Invasion of the Flatlanders

It was hot in Vermont this past weekend, dog danglin' hot. We made the seven hour drive to the Green Mountain State to visit our friends Mark and Anne. They are both teaching at the aptly named Green Mountain College in Poultney, just across the river from New York. Poultney is a tiny little town of old Victorian homes, a main street with a few shops and restaurants and not much else. We drove 30 minutes to the nearest big town, Rutland, to get coffee at the closest good coffee shop and visited the farmers' market (where we stocked up on cheese from several Vermont dairies). On our first day we made a pilgrimage to a local sugarhouse so Dan could indulge in one of his passions, maple syrup. Jack had his first taste of maple candy and Dan greedily bought up his favorite Grade B syrup. When the heat hit - 95 degrees with 90% humidity - we packed Jack into the backpack and walked to the river for a pick-nick and to cool off in the water. Jack was a bit hesitant about being in the water but as he seems to have inherited his mother's propensity to overheat, it didn't take too long for him to enjoy the cool water on his toes. Jack did really well during the long car trip. He slept, played on the grimy floor at the service stop, and ate lots of finger food and laughed with whoever was sitting in back with him in the afternoon. He really only fussed during the last 45 minutes or so - the boy's gotta move. This was the first time that Jack has met any of our friends who knew us pre-baby which was probably more exciting for us than him. We are lucky that it was Mark and Anne who were fabulous hosts, not easy with a nine month old who takes over schedules and space in the blink of an eye.