September 2003: Vermont, the Green Mountain state was truly stunning and I was there right when the leaves were changing, so the entire state seemed filled with greens so vibrant you had to squint, accented by fiery reds polka-dotting the landscape.  Apart from trees, you could see the occasional church spire or silo and the highway cuts were amazing- blown out of breathtaking deposits of green shale.  I packed far too light and brought the wrong clothes, but luckily everything in Vermont is cheap!  So I went on a clothes shopping spree and spent all of $53 on two blouses, two sweaters and a skirt.  There isn't much to do there, making it a perfect Honeymoon destination or getaway where you take tons of books.  There was nothing on TV except news about the hurricane and reruns of "Murder She Wrote" and I went alone, so, needless to say, I got a lot of reading done.  Actually, there were 8 bookstores within walking distance of the inn I stayed at, which was very cool.

One highlight of my trip I don't have photos of, since I was driving, was the quest for "Emily's Bridge".  Karen and Josie and I were in the lead car, with Ted, Bobbie and Don in the other.  Emily's Bridge is the only haunted covered bridge in Vermont, with a story of the ghost of a suicide victim often spotted nearby.  Of course the whole story could be made up, so we wanted to investigate it to determine for ourselves.  The map listed directions along the lines of "drive until the first 4-way intersection, then turn right, then when you come to a similar intersection, turn left and you'll see it" which seemed just enough like an adventure puzzle to further pique our interest.  Now why didn't it just say "turn right on Gold Brook Circle," you ask?  Because the streets had no names, just like the U2 song.  The streets were also not paved in many places, giving off the distinct feeling one was lost.  Now we were not lost- we always knew where we were- but we never did find the elusive bridge.  Which, of course, means it really is haunted.
The flowers Jonathan gave me before I left-
I took a photo since I knew they
would wither by the time I got back.
        
This is the view I saw the most of: peering over a book on my stomach from the safety of a hammock in the shade. Laura's poetry reading was the main reason I went to Vermont.  She graduated from Vermont College. Part of her presentation walked us through some of the exercises she underwent to find her "Writer's Voice". I took of a tour of the capital at Montpelier, because "you learn stuff on tours".
       
Neo-Grecian themes abounded, including the lovely façade made totally of granite, but sometimes it was a bit much, like on this lamp in the Senate. On the tour there was this cool fireplace with all the different types of granite found in Vermont.  Apparently the state is quite famous for it... ...so I was inspired to take a tour of a local quarry.  Nearby there was a cruddy trailer park marked with the nicest carved granite sign ever- worth twice as much as any of the homes parked there. It was actually pretty cool and I got free pieces of granite, which I had tremendous trouble with at the airport.  Apparently granite is a WEAPON.
       
The folks I met in Vermont were all quite friendly, albeit behind the times.  This was the reaction to my Clié- I guess they have a lack of cool gadgets in that neck of the woods.  Oh, and a lot of woods, (75% forestation state-wide) too. In addition to the streets not always having names, often times Vermonters have no idea what something is, but conveniently mark those areas with signs anyhow.  To me, this one says: "to the left: your guess is as good as ours". During the trip, I dropped my beloved Motorola StarTac I'd had since 1998 and broke it cleanly in two.  Trusty to the last, each piece still worked fine separately, but couldn't commune with the other.  I purchased their new version, the V60i, and loved it immediately, so the story has a happy ending. But my vacation didn't have a happy ending.  Upon returning from Vermont at 1AM, I slept a few hours then went into work only to learn I was to spend the weekend fretting over a last minute proposal for Jesús.  You can see how thrilled I am.
       

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