We just came back from a few days in VT. Now, I feel I need to add a disclaimer at the beginning of this post. I have nothing against VT. It is beautiful country up that way and there are some very nice towns to hang out in. If you're a skier, VT is probably a favorite haven for you in this part of the world. If you're not a skier (which I am not), then you have visions of hiking, biking, kayaking, and all other kinds of glamorous outdoorsy activities. If you're sick of the city, then you may also have visions of escaping to the mountains for some R&R. I'd like to say I am one of those people with visions of hiking, biking, and kayaking, but the fact that I haven't seen my gym since I joined it and that I can't swim pretty much leaves me in the latter category of wanting some R&R. Yeah. That's definitely me. R&R. You know, maybe take a nice stroll down the street, check out some local shops...aaahhh.
The reason we were taking this trip is that we had won the use of a condo for a week in a silent auction at our church earlier in the year. The condo was located right on Mt. Okemo and, for that reason, we could only access it during spring or summer months...so, it was a last hurrah before heading back into the school year. The condo was pretty big and had a kitchen, access to a swimming pool, tennis courts, and a sauna. The owner said only about 90% of the condos get rented in the summer, so we would pretty much be on our own up there. It did not have air conditioning, but who cares? It's on a mountain in VT. How hot could it get? So, we did our grocery shopping for the week, packed our bathing suits, and headed North!!
The drive was quick (only about 2.5 hours from our home) and it was pretty. We followed the directions we had and drove up to the condo which, as I mentioned, was right on the mountain. What this meant was that I was pushing our car as hard as I could and we were still maxing out at a whopping 25 mph as we went up the hill. Finally, after coming very close to pulling a Fred Flinstone and using my feet to add some extra power to the car, we arrived at the unit we were going to be using. The place was really very nice - 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, a dining room, a kitchen, a deck, and a sauna. And, just as the owner had said, there was no one else around. "Oh man!" I thought, "This is really going to be great!" Nicole and I unpacked the car, picked the room we wanted to use, and took a drive around the area to see what was around. What we found on the drive was this: the entrance to Okemo was only about 1 mile from where we were (and there was a beer fest going on that night. Normally, that would have made my week right there, but it was pretty close to RM's bedtime, so we decided it probably wasn't worth the $20 admission for only a little while), there was an Irish bar close by, a place called Taco Taco, a quilt shop that Nicole wanted to visit, and...and, uh,...well, that was really about it. "Ok, don't panic" is what flashed in my head as I quickly fired up my iPhone to look up what there was to do in this part of VT. Now, the fact that even Google couldn't point me in the direction of an activity was a little disorienting, but I figured it was only the first night and we would figure out what there was to do. With that, we headed back to the condo, unpacked, made dinner, and settled in for the night. Started watching t.v. and realized this place only had the "essential" cable package. Translation = you can watch what's on the networks, but don't look for any quality programming. Oh crap.
The next day, Nicole's sister, Jessica, and nephew, Owen, came up, as well as our friends Cara and Marc. Now, since people were arriving at different times, we decided to hange close by to be sure we'd be home when people arrived. Jessica and Owen arrived around 1ish and Cara and Marc arrived closer to dinner, so we planned a nice meal, people settled into their rooms, and we played some games for the evening. Monday, we decided to head over to a town called Weston where we heard there was some nice shopping to be done and we figured this would be a nice way to spend the afternoon. So, when we got there, I learned that my definition of "nice shopping" is vastly different then the people who had pointed us in this direction because there was pretty much the VT Country Store, a shop full of Christmas tree ornaments, and a type of general store. That's it. That's the extensive list of shops. No. You didn't miss anything and I didn't forget any. That's what's there. Being overwhelmed as we were as to how to tackle this vast shopping Mecca, we started with the VT Country Store which, in all honesty, was a really cool place. Now, as many of you know, I don't like shopping unless there's food involved. That being said, I LOVED this place. There was a whole room dedicated to cheese and another section dedicated to dips. My dear friend, Cara, and I were on high alert to make sure that we hit all of the sundries available for sampling in the store and we quickly became seasoned critics describing each taste that hit our palates and making sure we "cleansed" with appropriate free snacks before moving on to other flavors. It was a nice place and I stocked up on the sundries which we had decided were good enough to take home and enjoy during our evening games.
Next stop was the store with all of the Christmas tree ornaments, but that was really uneventful, so I'll spare you the details. In other words, there were no snacks there.
Our third, and final stop, was the little general store that had some clothing, little souvenir type things, and more free food. But, don't get excited by the free food thing because, believe it or not, that was NOT the most awesome thing in this store. The most awesome thing was one of those experiences that catches you completely off guard and one of those things that leaves you completely speechless. This is what happened. I was strolling through the store using my super senses to locate and consume the free food that was advertised at the door when I turned the corner into a small hallway and that's when it happened. I saw something I thought I would never ever see in my lifetime and I am completely confident I will not be able to do it justice here with my meager words. I turned the corner and saw a woman, roughly my height and maybe slightly older than myself, carrying a dog. Now, her dog didn't seem like any particularly special breed - he (I think it was a he) was a small dog (maybe 10 lbs) with black and white spots. In and of itself, that wouldn't have been that weird, but that's not the end of the story. You see, she was carrying this dog by holding him in her arms in such a way that the dog was sitting on his bum, in an upright position, facing outward so that I had a clear shot of his chest. Well, I didn't really have a clear shot of his chest because, you see, he was wearing a shirt. Now, I wish I could describe what this shirt looked like, but I really can't because I was distracted by the designer sunglasses that the dog was wearing along with the blingy string from his glasses that dangled around his neck. I'm pretty sure he was also wearing a gold chain, but that might be my brain having some fun with this memory. In any case, when I saw this dog, I kind of froze for a second because of the sheer attitude that he was emanating. I'm pretty sure that if this dog could speak, he would have said, "What the hell are you looking at, Be-atch?! Get me a Double Doggie Latte and pick me up some cheese from across the street. NOW!" As the dog was giving me the stink eye, his owner turns to RM and says (in a thick French accent), "It's a dog. It's a dog". Thanks for the confirmation, lady. I sat there, dumbfounded...speechless. As the lady walked by holding the gay animal equivalent of Martha Stewart, I quickly spun back around to find Cara who, I saw, was equally mesmerized by the dog.
I quickly figured out what must have been the situation with this dog. I mean, the lady carrying him, the attitude, the glasses...it was all making sense to me now. Obviously he was blind and she was his seeing eye person. How nice of her to care for her poor blind dog. What kind of training do you need to be a seeing eye person? Are there schools for that? Does the dog use a cane when his seeing eye person is sleeping or something? Can I address the person when she is on duty? Are you supposed to give her treats or beers or something when not in service? Maybe the dog wasn't completely blind. Maybe he had cataracts and that's why he was wearing those glasses. No, that couldn't be. The glasses were not the ancient forerunners to blue blockers that every senior citizen with cataracts uses. You know what glasses I mean...they are like the deepest black you've ever seen and they have walls on either side of them that have immensely powerful force fields built in that serve to block any and all sunlight from coming anywhere near the wearer's head. Clearly, this dog was not wearing anything like that, so he did not have cataracts. Obviously. Anyway, this poor blind dog was the perhaps the single most amazing and ridiculously absurd thing I have ever seen. I have continuously kicked myself in my patookus every day since that encounter for not taking a picture of this poor, blind animal. If anyone out there has ever seen this creature or if any of you ever come in contact with him in the future, please snap a photo of him and contact me immediately.
Ok, back to our story. Our shopping excursion...that's where we left off, yes? After our dog encounter, we had pretty much hit all of the shopping this Mecca had to offer, so we decided to head back to the homestead. By the time we got back, it was probably, oh, I don't know...Noon. Hmmmm....now what to do? We sat on our buttocks a bit and decided to give the pool a shot. So, we suited up and headed down the immense hill and arrived at our destination...the pool. Not a soul around...except for the massive colony of gnats that quickly figured out we were fresh meat. Needless to say, we only lasted at the pool for about 45 minutes before we had to move on from the bug buffet where we were the main courses. Even poor little RM had little specks of blood all over her head from the buffet. Sorry, sweetie. Ok, back to the condo.
I have an idea. Let's play some games. Movies. Books? Uh, maybe some games?
Tuesday. Nicole and Jess head out to a quilt shop (I'll pass on that one, thanks). Cara and Marc head out for a hike. Owen, RM, and myself hang out at the condo. Ok. This is ok. It's a nice day today. No rain, like predicted, but also nothing to do. Go for a walk? I don't think I am experienced enough as a rock climber to walk around this neighborhood. Go to the pool? Our collective blood supply had not replenished enough to revisit the vampire section of the complex. A movie? Well, we know how RM does with that and Owen had already watched the only movie available in the Red Box that was appropriate for a 9 year old. Crap. Hey! How about a game? No? Ok. Hmmm....I would have blogged, but there was no internet access at the condo.
Have you ever seen "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson? It's a movie about a guy who takes a job as a caretaker for the winter months at a mountainside resort. He takes his family up there and figures he'll use the opportunity to write, only the family becomes snow bound and have no access to the outside world. Oh, and did I mention, the place is haunted. Well, I was starting to have the sensation that I was in this movie: mountainside resort, no one else around, nothing to do...all work and no play makes Jen go a little woohoo.
Wednesday. This is the day that everyone is scheduled to head back home...everyone except me, Nicole, and RM. Cara and Marc left around Noonish while Jess left around 4 after a short trip to a state park. By 4:15, Nicole and I were all alone in the condo...hell, in the complex...and desperately trying to figure out what to do for the next two days. Well, there's a brewery about 30 minutes away. Yeah, but what are we going to do with RM at a brewery? Ok. Ben and Jerry's is about 90 minutes away. I don't think RM will tolerate that ride for an ice cream. We sat around for a bit longer unsuccessfully kicking ideas around until......
It was probably around 5:20 that night when we both looked at each other and said, "Have you had enough?". We were packed and in the car by 6:45 and homeword bound. Now, does this horribly failed trip mean that Nicole and I are unable to spend time together alone? I don't think that's what it means at all. In fact, I think it means that we both love each other enough to realize when to cut our losses and, if we're going to sit around and do nothing, we may as well do it on our own couches.
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