Thursday, August 19, 2010

A visit from Mike and Kate

Wow, it's been a while.

Mike and Kate came for a long weekend.  This visit almost didn't happen because driving took too long and flying was too expensive.  Thanks go to Kate's parents (who are vacationing in the Adirondacks) for coming up with the idea of meeting at a ferry that crosses Lake Champlain!!

So my DC sweeties came up on Saturday noon and stayed through Tuesday noon.  And while they were here, one, some, or all of us did the following:

Food: 
           had lunch at the Burlington Bay Market and Cafe
           had supper at Village Pizza in Randolph
           had a delicious supper at home of green bean/tomato/pesto/pasta salad, and sublime roast chicken
           did grocery shopping at Hannaford's in South Barre
           picked enough green beans to feed an army, a bowlful of delicious cherry tomatoes, and lettuce
           picked several bunches of basil for pesto, and decided never to plant that tasteless basil variety again
           made excellent breakfasts with farm-fresh eggs, and plenty of fruit
           drank Otter Creek beer and lots of Dunkin Donuts coffee (not at the same time)

Visited:
           the Howards, and saw the house they're building up where the old camp is
           Thelma, and my horse
           Kate's friends in Stowe
           an Antique Boat Show at the Burlington waterfront which had two, count 'em, two antique boats and half a dozen expensive shiny modern monsters. Thank heaven the show was free.

Worked:
           mowed the lawn
           did a lot of weeding
           stacked wood
           hung the tarp that protects the woodpile from snow
           fixed the roller on the deck door

Exercised:
           yoga in the front yard
           ran about 2 miles
           used the Nordic Track for 15 minutes (first time in months and months)

Entertainment:
           canoed around Baker Pond with the Brookfield Hiking and Adventure Society
           recorded Ernie sounds, horse sounds, and attempted to record cow sounds
           watched DVD movies
           fell asleep during DVD movies
           played Bananagrams

and finally - drove to the western edge of Vermont so that Mike and Kate could take the Crown Point ferry and continue their vacation with several days at the Rabinowitz's summer house.  It appears that the crossing is about 2 ferry lengths long.  So that just about the time the passengers at the back are well offshore, the passengers in the front are arriving at the other side.

Lovely visit. Absolutely lovely. I miss them already.