Vroom-vrooom

Today was an interesting day. I learned a whole new definition of the word “jerk", although I was actually using another name, and at the end of the day found a new community of friends.

This morning, Carl and I went on an outing with the Porsche Club of Vermont. [ed note: would that be the Green Mountain chapter?] He had been impressed because he’d been a member of the Northwest chapter for 20 years, and never did anything, and the minute he changed our address to Vermont, he was contacted. They were planning a drive from Shelburne Farms (on Lake Champlain south of Burlington, about 80 miles away) to the Morgan Horse Farm, and then on to lunch in the town of Brandon . [ed note: I quite like the town's motto: Unhurried, unspoiled, unforgettable]

This did not sound like fun to me because

1. Carl’s Porsche is really LOUD!!
2. He drives it way too fast, especially on curvy mountain roads
3. The radio is literally from, 1971
4. We had to leave at 7 AM
5. Most important, it has no cup holders

The membership chair of the group had called, and said he would meet us at a gas station near Woodstock, and then we could drive in a caravan to Shelburne Farms. When we arrived at that ungodly hour, we met the membership guy, and another member, who was driving a Maserati, who informed us that both of his Porsches were in the shop. He insisted that he had gone to Shelburne Farms many times, and we should follow him. After a 70 mile drive up I-89, we got off the freeway, and while we were following him, we had a map, so realized that he was going the wrong way. The other driver (Mr. Membership chair) also had a map, and also knew we were going the wrong way. However, Mr. Maserati was driving so fast, we could barely keep up, let alone signal him that he was wrong. Instead of winding up at Shelburne Farms, we wound up at a junction between the first two destinations, but 15 minutes late, with about 30 miles still to go to Shelburne. Turns out Mr. Masarati was using memory (it turned out he’d only been there once), with no GPS or a map.

So, we had to forego Shelburne Farms, and head straight to the Morgan Horse Farm. He insisted on leading us to the MHF, but I had put it into my iPhone GPS, and ignored him. We (and Membership guy) arrived in about 10 minutes, and Mr. Maserati took half an hour. Who knows how he went. He also told us that he really didn’t need to see the Horse Farm, since his daughter raised Morgan horses. As I said, what a jerk.

I should add that I felt we had stumbled into an episode of “Newhart.” All the people we met at the Porsche Club reminded me of Larry, Daryl & Daryl. Not what I’d call a real simpatico group.

We did take some photos, but it was raining, so we didn’t get the full value of the beautiful scenery.

This evening, we made our first foray to the Woodstock Area Jewish Community Center for Yom Kippur services. It is amazing how you can feel kind of lost, (coming to a new area), and going to a service can make you feel right at home. It was a very warm, welcoming group, and I think I will enjoy getting involved. It reminded me a lot of the temple in Tacoma.

Meanwhile, the house is a mess, still boxes everywhere, but we have made some headway. We still can’t find pots & pans, and are tired of going out, so we are resorting to TV dinners & bagged salad.

The good news is that we do finally have TV & internet. I can do this from home, not the library.

• Only 5 more days until the British contingent of the family arrives!
• Only 13 days until all kids & grandkids are here, which should be a real zoo! Can’t wait.

Our view

No real comment this time -- just a quick shot of the view of Mt Tom from the house

Thank goodness for free Wi-Fi

We have been in Vermont two days now, and so far we love it. I am getting very frustrated, however, dealing with Comcast. In a rural area like this, apparently, you can’t just call for an appointment, you ask for one, and they get back to you. I have been waiting now for over 26 hours for a return call, but meanwhile, we have no internet, no cable (actually no TV at all), and no home phone.. I have gotten as far as getting a phone # assigned (802-457-7116 if anyone wants to try), but that’s all. I am about to threaten to get satellite and see if that works. I am sitting in the library which has free wi-fi.

Of course, our house is a mess with boxes everywhere. We are living in the basement, with renovations going on upstairs. We don’t want to unpack too much, because we’ll just have to repack it to move it upstairs, hopefully in the next two weeks. [ed note: I hope so!]

Vermont is so beautiful. I can’t add any photos right now [ed note: library photo courtesy of library website], but I will try to soon, before the leaf-peeping season is over. We drove to the major city of Rutland to do some shopping, and passed Killington ski resort. Obviously not open yet for skiing, but the leaves have started to change dramatically, and it is spectacular. I was reminded how much my life has changed when I was excited to see a Bed Bath & Beyond. We were in the big time!!

I will try to keep up my blog, and I hope I can convey how exciting this all is!

Ed note

When my mom told me she was planning to keep an e-mail journal of her and my dad's cross-country travels, I immediately thought a blog was the only way to go -- how better to showcase both narrative and photos in an easily accessible way?

So I offered to set one up, pasted her first e-mail into Day 1 -- and VermontersToBe was born. Now, I fully expected my computer-savvy mom to pick up the reins within a day or two, but with all the actual trip-going, she didn't really have time to learn the Blogger basics.

I have to say I'm glad she didn't. For the past 3+ weeks, Mom/aka Sue has been sending me the copy and photos by e-mail, and I've done the production, with the odd editorial comment and web-link thrown in. And I've really enjoyed it -- quite happily I think it's made me read the journal that much more closely, and many times I've pictured myself on the ride along with them. And by searching for various links, I've actually learned a bit along the way. (as well as found a few random images online; apologies to the copyright holders if any, but as I don't think we're a commercial enterprise, I hope you don't mind!)

So though my parents' cross-country journey may be over, their Vermont journey is just beginning. So I hope this blog is too -- I'm sure we all can't wait to read all about their ongoing New England adventures -- may there be many more!

• Days until Ed, Ashley and Paige have a cross-Atlantic journey to join in the adventures: 9

Day 24 -- Vermonters-we-are

We are in New England! We left New York this morning and drove to Woodstock, to check out our house. Remakably, after a six month remodel from long distance, there was very little that we were unhappy with. We actually unloaded some of our stuff, so now we have belongings in our new home. Our furniture is arriving tomorrow, so then we will feel like homeowners. For now, we are in a motel in Hanover NH, home of Dartmouth University.

We did think about buying a new TV here, and could have discovered the joy of illegal no-tax shopping. Vermont residents are supposed to let the state know when they buy things from tax-free NH and as a new resident of Vermont, we always will. Just like everyone in Washington lets that state know when they buy things in sales-tax-free Oregon. [ed note: you may notice a few edits to this last paragraph; the way it was originally written implied you had indeed cheated your new home state. Which the editor is sure you didn't, and would never condone.]

After many tries, I finally reached Comcast, but they were very vague about when they could get there to set us up, so after today, until then, we will have no internet, although we can check our e-mail via iPhone. So, for now, this is my last entry. [ed note -- noooooooooooo! I'll have to work on my own blog now!]

We have traveled almost 5000 miles, and seen some amazing things in this wonderful country. We are both so grateful to have had this opportunity. We have seen every license plate except Mississippi and Hawaii and many Canadian provinces also. We already miss our friends in Washington, but are looking forward to seeing all of our kids on a more regular basis, and making new friends here.

Day 23 -- No more little town blues

We are in the home stretch now. Our last day in NY, and tomorrow we actually reach Vermont, although we can’t actually sleep in our house until Tuesday when our furniture is delivered.

We went to New York City this morning by train. It’s so convenient, and the train from White Plains goes right to Grand Central Station in half an hour. We arrived right before lunch time, and I felt that I had to have Jewish deli food, which was hard to find in the Northwest, and certainly won’t be available in Vermont. I had wanted to go to the 2nd Ave. Deli, but it was closed because of Rosh Hashanah,and so we walked up past Rockefeller Center
to the Carnegie Deli, which is really touristy and crowded, but the food is yummy. Even Adam Sandler sings about it in the Chanukah Song. New York is so walkable, and there is so much to see. I’m sure it was at least a mile, but it didn’t seem like it [ed note: according to Nike+ Map My Run (TM), it is 1.2m, so indeed at least a mile]. We gorged on matzoh ball soup and pastrami sandwiches. [ed note: and pickles, I see...]

We walked up to Central Park, then back down to 53rd St. to the Museum of Modern Art. Unfortunately, after buying our tickets and seeing one floor out of three, Carl got sick, and we had to leave. I don’t think there was enough time for it to be the deli food, so who knows what caused it. We decided that becoming members of MOMA was a smart and cost-effective thing to do. We can now go back for free, and it will pay for itself in three trips, and hopefully the next time, he’ll make it through the whole museum. (He’s fine now!)

We said a long goodbye to the Olsons, knowing we’ll see them again in only three weeks. We really do miss Seattle, and our friends, but those kids make it all worthwhile.

• We finally saw a Delaware plate!
• 12 days till we see Paige, Ashley & Stefanie

Day 22 -- Sleepless in Sleepy Hollow

Well, I thought our sightseeing was over, and we were just going to be hanging out with the kids.

However, they had plans for the afternoon, and it was too nice to stay inside, so we was went a few miles north to the bustling town of Sleepy Hollow (really), and took a tour of Kykuit, the mansion built by John D. Rockefeller in 1909. It has been lived in by four generations of Rockefellers.

It is magnificent, and really not too ostentatious compared to lots of “summer cottages” of the rich that we’ve seen before. It is a 40 room house on 4000 acres on the Hudson. When Nelson Rockefeller (generation #3) lived there, he spruced things up by bringing in his fabulous art & sculpture collection. No photos were allowed inside, but really the most impressive thing was the grounds, with the Hudson River as a backdrop. The tour started at (but did not include on our ticket) Philipsburg Manor, a restoration of a farm of the 18th century, complete with heirloom animals. We will have to go back there another time with the kids. I think they would love the animals.

The village of Sleepy Hollow was called “North Tarrytown” until 1996 when the city fathers figured out they could capitalize on being the home of the writer Washington Irving. Tarrytown & Sleepy Hollow are charming villages, with lovely shops & restaurants, and lots of beautiful (and expensive) homes.

We had a quiet (as quiet as possible) dinner with the Olsons, and now are back watching the Mariners play the Yankees in Seattle. Not too exciting, other than hearing the Yankee announcer say (in shock) that the Washington Huskies beat USC!! How great is that. Go Huskies!

Tomorrow, we are going to New York City for the day.

• 13 days till we see Paige, Ashley & Stefanie [ed note: aw, thanks, Mom]
  
• Still no Mississippi, Hawaii, or Delaware [ed note: I think Delaware is the most likely at this stage... but who knows -- keep your eyes peeled in NYC!]