Burlington: One

 

It was a really short trip -- leaving home on Wednesday morning and arriving back home on Saturday evening. But we packed SO much into those few days!

Our dear classic New Englander friend Sharon had moved across the country to Oregon four years ago and we hadn't seen her since. We'd been used to a reunion about once every year-and-a-half. So when she said she was going to Vermont for an extended vacation and wondered if we could come up to spend some time together, we were delighted. 

Sharon found rooms for us at a wonderful place: Home 2 Suites, Williston. This division of Hilton was new to us and we just loved it. Very contemporary in design, it was comfortable, clean, and fresh. The free breakfast was on the weak side, but we reminded ourselves that we were still in Covid time.

We made no unnecessary stops on the way up because we had an important event that evening. The ferry ride across Lake Champlain was beautiful and enjoyable and just long enough. 

We met Sharon at the hotel, unpacked and took a bit of a nap before we had to be on our way to the ballpark where we met up with Sharon's friend Paige and cheered the Burlington Lake Monsters on to victory over the New Britain Bees while we enjoyed burgers, lemonade and popcorn.

Thursday morning we grabbed breakfast at the hotel and then set out to see famous sites from Sharon's past. She'd lived in Essex Junction before moving to Philadelphia where I met her in 1992 at seminary. On the first day of our month-long Koine Greek intensive, we found ourselves seated side-by-side in the front row, an unlikely spot for either of us. But I digress. 

After visiting not one but two quilt shops in the area (and I do recommend Yankee Pride in the heart of EJ), we saw the home she where she raised her daughters and the school where she taught kindergarten along with other historical sites.

We visited an old mill that contains a museum dedicated to the work of one Wilson Alwyn Bentley, who'd devoted his life to the study of snowflakes (no two alike) and whose mother just happened to be a quilter! We picked up a jug of maple syrup to bring home.

After lunch we were off to the Church Street Market where some of us indulged in a Ben & Jerry's and we visited a fine variety of shops including one devoted to all things flannel and another that sold nothing but socks! One gallery had some prints of barns that, of course, made me think of Julie!

After a nice dinner on a deck overlooking the lake, we returned home (with take-out pie that we didn't have room for at the restaurant) and settled in at the hotel to watch the Red Sox defeat the Houston Astros before turning in for the night.