Vermont Vacation

This document is a diary of my vacation in Vermont during March of 1999.

Saturday February 27:

The flight to Hartford was on a nice new Airbus A319 and it was only about 3/4 full. Heavy airplane traffic in Chicago delayed us from leaving for a little bit. We arrived a few minutes late in Hartford, just after Midnight local time. I was greeted by a tired looking group of people.

We went down to baggage claim, retrieved my bags, and we were on our way in no time. The two hour drive up to Jamaica Vermont passed quickly as there was little traffic, and a lot of stories to tell.

It was much warmer in New England than in Europe, so there is a lot less snow on the ground.

Sunday February 28:

Sunday was a day of rest. In the late morning, I walked up to the village to go to the Country Market, to get some more film, and a Root Beer. There is no root beer in Norway. No one in Norway has ever heard of root beer. I was ready to kill for a root beer.

I walked through the village, and down back street, enjoying the pleasant views and relishing the chimney smoke from fresh cut wood fires. I turned back towards home, and I stopped briefly to chat with Junior and Gladys before Jim came and picked me up.

The whole group (seven of us) went over to Cindy's in Wardsboro for a late brunch. Cindy's is a 178 year old building that has been a hardware store, a Post Office and a Co-op over its life. It was strange to see people driving snowmobiles down the main street of the town, going from trail to trail.

When we returned home, Teri was waiting for us. We spent a while catching up on all the latest gossip, and sharing in each others miseries. We watched a little TV and did a lot of nothing.

In the late evening, Melissa and Chris and I played cards for hours, eventually being joined by Pat. They were several times when the whole group broke down in hysterical laughter. It was very enjoyable.

Monday March 1:

The kids went back to school on Monday, and it was quiet around the house.

I wandered around the village again, along back street and down past the school to the State Park taking pictures along the way. I went up Route 30 to the Volunteer Fire Station, and a little way up Factory Street. The rains over the previous night had changed the creek and the river completely from the way it was the day before.

After school was out, Joanne and I went down to the High School to pick up Pat. I met his music teacher and they showed me the computer system in the music area.

On the way home we stopped to shop at the grocery store in East Jamaica and got the fixin's for making tacos, Schultheis style.

That evening we went to the High School to watch the basketball game. Leland and Gray won the game easily, advancing them to the next round of the playoffs.

After we returned home, we played another spirited game of cards involving all of the kids, myself included.

Tuesday March 2:

Since the Town Meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, the kids had the day off from school.

Melissa and Chris headed back down to Philadelphia, armed with clean laundry and smoked meats from the local shop.

We went to the Town Meeting and I was able to get a first hand look at Democracy In Action. (or is that Democracy Inaction?) There was a long-winded presentation by the county representative to the state legislature. There was discussion of the school budget, which was defeated in a close vote. They also voted for various school director and village officer positions.

After the lunch break, I took off on my own, driving up to Weston. I trudged around that area taking some pictures and visiting all the little shops and stores in the vicinity. The wind was coming up, and it was beginning to snow more heavily as I drove home, so I skirted Manchester and came home through Bondville.

Back into Jamaica, I drove up past the elementary school, to the spot where I took the "Country Road" picture a few years before. I tried to duplicate the picture with the winter season look.

For dinner I treated Jim and Joanne to dinner at the Outback Restaurant. In keeping with the vacation theme, I ordered a meal that I have never had before, venison. It was very good.

Wednesday March 3:

The kids were back at school again, and this time for good. However Wednesday is JISP day (Junior Instructional Ski Program) so Rachel and her class were scheduled to go up to Stratton to go snowboarding in the afternoon. I went up in the morning and skied for a few hours, then found Rachel and skied with her and her friends for a few more hours. It was great.

That night, Jim cooked swordfish for dinner, and we watched a video.

Thursday March 4:

The final day in Vermont.