Checking out the Dead

Saturday morning was a walk in the park...a park of collected history of those who have graced the earth before us.  This beautiful large cemetery situated along the Lake Champlain lake shore was filled with big old pines, oaks, and hydrangea trees with blossoms the color of rosy cheeks. The memorial stones varied in size and shape and wear.  Once passed the honor guard of cedars, the rolling hills of history of those before us played out like a movie script of inscriptions and dates. 

Some writing was just a ghostly outline with lichen accents or tilted to the side as if someone underneath was turning over (must have been something I said).  Embellishments, flourishes and patterns are everywhere to inspire creativity. And yeah, here the fox and the badger finally get along...

This cemetery had the best memorial I have ever seen; an adorable life size ski chalet complete with granite skis out front for Jann and Chuck Perkins.  The inscription on the east side bronze plaque tells the story of this couple who had met and married sometime around the 40's and around the 60's opened a ski shop in Burlington, VT.  They enjoyed many successful years of business along with ski trips all over the world. Their two children said their wish was to have a tiny chalet for a resting place:

The plaque on the west of the chalet displayed quotes that inspired them:

It's amazing to think of the number of people that have paved the way before us, each a hero in his or her own way for surviving the vicissitudes of life. Some of them have stories being passed down through their next generation, some lives are lost like pebbles in the bottom of the river, part of the essence of earth but not occupying space in a living person's memory.  But could it be that every memory is just a bit of energy that pulses through the atmosphere still clinging to the trees and ground and air?

Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean, 

Tears from the depths of some devine despair

Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,

In looking on the happy autumn fields,

And thinking of the days that are no more.”

― Alfred Tennyson

With little time to waste since we needed to pack up and head out of town later today, we headed back to the Colchester causeway to ride out to the bike ferry which would take us to Grand Isle on Lake Champlain.  Though the day was gray it had that lovely wet dirt smell of autumn.  We waited patiently for the ferry to bump into the dock and were greeted by a furry ferry greeter, Molly, who sat at my feet for the ride.  

Molly, the foot warmer...

The boat's captain told us they bring 300 people a day over on the ferry at the height of the summer months. The cost is $8/person for an all day pass, back and forth as many times as you want.  The ferry is equipped to hold about 20 people and bikes at a time. Our bikes are parked and ready for departure... 

The trip only takes about 5 minutes and once on the other side the trail is just crushed gravel out to country roads but it hugs the outer shores of Lake Champlain.

About three miles around the West side of the island we came to our first rest stop, Snowflake Winery.  And gee, after that loooooong and rigorous ride on the country road, FINALLY (sarcastic font inserted)... 

How nice of the Grand Isle to strategically place a winery!

We had packed a picnic lunch so chowed our sandwiches at the winery (with wine of course) and then headed back since there wasn't much else to see (the island is mostly farms with a small downtown). The captain was telling us on the way back that he was building his own camper on a flat bed trailer.  Another adventure in the making, at least he has a foot warming dog for cold nights.  

We sadly said goodbye to Burlington and headed south on HWY 7 toward Bennington.  On the way we passed through several cute New England towns, Shelbourne, Middleberry, Rutland, and admired the solar panel fields along the way, some complete with grazing animals. 

We made it to the Bennington Walmart and had the whole parking side lot almost to ourselves...only one other RV. Now let's see if we can capture and good images for the www.peopleofwalmart.com site...kidding, had enough exciting activity for the day!  

And All that Jazz

I always look for some good jazz bands wherever we go and I didn't have to look far.  Loads of great music in Burlington, much of it free (but always tip the band...for their "muzik lesuns") and the RadioBean Coffee House had not one, not two, but THREE jazz bands on Thursday night (every Th is jazz night) so we stayed for the first two fabulous bands, Cody Sargent and Friends and Shane Hardiman Trio, but by 11:00 pm I was turning into a pumpkin and didn't make it to the last local fav band, Kat Wright and the Indomitable Soul Band.  RadioBean is a quirky hipster hangout with eclectic decor (think old stripped down box spring for a wine rack and red velvet hanging lamps with fringe) and unique mixed drinks.

RadioBean Coffeehouse, Burlington

Since it was "Parent's Weekend" at U of VT and Columbus day for the Canadians (Monday off) the campground was full and we had to move Max to a new site for our last day on Friday. 

Benefits of mobile tiny house living:

-moving takes about 10 minutes

-cleaning takes about 10 minutes

-efficient heating source: spaceheater (propane if needed)

-can't accumulate "stuff" since there is no place to put it

-no yard work

-if you don't like your neighbors you can move

Downside to mobile tiny house living:

-bathing is like showering inside a refrigerator

-often run into each other

-bang head, knee, toes into "house"

-hard to hang Christmas decorations and have them stay

-no turkey in the oven here...maybe a drumstick leg

-toiletries fly out of the cabinet and bonk you on the head after moving  

After moving spots we headed to Montpelier, the smallest state Capitol in the nation at 8,000 people (nope, there isn't a zero missing).  Smaller than Baraboo, can you imagine the gossip there??  But this little town is cute as a button with some fun stores and restaurants.  We had lunch at Captiol Grounds, a local sandwich shop and coffeehouse.  OK, I'm not going to brag about our food since I'm not going to walk that bridge to an AARP card, so I'll just say it was fantastic. Then headed to the Capitol which was in beautiful condition.

We took a lovely FREE tour of the State Capitol given by a local character: 

 All of the fabulous lights were originally gas lit, the cord coming down attaches to the lamp on the desk so the Governor (yes this is the Governor's office--this is all a working building) could control the gas.

Who cleans these chandeliers?

Look at the cute Court House.

Back to Burlington, just a 45 minute drive, because we had tickets to go on the "Darkness Falls" tour of haunted Burlington. OK, no comments on the quality of this photo...it's because of the spirits that it's fuzzy, see look at all the orbs (for you Shelly):

Part of the tour, The Follett House, named after Timothy Follett, a shipping and railroad tycoon, built at the height of his wealth in 1840 but within 13 years he lost everything and had to sell the house to a rival railroad tycoon, Henry Campbell.  Looks creepy at night doesn't it? 

Haunted happenings include a certain picture that will not stay on the wall, thumping with no source, coffee pots with mysterious liquids. 

Also found some poignant graffiti along the way: 

And so that reminds me of the manifesto we have adopted to host our "Lost With a Cause".  I happened to start writing a manifesto, a published declaration of our intentions and motives, kinda like a mission statement only sans the missionary work (no creed), and I came across the Holstee Manifesto written by three guys who started the Holstee company.  They wanted to write about what they defined as success with the goal to create something to reflect back on if they felt stuck or living according to someone else's definition of happiness.  Read more about this cool company at: 

https://www.holstee.com/pages/manifesto 

We have a copy of the manifesto hanging in Max and it goes a little something like this (with our own reflections in parenthesis).

This is your life. Do what you love and do it often. If you don't like something change it. If you don't like your job quit. If you don't have enough time stop watching TV. (And spending time at the "screen".) If you are looking for the love of your life stop, they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. Stop over analyzing, life is simple. All emotions are beautiful. (And don't identify with them!)  When you eat appreciate every last bite. (But it's OK to leave the last two bites so you won't be "overstuffed"--Tyink family syndrome.) Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people.  We are united in our differences.  Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. Travel often, getting lost will help you find yourself. (But know you're never lost and never need to be "found".) Some opportunities only come once, seize them.  Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create (and do) with them so go out and start creating (and doing). Life is short. (And years seem like minutes as you age.) Live your dream and share your passion.   

More Movies

So I've been thinking about the secret service people or other "guard" like people (after our encounter with the "Guvna") and wonder how do the "guards" take potty breaks?  Do they tell those they are watching over, "Just hide under this table until I get back" or "Lock yourself in the car for a few minutes" or "Stand behind this tree and act skinny"? Another quandary.

Doug worked on the fender of our car trailer.  The weld holding the fender to the trailer cracked so he pulled the wheels off the trailer, unbolted the fender, and found a welder in town to "stitch her back up".  Then since the rain subsided and the sun was starting to peak out we headed to Stowe again to drive through Smuggler's Notch, explore the caves, and hike some of the trails in the notch.  

Who needs dirt to grow?  These trees only need rock--just like a good hearty Vermonter. 

Lots of caves up in Smuggler's Notch--for smuggler's to camp out.

A smuggler in the making...

On the way home we couldn't pass up stopping at the Ben & Jerry's to get the factory tour and sample the latest craze in Vermont ice cream...

kidding...some things just don't belong in ice cream. We did get to sample strawberry cheesecake and also bought some pints to take home (Salted Caramel Cone and Greek Yogurt with Blueberries and Graham). 

 Can't leave without taking some with!

In 1986 they designed the Cowmobile to go on a tour of the country to deliver free scoops of ice cream as a marketing stunt. On the return trip home the bus burned to the ground just outside of Cleveland to make it the world's largest Baked Alaska.  This is a replica...giving us ideas of how to paint Max. 

All gone in two days! P.S. I didn't eat all of mine.

Midweek brought us a gray day that looked like it might rain so we went to the Fleming Art Museum on the U of VT campus (which is filled with quintessential New England architecture).  After chatting with the college girls at the admission desk I learned that the University (10,00 students) is know for their medical majors, environmental studies, and agricultural studies (the U owns 4 farms).  The girls told me it was a great college to be "outdoorsy" and "crafty" (yep, lots and lots of art/craft galleries ALL OVER VT). 

The Fleming Museum on U of VT campus.

The gallery had a special exhibit on Civil War artifacts and an extensive collection of Civil War drawings by field artist-reporters.  Most of the drawing were created for future engravings to be made which were then published for the papers. The drawings had wonderful commentary next to them and we could have spent all day there but we had to see the rest of the collections at the gallery-just enough to peruse without getting overwhelmed. We also planned on catching a movie later so we admired the wonderful collection of art spanning large swaths of history and cultures and headed back downtown Burlington.  

Inside the Fleming Museum: Civil War display of letters, quilts, clothing, and other interesting artifacts.  Comparing the size of Civil War coat to burly WI men of today.

Field surgical tools.  The top most instrument was a hand held chainsaw for sawing through bones (not just the chicken bones from KFC).  I don't know if you can read the plaque but over 60,000 amputations were carried out through the war.  

Yeah, it's movie time again, my favorite.  Since it was very windy and cold we decided to hit the Roxy movie house again. When we went to see "Boyhood" we saw a poster for the Manhattan Short films, a collection of short films in which the audience members vote for the best film and actor (with one week of viewing).  This series is coordinated by a fella from "down under" and happens one week every year. A wide range of films are included, each about 15 minutes each or less, 10 in all.  Although the voting took place the previous week, we correctly guessed the top two winners.  

On a chilly windy day it seemed like the perfect day to stop at the Dobra tea house for a pot of tea and two really dry cookies (must have been gluten free or some kind of reclaimed organic sawdust because good cookies are made from flour and lots of butter) but lovely little spot to relax.  Nice music and atmosphere and no cell phones allowed, hallelujah, someplace cell free.  

After tea we browsed the cool shops on Church Street, then had dinner at a "farm to table restaurant" called The Farmhouse Tap and Grill.  I can hear my dad now, "Do they bring the chickens to your table to pet?" Nope, but they serve up great local brews and excellent fare like a turkey burger (hold the feathers) with raclette cheese and onions fried in maple syrup...OMG, I'm talking about the food again.  OK, it was all excellent.  

Thursday was catch up day.  Doug did some upkeep on Max, I worked on the blog, and then went into town to do our laundry.  I don't have much to say about laundromats but this one was immaculate, not like the one in the Dells that had a meat bone on the floor! Yeah, I have proof! Someone did their DISHES at the laundromat across from the Crystal Grand (cuz that's were this place was).  It's probably still there.  

Upper right, kinda blends in but it's there...how is it there???? Oops, threw the tablecloth in and missed a spare rib bone for the garbage?  Used the spare rib as hair tie up and put in pocket and forgot to take out? One armed person used the bone to prop up the detergent dispenser and, whoops, it popped off to the floor? Dog ate meat off bone and it was wadded up in the dog bed that needed washing?  Ate ribs for lunch at the laundromat???  

Lakefront Lingering

Monday was a beautiful day so we broke out the bikes again to explore the Burlington Bikeway along the lakefront, an 8 mile trail hugging Lake Champlain.  Heading south we passed the Aquarium and stumbled upon the Burlington Earth Clock, a celestial clock to read the time and seasons. 

The clock is just a bit of interactive artwork hanging on the wall of Lake Champlain.

It's about 12 o'clock! Better wind it up again.

How it all works--probably can't read from this photo but the center of the earth clock reads the hour when you stand in the middle and locate your shadow, the outer rocks then depict the season (solstice) by reading what time the sun will rise and set. Simple, huh!

We then headed back to Burlington to have lunch at a local bakery/deli called August First. It had one of those great garage door openings on the side of the building to make you feel like you're eating outside. I've seen this before but for some reason this venue made me think it might be a fabulous addition to a house to just roll up the door and the living room would be open to the outside. In our household however, I'm confident Doug would haul in various motorized machines and defend their purpose as accent tables. 

About halfway through lunch a black Tahoe rolled up and out slithered a guy in dark glasses pretending not to be seen as the two passengers paraded out to purchase lunch. We found out later after seeing some of the political ads that the tall guy was Peter Shumlin, governor of Vermont, and the young attendee was his assistant. Decided not to get a picture lest we incur the wrath of the dark glasses but this is from the web:

Aside from the great sandwiches, the bakery was tantalizing us with mouthwatering bakery smells, the kind that make me hungry no matter how much I've had for lunch. I don't as a whole talk about my food, or photograph it (but I guess I've now started since I photoed our cottage pie...OMG, what's happening to me, I'm talking about my food, next conversation topic down the road...body functions, EEK), but after my ham and brie sandwich with cranberries and raspberry preserves, we shared (yes it was hard to share) an apple turnover I'd be willing to trade my Dove carmel chocolates for.

Once fueled up again with great food, we headed north on the trail and discovered a causeway (former railroad) that connects Lake Champlain to the Grand Isle by way of bike ferry. 

 The causeway was built at the turn of the century atop giant marble boulders (not sure how long it took to finish the railroad bed but I imagine it wasn't a 4 week project). The causeway trail extends for 2.5 miles right across Lake Champlain, connecting to the Burlington bikeway on the South and Grand Isle to the north. 

End of the line...for today.

Unfortunately, the bike ferry only runs on the weekend so we plan to return this weekend to take the final voyage before the ferry closes for winter after the weekend.  Traveling over the massive piles of rock its hard to imagine the horses and men hauling these marble boulders and dumping them into the lake little by little for over 2 miles. The small shards of marble inspired creative cairn building by the side of the trail so of course we had to add to them.  Just a smattering of the artistic endeavors:

These paths are marked for happy trails.

Exploring the Queen City

So much to explore and so little time.  Even though the size of the city is only a bit over 40K this place is packed with things to do.  Unfortunately Saturday it was raining in the morning so we decided to do indoor fun stuff like visit the ECHO aquarium.

Interesting exhibit on coffee harvest and roasting (with free coffee to boot which is a luxury for me since I no longer have a coffee maker--don't have the space in our pint sized home) and then learned about all the frogs, fish, and lake creepy crawlies in the area.  Learned about the knocking call, which sounds like horse hooves on a wooden bridge, of a native frog called...can you name it?

Mink Frog

Also went to see the movie "Boyhood", brilliantly written and directed by Richard Linklater also know for a long list of other movies (including "School of Rock"--funny, FUNNY). This coming of age story of a young boy uses time like paint on a canvas. Excellent casting, acting, cinematography, screenplay...a must see but go see it on the big screen!  I give the movie two snaps up, five stars, and a standing ovation.  

On the way home we walked past City Market a giant Whole Foods so packed with people I thought it was a Best Buy on Black Friday, until I smelled the familiar Patchouli and spied the humongous bulk food isle. Burlington is very hip, hippie and hipster. The hipster look for the older folks reading:

Hats are in...knit hats, bowler hats, pork pie hats, paperboy caps, slouchy hippie hats...and dreadlocks! Lots of plaid here--lots of flannel plaid.  Doug is feeling out of place without his own plaid.  

Dogs are very welcome in VT with offerings of water bowls and dog ties up spots.  I see lots of folks carrying their smaller dogs like newspapers, many "store dogs" like Annie's "Nellie" at Village Booksmith in Boo, and dogs just tagging along on errands.  You can't go more than ten seconds without a dog passing by. Oh, and several cats on leashes.  One skater dude with his big fluffy cat on a pink leash (sorry I don't have photo cuz we were in the car).  

First peak into Stowe.

Sunday we headed out to Stowe since is was a beautiful sunny 65 degree day.  I had spied online that this weekend was Oktoberfest and I wanted to experience the VT version of lederhosen and beer.  Nothing like a yodeler, an um pah band, and a few accordions to get the toes a tappin' but nothing raucous...a very tame version of the LaCrosse drunk fest, no cars overturned, just lots of "wurst" and local beer from the Trapp Family Lodge.

We felt right at home enjoying our "wurst" platter and beer. We watched the polka dancers, and admired the older ladies with pins festooning their hats like a decorated General. We then wandered into and around town to browse and found the cute covered bridge and other very New England sites.

Next on the agenda was a hike up to Mt. Mansfield.  We decided on the Haselton trail, listed as a "moderate" hike, but of course found out later it was a "strenuous" 2500 ' vertical hike.  Our WI ant hill climbing legs got a workout but it was worth it for the view...of course at the top we discovered folks could DRIVE up to the top but what fun is that if your legs aren't sore for 2 days after?  

Starting out at the bottom it seems like a very tame trail...

...until we start on the rocks and it goes up and up, sometimes up a stream.  Vermont gets an A++ for well marked trails though.  Just follow the painted blue rectangle on trees and rocks.  Just about the time you don't know where to go there is a blue mark.

I call this the brain of the trail...the root system that calculates if you are fond of the trail and if it senses any animosity it spits you out somewhere at the bottom of the trail.  Think good thoughts...

The moss trail...how could one traverse this without touching the spongy moss on both sides? 

The hills are alive...but wait, there's more...not quite at the top.  Another half mile straight up the ski hill! I didn't think my ankles could bend that far forward.

Success!!! 

No worries about sleeping good tonight! Can't wait to go home to have a Google chat with our cuties: