAGE" or "DETERMINATION."

Earlier in the weekend, we had Nate and Penny over to our temporary lake abode. Before they arrived, Brad and I had gone out in the rowboat and it was a rather wobbly affair - neither of us having much experience with such things. ( Although, I have to say, to his credit, Brad was well on his way to mastering this skill before too long...) When Nate arrived on the scene, he plopped himself in the rowboat and LITERALLY ZOOMED away with amazing precision and speed. We had a great time communing with Pen and Nate. First, we were driven from the living room by a strong, rank smell - methinks it had something to do with the dog. Dogs are like that. From thence, we exited to the porch...and were driven from there by the bugs...to the guestroom. It was a rather pathetic and hilarious sight - all four of us crowded into the small bedroom, talking, brainstorming etc.

Odd anecdote: The other day I said, " The early bird gets the worm" and I had to EXPLAIN it to some of the girls because they'd never heard of it before! So I came home and told Brad and he was like, "The early bird? Gets the worm?? Whaaaat?!!" So I started to explain it to HIM! I thought, HOW could this man of almost 28 years go through life without hearing this common maxim??!! And then of course, I realized he was pulling my leg.