BURLINGTON

Four months of winter down...

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

JANUARY

AND... FEBRUARY

One more month 'till spring!!

Boston

It had been awhile since Shane and I had been on a trip, so we made plans to visit Boston over Presidents' Day Weekend.  Our impression?  What a clean, walkable, intriguing, and exciting city!  We left Friday night on the "Megabus", which was fine except that it was scheduled to leave at 8:00 p.m. and actually left Burlington at 11:00 p.m. which meant that we did not pull into Boston till 3:00 a.m.!  However, the rest of the trip went off without a hitch.

We woke up Saturday to beautiful blue skies and so decided to walk from our hotel to the Museum of Science where we met up with a girlfriend of mine, and her boyfriend.  We spent the greater part of an afternoon weaving our way through clusters of laughing, crying, and screaming children while also exploring and entertaining ourselves.  Some of the highlights were: the Lightening Show, an opptical illustion exhibit, and an exhibit on old train engines.  After leaving the museum we walked  the rest of the way to the city of Cambridge.  On our way we were able to observe the MIT campus dispersed throughout the city, and we also quickly walked through some of the Harvard campus.  You know the opening scene of "The Social Network" where Zuckerburg is dissing his date because she goes to Boston University (a common public school)?  Well, that is definitely the impression we got as we walked through the city and the campus.  Yet, after museum-touring and walking so much we were thirsty and famished!  So, the only thing to do once in Harvard Square was to find a small bar where we enjoyed some Guinness, burgers, and fries.

Sunday was another gorgeous day.  We started the day with a jog along the water and spent most of the rest of it walking the Freedom Trail which takes tourists on a historic pathway through the city where one can see many historic buildings and monuments.  The trail ends at the U.S.S. Constitution, which was definitly the best and most exciting exhibit--as well as the only free one.  After another day of walking we decided to retire to our hotel room and have an amazingly relaxing night of TV-watching and treat-eating.

Before catching our afternoon bus back to Burlington on Monday we enjoyed another little jog near our hotel and then took the subway into a different part of Boston and had some breakfast and black coffee at 'Mike's Diner'.  That afternnoon our bus arrived on time, and we had an uneventful ride back to Burlington.  We would both love to go back.  The city is safe, clean, and has so much to offer.

US

A Scenic Drive

WE HAD OUR FIRST MAJOR VERMONT SNOWSTORM ON FRIDAY NIGHT, AND HAVE SINCE HAD DAYTIME HIGHS OF 5-8 DEGREES... IT IS FAIRLY EASY TO DESPAIR HERE IN THE WINTER. BURLINGTON HAS 9-HOUR DAYS DURING MOST OF WHICH THE SKY IS TYPICALLY A DULL GREY. THE DARKNESS AND COLD LIMIT THE OPPORTUNITY AND DESIRE FOR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES WHICH MEANS MOST OF ONE'S TIME IS SPENT INDOORS UNDER ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. HOWEVER, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN ONE ACCEPTS WINTER IN ITS FULLEST HARSHNESS AND EVEN RELISHES THE CHALLENGE TO LIFE IT PRESENTS. TODAY WAS ACTUALLY A SUNNY DAY, EVEN IF IT WAS 6 DEGREES OUT, SO WE DECIDED TO GO ON A SHORT DRIVE THROUGH THE SMALL TOWNS AND HIGHWAYS OF VERMONT.  THE SNOWSTORM ON FRIDAY LEFT TREES AND HOUSES COATED IN A FLUFFY WHITE POWDER--BEAUTIFUL!

The Holidays

Christmas and New Year's came and went so quickly this year.  Working two jobs this holiday season has kept me busy while still attempting to do a million other things.  Shane was preoccupied with his studies up until the 16th when he took a few major exams; since then he has been enjoying a relaxing--and much earned--break from school.  Still, we did manage to squeeze a little Christmas in this year with our tiny tree, a few gifts, some music, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

T - Giving

We had a couple of visitors over the Thanksgiving weekend which made the holiday extra special.  The four of us had an amazing food-making, game-playing weekend, and mostly just enjoyed the company of each other.  Shane and I learned how to play Hearts while Kate and Dan learned how to play Shithead (a perfectly respectable card game with a filthy name).  The four of us also played many a round of Settlers.  More importantly, however, was that the food turned out AMAZING!  As this was the first Thanksgiving any of us had cooked for ourselves we were a bit apprehensive about the situation; however, the turkey, stuffing, and sweet potatoes that we cooked were quite delicious.  Beyond the food and games, the weekend was primarily a much-needed time to relax with two of our greatest friends.  We're so happy they sacrificed their time to make the drive!

First Snow

Yesterday we experienced our first Vermont snow of the season.  It put us in the right mood for a festive holiday with two of our greatest friends.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!