Again, a ton of rain during the drive from Quebec to here. (I read on the news that the storm that has been plaguing us has dropped more rain than normally falls in 6 weeks) -- Flooding in Wisconsin right after we left. Hurricane in Nova Scotia / Newfoundland when we were on the Gaspe, rain and flooding in New England (especially Vermont) now that we're here. We're going to notify areas that we're coming and suggest they give us money to stay away.
We stopped at an asbestos mine on the way here -- between Thetford Mines (a town) and Black Lake (a town named after a lake that no longer exists -- it was drained to put in a mine) Another big hole in the ground. The one we saw is no longer in operation. A different mine that is still operating doesn't allow visitors. -- A great pity -- I couldn't do my old guy at a construction site routine: " Yup, that's a mighty big hole. Course back in my day we had different sort of holes, but this hole is big enough for ordinary use."
In any case, we're staying with Patrick and Hilary S. (aka Patrilary) in their condo.
Burlington is a very pleasant college town. (bookstores, art galleries, buskers, street food, etc) It reminds me of a smaller version of Madison WI, or Eugene OR. Yesterday we walked Church street -- the pedestrian mall (had a crepe for a snack) -- then down to the lake. We were going to take the ferry to New York (using the ferry as a brief tour boat) but the last ship had sailed.
Before I forget to enter this: Happy Birthday Dan -- I'd like to do lunch, perhaps with Josh when we get back. --
Yesterday, while Patrick was off to a friends wedding (joined by Hilary in the evening) Hilary was a tour guide for dw and I. We drove a fall foliage / free snack tour. I guess we're early for the foliage (it was raining anyway) but the snacks -- cheese, chocolate, cider -- at various factories were good. We went to Stowe and had lunch. Stowe is a classic example of a quaint New England town, and the residents go to a fair amount of trouble to keep it that way. A couple of years ago, one of Patrick's uncles printed up a large official sign, togged himself up in official workman's clothing, and posted the sign on a brick wall -- The sign announced the upcoming arrival of a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop. Consternation and protest letters to the editor from the locals. Later, he did the same thing in Charlotte (another quaint New England town) only that time it was for a Red Lobster (Charlotte is on Lake Champlain). There were even more protests that time with a hundred or so angry letters to the editor. Though the second time someone at the newspaper noticed the signage occurred on April first.
As I'm writing this, the sun is out, no clouds in sight and we're hoping for a few good days. Today Hilary's mom (Cary N.) is coming by train from Phildelphia. We're looking forward to her arrival.
A small note: we were literally 6 feet past the interview with the customs officer at the U.S. border crossing when my phone (which you may remember doesn't work in Canada) rang, announcing I had some messages. DA
It's such a "welcome to the U.S. " feeling when the phone rings the minute you are two feet inside the border. Now if the messages were reading-worthy it would be even better. Nothing exciting except a few vague text messages and since we don't text it's a wonder we even receive them. Anyway, it allowed us to call and warn Hilary and Patrick we were close. Now we are in family time and have facilities to catch up on laundry and cleaning the car. How much coffee can one spill on a long distance road trip. Plenty. I'm thinking of having the carpeting changed in the car. Can you do that? Sightseeing yesterday in downtown Burlington was very much Madison State Street for those of you who may be familiar with the University of W'isconsin State Street area. For many years it was the toga capital of the world and with Halloween approaching it might be again. Plenty of pre-Halloween decor here. Pumpkins galore. And lots of beer and a few microbrews. We dined at one the evening we arrived and I have to admit the beer and food were very good and rival PDX's microbrews. Yup, Burlington is a good place to visit. Patrick and Hilary make me laugh so it's all good. More later, dw
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