Our Saturday morning flight to Boston via JetBlue was a great flight for children since they have television screens in the backs of chairs. We rented a white Ford Edge from Avis and continued our travels to New Hampshire, and then Vermont, but not without stopping first for lunch at Burger King.
We arrived to our vacation home - a beautiful white two-story with a pond in front and a creek in the back. For dinner, we had Suddenly Salad, baked beans, fried chicken, white bread with strawberry spread. Our movie night was My Cousin Vinny.
After a comfortable night sleeping with the windows open to 50-degree weather, we woke to Dave making breakfast. We had a tasty tour of Ben & Jerry's and lunch at Zachary's Pizza in Waterbury. On the way back, we stopped at Shaw's (the local grocery store), and stocked up on Ben & Jerry's (there was a special), bought dinner makings, rented Joyful Noise from Red Box and fed the fish at the pond.
The next day we drove to Montreal through a thick forested canopy, on winding narrow roads. We saw a fawn in the middle of the road and slowed down. I said, "Kids, look at what's in the road." Angela and Xavier both thought it was cool and Lizet replies, "Oh my gosh! A kangaroo!" Lizet also wondered if we could go see Paul Revere's horse when we returned to Boston. She was upset it wasn't around any longer. While in Montreal, we toured the Notre Dame Cathedral, then took a 30-minute horse-drawn carriage ride (with a Belgium horse) through the old streets of Montreal and finally, an early dinner at Chez Suzette where we dined on crepes, sandwiches, and quiche. Lizet practiced her French by constantly saying, "Merci" to our waiter. We had a nice drive home and watched Zookeeper while having Ben & Jerry's.
We had a rainy day at home. Although, Dave and I did go for a drive to the Stowe library which was colonial in style, complete with gazebo in the front and the porch adorned with rocking chairs. Creeky, rickety floors added to its charm, along with the musty-scented books in our midst. We were able to print the form that is required for Dave to be able to take the kids to Canada tomorrow without both parents (since I'm not much of a fan of roller coasters). They plan to go to La Ronde - the Six Flags in Montreal. After filling out most of the form, we then found TD Bank, where the Notary Public who helped us happened to be from Lima of all places! Finally, we stopped at a pharmacy (connected to a doctor's office) for bug spray, and was checked out by a nurse. The five of us then had dinner at Gracie's - a casual restaurant, apparently owned by dog lovers. The decor was entirely dog-related from the curtains to the candle holders. The menu items were even named after dogs: The Chihuahua, The Rottweiler, The Airedale... You get the idea.
Wednesday was a full day for Dave and the kids in Montreal at La Ronde. When they came home after many roller coaster and water rides, we ended the evening with One for the Money.
Thursday was the BEST day! We drove to Burlington, Vermont to meet up with father and son duo, Paul and Brian. For four hours, we fished on Lake Champlain and caught a dozen trout, with weights at least eight pounds each - our largest being an eleven-pounder. This was much more difficult than I could ever imagine, even with each rod and reel being attached to the boat. Of course, you're hauling a ten-pound fish from a floor anywhere from 80-150 feet. That's the depth at which we fished anyway. They had a radar system that told us the depth and it also directed us to the trout. So it was pretty much a guaranteed fishing expedition. They also had a humane system of putting the fish out of their misery quickly. A small wooden club was used to smack them on the head - HARD! That seemed to do the trick. Xavi is now a professional with this skill. Lizet tried it, too. One of our fish brought a friend - a lamprey. This is a foreign animal that isn't supposed to be in the lake. Paul (the dad) did what he does for conservation when happening upon one of these creatures - he bent it in half, slicing it through the middle with his switch blade and tossed it back in the water. The water was choppy, the breeze was cool, and... Did I say we had the BEST day ever?!? Our next task was driving to a fish market to meet up with Adam, one of their relatives who is a fish monger. He cleaned and filleted one fish for us (we'll pick up the rest tomorrow). For dinner, we had pan-fried trout, ears of corn, and green beans. In the evening, the kids climbed trees, we fed fish, and played in the wildflowers.
Friday we went to pick up the rest of our vacuum-packed fish from Burlington, packed it in our iced-down cooler, had lunch at Burger King, then headed to the Vermont Teddy Bear factory. The kids loved seeing how teddy bears are made - even Xavier. They gave us swatches of material. The Holstein was my favorite. The girls got outfits for their Build-a-Bears from Grandma Marilyn; Lizet got a white karate outfit, complete with all the different colored belts, and Angela got a pink yoga outfit for hers. Xavi didn't care, but enjoyed the girls shopping for theirs. I still have Barney, my brown bear with the green velvet bow tie from years ago, if they decide they want one. They seem content with their Build-a-Bears, though. Tonight we'll have another fish dinner, and watch Tyler Perry's Good Deeds.
Saturday morning. The time has come. We left around 9:30 in the morning to drive to Boston. Here's some interesting trivia: New Hampshire is one of the few states that does not require a seat belt over the age of 18. After all, their state motto is Live Free or Die. We arrived in Lexington (a suburb of Boston where Dave's cousins live). We met at Element - the hotel where we're staying in Boston. Picture a contemporary, Asian-esque type atmosphere. Extremely comfortable bed, but very confusing bathroom. There was more chrome and silver than I'm accustomed and things were very angular. Kim, David, Catherine, and the five of us then went to have lunch at Bertucci's. After lunch, we drove to Boston to see Catherine's apartment and meet her cat, Sasha. Beautiful Siberian kitty. Catherine lives behind Fenway Park, so obviously we saw where the Red Sox play. While driving back to Lexington, we passed Lake Charles filled with many rowers, Boston University, and lots of dog walkers. I actually preferred this side of Boston. We were then safely delivered back to the hotel where we rested, and then Kim had dinner reservations for all of us at a health food restaurant named Nourish. Health food restaurants don't usually burn their mark on the food part of my brain, but they had live music, surprisingly good nachos, and of course, we were with family. Dave, Xavi, and Lizet are now downstairs swimming, while Angela and I relax. Tomorrow's destination: Texas!
