The Other New England State

Three years in New England and we made our first trip to Vermont one weekend ago for the Columbus Day long weekend. This completes our sampling of all six New England states. From Boston it was a quick 3 hour trip through rolling country side and fall folige to Montpelier, VT - the smallest state capitol in the Union. The town itself is smaller than Lambertville or Flemington, two small towns I grew up by in NJ.

Besides an opportune time to take a peek at the leaves, we also had in mind to catch up with a dear high school friend of mine, Bob, who calls Montpelier and the surrounding Vermont wilderness his home now. We stayed in Stowe in close proximity to the Ben & Jerry's factory, Cabot Creamery, and Lake Champlain Cho

colates - all of which offer free sampling of their products. Bob took us on a wilderness adventure driving up the alpine road to near the ridge of Vermont's highest peak Mt. Mansfield. We then proceeded to hike the ridge to the peak on a beautiful clear, windy, and cold fall day. We had views of the snow capped Mt. Washington in NH and the other mountains of the Preside

ntial Range and the Adirondacks in NY. It's a good thing we went last weekend because this weekend Bob hiked up and skied down!

Our final destination was Vermont's largest city, Burlington, right on the shores of Lake Champlain. What a wonderful small city with great local Vermont food and beautiful surroundings. It reminded us a bit of the Pacific Northwest with the water and mountains. We got a chance to catch a rare sunset over the water.

Things we've been up to...

As we're nearing the 5 year mark on our life together, it seems we have each decided to take up new hobbies. Both hobbies are very practical in nature, which I believe suits our personalities, but they also offer us a creative outlet otherwise lacking in our day jobs.

Thanks to a wonderful birthday gift in a sewing machine and the encouragement of a few friends who actually knew how to use the thing, I started with a much needed replacement curtain for our pantry and have now finished 2 baby blankets in time for September showers and some lovely (if I can so boast) coasters which came in handy for housewarming gifts on our recent travels. I have a knack for gifting my creations before I remember to document but I was so proud of my first ever sewn piece that I did manage to snag a picture of the pantry curtain. Warning - you may be likely to receive a homemade Christmas gift!

Jon on the other has the self-discipline and patience to engage in a hobby that takes weeks from start to finish. Home beer brewing has taken over our hall closet and basement and sometime the dishwasher when it is time for bottle sterilization. He's joined the American Home Brewers Association and has now bottled the Cahill Irish Stout and will start to brew an IPA, yet to be named.

Here he is with the first brew in hand (a Belgian Blonde - the Jamacia Pond Blonde) and second brew 4 weeks into fermentation getting ready for the bottles! Some how I too was called to bottling duty! Another two weeks in the bottle and we'll get to try the first Stout. It smelled wonderful here. You'll just have to trust me on that.

Reunification in Baltimore

Jon had a rare week-long work trip this past week taking him to Ft. Lauderdale. While he was enjoying a tropical storm and long days in a conference room I was home alone having to make my own coffee, do my own dishes, and take out the trash in his absence. We were very happy when the week was over and we could be reunited at not quite home. Jon typically has to fly through Baltimore on his way back to Logan and I cashed in on some really cheap fares between Boston and BWI and we crashed at friends Mark and Emalee plus baby Alice who recently departed Boston for Laurel, MD.

The sunny warm fall weekend was perfect for exploring Mt. Vernon and picture taking. Overlooking the banks of the Potomac, its a rather stately locale!

There was time to catch up with mutual friends over dinner and pinochle and explore the waterfront in Baltimore and eat a crab cake before we flew the 56 minutes back to Boston to start another week together!