Vacation Report
Dave had been in New Hampshire for five days when I got there. His conference had let out that morning, and he had made his own way to the Follansbee Inn, where we were staying.
I drove out with Janet, who was catching a bus in Concord NY. It was a pleasant drive, in spite of our both managing on a bare 4 hours sleep (bringing Janet's 3-day sleep total to, I think, about 6 hours). We started about 20 minutes later than intended, and stopped for a surprisingly pleasant lunch at Wahoo's, a road stand outside Wilmington, VT. Which, along with construction and some infuriating old-person driving, meant that we got to the Concord bus station just in time to see Janet's bus pulling away. Oh noes! Janet ran inside, and discovered that the bus's next stop was in Manchester, 20 minutes down the road. It wasn't due to leave there for 30 minutes, so we had a chance.
I drove very fast. But there was more traffic. More construction. A phalanx of police and ambulances, sirens blazing. And we were outside the Manchester bus station, stuck at a long light in a construction zone, at 3:26, when the bus was due to leave at 3:30. Janet grabbed her purse and hopped out to do some negotiating, leaving her bag in the car, and I went to find parking.
Red lights, one way streets, more construction. I finally got around to the front of the bus station, Janet on the curb. I pulled over illegally, popped the trunk, and she blew a kiss through the window and was off. The light I was stopped at changed, and I headed back for the freeway. She texts a few minutes later: success. I'm about an hour south of the B&B because of the detour, but this is just as well-- it takes approximately that long for my blood pressure to normalize.
The B&B is gorgeous: a large nineteenth-century hotel, with a games room, a dining room, and a small bar on the first level, and cozy rooms above. I get there and am exhausted-- Dave meets me at the lakeside and we spend the next two hours incoherent in a hammock. Then, showers and off to dinner. After dinner, very full, Dave and I play checkers, jenga, scrabble, and are off to bed.
Saturday, breakfast and then a ride on the B&B's tandem bike. It had been in poor repair, and Dave had spent part of his time waiting for me on Friday fixing it up, cause he's that kind of guy. It took us a while to get the hang of riding the tandem (how had we never ridden a tandem before?), but had a great little ride. Then back to the hammock to read, and then into town to pick up lunch supplies. We found a farm stand that had fresh local bread, cheese, veggies &c and ended up with a Vermont Camembert, a loaf of bread, and a pint each of blueberries & strawberries. Then to the liquor store for a bottle of wine, and we were set.
Back at the B&B, we packed our picnic and headed to the dock, where we took one of the B&B's boats, a two-person kayak, to the island in the middle of the lake. We had it mostly to ourselves, and spent a lazy few hours lounging, munching, and generally being lazy. We had the company of a group of cedar waxwings and some super-cute fox sparrows, and eventually some other folks came out to swim from the beach. We hopped back into the kayak and paddled the rest of the way across the lake, then headed back. Then a nap, and off to the local brewpub for dinner.
At the brewpub, we ordered a sampler of all 12 of their beers and a plate of nachos. Decided that about half of the beers were worth drinking, and ordered a pint each and some seafood & chips. Long slow dinner, and then back to the B&B, where we discovered a crowd, all one family, starting their own little party at the bar. We joined them, bringing over a few games (jenga rocks) and then staring on the drinking proper. They were lots of fun-- it was a mini family reunion, with grandma & grandpa, three daughters, their partners, and their children, all staying at the same B&B for the weekend. Also, all (barring the teenagers) pretty serious about both their drinking and their conversation. We were up late, and a little ragged for it the next morning.
By the end of breakfast we were both reasonably cogent, and packed up. We went to The Fells, a historic estate with some beautiful gardens, and then drove west an hour to have lunch at the Long Trail Brewery in Vermont. The food was good, and their brewery operation was very cool: super energy-efficient, fit into a very small space, and still producing a massive amount of beer.
Then we drove the rest of the way home, listening to audiobooks and passing through a truly awesome rainstorm.
It was a very vacationy vacation. Lots of lying about. Some sporty-ness, but nothing too rigorous. Some beer. Good food.
I find myself pretty blue to return to reality this morning, but it was a really, really great weekend.
I drove out with Janet, who was catching a bus in Concord NY. It was a pleasant drive, in spite of our both managing on a bare 4 hours sleep (bringing Janet's 3-day sleep total to, I think, about 6 hours). We started about 20 minutes later than intended, and stopped for a surprisingly pleasant lunch at Wahoo's, a road stand outside Wilmington, VT. Which, along with construction and some infuriating old-person driving, meant that we got to the Concord bus station just in time to see Janet's bus pulling away. Oh noes! Janet ran inside, and discovered that the bus's next stop was in Manchester, 20 minutes down the road. It wasn't due to leave there for 30 minutes, so we had a chance.
I drove very fast. But there was more traffic. More construction. A phalanx of police and ambulances, sirens blazing. And we were outside the Manchester bus station, stuck at a long light in a construction zone, at 3:26, when the bus was due to leave at 3:30. Janet grabbed her purse and hopped out to do some negotiating, leaving her bag in the car, and I went to find parking.
Red lights, one way streets, more construction. I finally got around to the front of the bus station, Janet on the curb. I pulled over illegally, popped the trunk, and she blew a kiss through the window and was off. The light I was stopped at changed, and I headed back for the freeway. She texts a few minutes later: success. I'm about an hour south of the B&B because of the detour, but this is just as well-- it takes approximately that long for my blood pressure to normalize.
The B&B is gorgeous: a large nineteenth-century hotel, with a games room, a dining room, and a small bar on the first level, and cozy rooms above. I get there and am exhausted-- Dave meets me at the lakeside and we spend the next two hours incoherent in a hammock. Then, showers and off to dinner. After dinner, very full, Dave and I play checkers, jenga, scrabble, and are off to bed.
Saturday, breakfast and then a ride on the B&B's tandem bike. It had been in poor repair, and Dave had spent part of his time waiting for me on Friday fixing it up, cause he's that kind of guy. It took us a while to get the hang of riding the tandem (how had we never ridden a tandem before?), but had a great little ride. Then back to the hammock to read, and then into town to pick up lunch supplies. We found a farm stand that had fresh local bread, cheese, veggies &c and ended up with a Vermont Camembert, a loaf of bread, and a pint each of blueberries & strawberries. Then to the liquor store for a bottle of wine, and we were set.
Back at the B&B, we packed our picnic and headed to the dock, where we took one of the B&B's boats, a two-person kayak, to the island in the middle of the lake. We had it mostly to ourselves, and spent a lazy few hours lounging, munching, and generally being lazy. We had the company of a group of cedar waxwings and some super-cute fox sparrows, and eventually some other folks came out to swim from the beach. We hopped back into the kayak and paddled the rest of the way across the lake, then headed back. Then a nap, and off to the local brewpub for dinner.
At the brewpub, we ordered a sampler of all 12 of their beers and a plate of nachos. Decided that about half of the beers were worth drinking, and ordered a pint each and some seafood & chips. Long slow dinner, and then back to the B&B, where we discovered a crowd, all one family, starting their own little party at the bar. We joined them, bringing over a few games (jenga rocks) and then staring on the drinking proper. They were lots of fun-- it was a mini family reunion, with grandma & grandpa, three daughters, their partners, and their children, all staying at the same B&B for the weekend. Also, all (barring the teenagers) pretty serious about both their drinking and their conversation. We were up late, and a little ragged for it the next morning.
By the end of breakfast we were both reasonably cogent, and packed up. We went to The Fells, a historic estate with some beautiful gardens, and then drove west an hour to have lunch at the Long Trail Brewery in Vermont. The food was good, and their brewery operation was very cool: super energy-efficient, fit into a very small space, and still producing a massive amount of beer.
Then we drove the rest of the way home, listening to audiobooks and passing through a truly awesome rainstorm.
It was a very vacationy vacation. Lots of lying about. Some sporty-ness, but nothing too rigorous. Some beer. Good food.
I find myself pretty blue to return to reality this morning, but it was a really, really great weekend.