September 21, 2009
Buffalo, NY to Burlington, VT

So, when I booked my flight on JetBlue I asked for Buffalo to Burlington. Could there be two more random cities in the USA? I just had to laugh at myself. I was very sad to leave Buffalo today b/c my CS host was awesome and the upstate NY area was beautiful. However, it was off to Vermont and the land of maple syrup and Ben and Jerry's. Upon arrival I wondered over to the public transit bus stop and waited in the warm sunshine until the #1 pulled up. It took me into downtown Burlington, which was a quirky little environment, reminding me of Asheville. Everywhere I looked there were yoga studios and independent restaurants. I don't even know the last time I spotted a Wal-Mart. Connecting to another bus, I ventured down the Winookski River way to my CS home near the Koffe Kup Bakery. Delightful smells filled the air as I bypassed the doughnut making house. When the driver let me off he dumped me one stop ahead of where I needed to be so I began hauling my 50-pound luggage up the hill and around the community until I received a text from my host telling me where to go and what to do. At the condo building I found that he lived on the fourth floor, with no elevator, and continued to muscle it while wishing I had my backpack instead of this wheeling device.

At my CS house I found four other CS being hosted at the same time. My CS was a 22-year old guy and the first thing he told me was "I have a kegerator in the bathroom." I quickly dumped my stuff and headed back out for sightseeing. On the bus back to DT an older man began to talk with me. When he offered me directions to a lunch spot, I thanked him. When he offered to walk me there, I said sure. When he asked if he could join me, I wondered how I was going to get rid of him. His name turned out to be Pete and he stayed for over an hour telling me his life story...then he asked for my home address and I had to swiftly say goodbye. I have enough problems, I don't need Pete stalking me. In DT Burlington I found Church street which is where the main part of town meets pedestrians. In each direction there were people enjoying the warm autumn day. Perusing around I found City Hall and down the street there was Battery Park and the waterfront. Staring back at me was Lake Champlain in all its glory. Huge and magnificant, I sat on a bench to take it all in before strolling down a bike path to come across a beach known as the North Shore. It was there that I watched the sun disappear behind the Adirondack's and was overwhelmed with what nature had handed me.

Back at the house Ross invited everyone to join him at a CS potluck that evening. We walked up the hill to the party and when we arrived I found homemade tortillas being made and a freezer full of Ben and Jerry's. It is the one thing in Vermont everyone can agree on! As I went around introducing myself to people one guy shouted back "I hate San Diego. I went there once and it was horrible!" Um...okay...what does he want me to do about it? He complained about how cold the water was and how unfriendly the people were. I'll give him the water, but really, unfriendly people. San Diegans are hospitable as hell! When it came time to call it a night Ross packed two air mattresses together, next to a camping cot and his futon. Why did I feel like I was in Animal House?

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Burlington, VT

There are two ways to see Ben and Jerry while in Vermont. One is to rent a car and the other is to take a commuter bus. Car rentals in Vermont start at $40/day without tax so I vetoed that idea real quickly. Waking up at 6:30 AM, I caught the 7:25 AM bus to Montpelier for $4. Along the way rain begins to trickle down and I remember that I need to start looking at the weather now that I'm no longer in a city that is sunny 365 days a year. In Montpelier I connect to another bus that is small, made for the county, and driven by an 80-year old woman named Elna. I wonder how she is still passing the Vermont driving test, but she drops me off in Waterbury and points down a road to the B&J factory, then says "I hope you got your walkin' shoes on.." I do, but before I use them I pop into the Green Mountain coffee shop where I enjoy coffee with an Englishman named Simon. He came over on the bus with me and is traveling through New England for a month. As he talks to some American men they offer us both a ride to our general directions (Simon is going to Stowe), so I scrunch in the back of the Neon and down the road to B&J I go. Once inside the famous ice cream grounds I pay the $3 entrance fee and look around at all their famousness. There is a letter from Joan Lunden about how much she loves B&J and a wall full of patented ice cream scoops dating back to the mid-1800's.

Once the tour starts our guide likes to use words such as "Mooooving" a lot in reference to the famous cows. He shows us a video about B&J and how they've now sold their fortune to live in the Caribbean (or somewhere warmer than Vermont), then takes us into the factory production area. It's actually really boring and you can't see anything else happening besides little pints going down a conveyer belt. Down another set of stairs we are given a free sample of chocolate chip ice cream and then that's it. So happy I came to Vermont to find the secrets of B&J.

Outside I walk a mile down the road back to Waterbury where I find the Winooski river and it is very pretty. There is a guy fly fishing down at the bottom and state workers running around the path on their lunch break. Across town is the Vermont Tea and Leaf company, and the owner offers free samples of tea while I peruse through the store finding lots of tea varieties such as "mint chocolate" and "candy apple." Late afternoon brings the commuter bus back around and I head into Montpelier, which is the only state capital without a McDonalds. People have been telling me this all day and I want to scream back "I get it!!!" At the State House it's after 4:00 closing time, but I sneak in anyway. Upstairs is the house chambers and as I walk in I see four other people but don't really pay them any attention until I go up to take a photo and the woman says something to me about pointing my finger while smiling. It's only then that I realize it's Cloris Leachman and wonder what in the hell she is doing in Vermont. Following her as fast as possible into the Senate Chambers her son is yelling at her "Mother...Mother..." but she doesn't give him the time of day. There is an assistant there from the Gov office and he says "This is the first state capital with..." but Cloris cuts him off and says "That's all I hear in Vermont. This is the first, this is the oldest." I laugh b/c that's exactly what I've been thinking about all of New England. After asking for her photo she takes time to talk with me and her sons are very nice. It was such a random happening that I am completely flabergasted!

Wednesday September 23, 2009
Burlington, VT to Port Kent, NY

A quick Google search told me that Bing Crosby has been lying to me all these years and there really is no Pine Tree, Vermont. Whatever was I going to do now that I couldn't go to one of my favorite places of all time?

I found out there is a ferry that goes to the Adirondacks. Last night I looked up some trails right across the lake and they looked very accessible, even without a car. I asked my CS host Ross, but he doesn't seem to know a lot for a guy that has lived here for 5 years. On the ferry ride over there was a family from Israel traveling and the little girl and I began speaking. She told me all about their trip to the Vermont Teddy Bear factory and B&J and how she learned English from watching Hannah Montana!!! She even sings me the Hannah Montana song. Her family is traveling for two weeks in the USA, but mainly in the New England area. At Port Kent I go to find the information booth, which isn't there like it's supposed to be, and two people I met on the ferry offer to drop me off up the road. Once there I wonder around, but there are no trails to be found. As a car approaches I flag it down and ask for directions. He's an older man about 65 and says he's going that way, would I like a ride? Sure, why not. I open the back door and there are two hunting rifles in the back. He tells me "BTW, I have a couple of guns in the back." Oh, don't you worry, I noticed them already! He is a nice old man and takes me down to a wildlife viewing area that has a trail to loop back around to Lake Champlain. I wave goodbye and began down the trail. Markers are sparse, but I continue onwards. The yellow path leads me to a creek, which I begin to cross until I see that it's five feet overgrown and don't know what kind of snakes might be lurking down there. As I turn around rain begins to trickle down and by the time I am halfway back there is rain beating down hard. It's muddy and as I step forward a snake scurries across my path. I assume he's not dangerous so I stop and take his photo. After coming out of the trail I head back towards the ferry. Rain is pouring down now and I hold my hand up to flag down multiple cars, but no one stops. Just a girl, 5'1, in a pink raincoat...I am pretty threatening.

Thursday, September 24, 2009
Burlington, VT

Lake Champlain Chocolates...yum, yum, yum!!! I attempted to go on a tour yesterday but was ten minutes late so they wouldn't let me join up. Today I was three minutes late and they had already started...prompt people!!! But, I joined up anyway, even though they had a sign up telling me to wait. How much could I have missed in three minutes? When I sat down I learned all about cocoa, pistols (a fancy name for chocolate chips), and how they make hollow Easter Bunnies. After she was done the tour guide gave us all we could eat chocolate and I ate enough to make me want to puke before I said it was time to go. Back down the street I revisted Great Harvest Bakery that I had come across the day before and they passed out more free slices of their delicious homemade goodies. In the afternoon I took a bus to South Burlington and the Magic Hat Brewery. Founded by two guys in the mid-90's the Magic Hat Brewery was decked out in Halloween gear and after walking in the girl said "Let's get you something to drink." Well, alright then. Magic Hat Brewery had ten beers on tap, you can try them all, or just one, but they let you drink AS MUCH AS YOU WANT!!! A few beers before the tour, then I followed the guide into the plant where I saw the bottles being filled up, topped off, and packaged. It was very cool and as we were enjoying the tour another guide came through with more beer! After the tour you walked back to the lobby and enjoyed more free beer. The guide told me they had just started selling their #9 Magic Hat beer in Southern California; so if you live there definately check it out!