Back to Vermont

We crossed back into the US at a smaller border crossing, then took route 2 down the lake Champlain Islands back towards Burlington. These islands gave us a hint at what Vermont is all about....small villages surrounded by beautiful forests. Everything in Vermont seems 'tamely wild'....not so rugged and rough as our west coast countryside, but still wild and beautiful. What really has struck us about Vermont is that EVERYTHING is small - Burlington is one of the larger (if not the largest) city, and it is probably on par with Eugene, Oregon or even Pullman, Washington.....more college town (UVA) then metropolis. Even the capital Montpelier has the feel of a New England Village rather than a political center. It's all really cool, and you can understand where Vermonter's independent spirit and pride comes from as you travel around the gorgeous countryside. (Once again, pix will have to wait until we are home!)

Pat's main conference keeps her busy for 3 days, so we have only 1 full day and a couple of 1/2 days and evenings with her - otherwise it's the kids and I. We basically hit all the Western Vermont Tourist attractions - the ECHO musuem (documenting the Lake Champlain ecosystem - a small but cool aquarium), Vermont Teddy Bear factory (cute!), the Church Street promenade in Burlington (cool shopping street - shops, cafes, kiosks, and people watching) and just before our flight is to leave for home, Ben and Jerry's factory and Stowe. All really small, quaint, and very cool. The kids and I spend one day at a state park swimming in lake Champlain (nope, we didn't spot Champ!) and another fishing in the Dog river (only got one small rainbow). It rained several of the days we were here (wettest summer in years, but enough sun to keep us happy) to the point where the larger rivers were blown out with mud (fishing wise). I got my license and a few flys at a shop run out of the basement of a guys home (I'll post pix) - cool setup!

Everything in Vermont seems 'tamely wild'

However, after 5 days we were ready to head home (Thursday). Unfortunately the weather wasn't!! Our route took us through JFK before flying back to Portland (Don't ask why, just don't let Patty's work travel service make your plans!) and they ended up cancelling over 50 flights in and out of NY due to weather. Our plane made it in from JFK and it all looked good, when all of a sudden it was cancelled right at the (already late) boarding time!!

Pat and I immediately started working both Cell phones and the internet on her computer, and after a frantic hour and a half, found a new fllight home -but 2 days later!! Bunches of travelors up and down the eastern seaboard hav been caught in the same boat, so flights were totally booked up to all destinations. Imagine Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, without the trains!! Luckily, we were also able to find a hotel (the same one we'd been staying in, but at an increased rate!). NO rental car, but at least we had a roof over our heads (and no deadlines to be home in time for!)

So with our extra day in Burlington, we had a long swim in the hotel pool, and then found an (also expensive) rental for the day, and went to the one attraction we hadn't seen....the Shelbourne museum.

This turned out to be quite cool (and we will go back for the second day of our two day ticket tomorrow before our flight leaves). This huge outdoor museum has historic buildings that have been moved from all over Vermont and New England, as well as an original paddlewheeler from Lake Champlain, a working blacksmith shop, a toy and doll museum, historic carved artwork (Cigar store figures, historic decoys, including fish decoys....did you know you can use a fish decoy when ice fishing??), a steam locomotive, and much more. It's made for a good distraction on our unexpected added stay, but I would put it on the main itinerary for anyone visiting this area!!

Wish us luck, we hope to be home late tomorrow night (the 21st!!)