Happy Birthday Smooch: July

31 July, Sun:  Hardly Working: edits continue on the Swedish Manuscript for Kim-Eric.  Herding kitties occupied the AM (they are not accustomed to the joys of outdoor life having lived indoors in Portland, OR for many years).  The "round-up crew" went skinny dipping in the pond of Beanie and Eddie's VT farm house. 

In the meantime and in-between time, Smooch Smooch is enjoying the sunny south with Rachel.

30 July, Sat:  NO COFFEE: Woe  - oh Woe.  A bare cupboard sans caffeine requires a trip to the big city.  Eddie watered the apple tree in the front yard while Ron watered the apple tree in the back yard smooching away on the phone.

29 July, Fri:  Drove to Battleboro, VT to spend a few days with Eddie and Beanie - meeting them at a restaurant in town.  They have quite a lovely farmhouse complete with a greenhouse.   The well cared for yard & garden, brook & bridge, are oh so  charming.

27 July, Wed: Talk, talk talk ... with Dave E. until four AM!  
 26 July, Tues: Dinner and marvelous evening with Bob and Rachel W. 
25 July, Mon:  Dinner with Richard
24 July, Sun: Reached Kennebunkport, Maine in time for an outdoor lunch at Mabel's Lobster Shack -- highly recommended by one of the guests at the B&B in Montpelier -- deservedly so.  Smooch Smooch spotted a cute couple across the veranda who had also stayed at Harraseeket Inn last night; we enjoyed "cross the table's" talk about Cynthia's vacation in Vietnam.  From there we set sail for Boston Logan Airport so Smooch Smooch could catch a flight to Texas for a few days with her children.  Ron is left alone without adult supervision!

Ron waked with Richard and Jasper (who is mighty protective and territorial about his Master!  Richard has walked Fresh Pond about the same time every day for seven years or more photographing the same location - day after day after day.  He makes money playing like this!  Richard discussed eating MEAT!  OMG! MEAT?

23 July, Sat:  Breakfast at Betsy's was delightfully delicious before departure towards the Harraseeket Inn at Freeport, ME; the drive through the southern portion of the northeast kingdom (NE Vermont) had marvelous vistas in the vicinity of Mt. Washington.  AWESOME!   Lunch at Arthur's Diner in Johnsonbury (don't do it),  the screaming toddlers were NOT Ok.  How frustrating that parents will not remove the noisy tots.

We stopped in a pull off near a corn field to access les hommes des toilettes; one of us was shaving while en route to and from the corn field.   About twenty miles distance further down the road l'Homme started searching for the razor, but it was not where he thought it should be.  Being a brilliant techie, he retraced his steps in his mind until he had an AHA moment -- and boogied back to the corn field certain that he must have placed it on the roof of the car -- being the convenient shelf that it is -- and perhaps fell off the car driving away.  It did indeed==  In the middle of the highway.  Intact.  As he walked to retrieve it, an oncoming car swerved across the center lane and smashed the razor.  Oh well.  We arrived at the lovely Harraseeket Inn in Freeport about five PM - both of us'ns right rotator cuffs worth cussin' about.

22 July, Friday: Packed up - we departed The Inn at Long Trail after one last lunch of Irish soda bread and nursing torn rotator cuffs on the right shoulder.  Ron has been doing trail maintenance for weeks, but the last week using the ax took its toll.  We drove northeast on Hwy 100 winding through marvelous views reaching Montpelier about five  PM.  A stop at the Visitor's Center proved fruitful: the congenial attendant sent us to Betsy's B and B.  We went to bed very early after a lovely dinner at Kismet (a throwback to the 60's). 

Photos on Picasa:
https://picasaweb.google.com/rsbeatty/VERMONT2011

19 July: Tom (MIT roomate and alum) and Kim S. flew to Rutland for the most marvelous evening.  What a special guy - she is a delightful personality!
 18 July: Back to the Inn at Long Trail for four days
17 July: moving Beanie and Eddie - dinner at J. T. Buckley's - fabulous food
16 July: Brattleboro, VT - Hickory Ridge Home B&B - Historic house built in 1808 - fascinating.  Cynthia's birthday celebration
15 July: Cynthia Tripped on a root in the trail and fell flat!  Her left calf is a beautiful black and blue!
14 July: Hiking and trail maintenance have filled our days!

10 July 2011:

Natalie and Jack -Hikers from Hawaii

 

Kiddo (Shayla), Friend from Burlington, Crimson Tide, EuLe

7 July, Thurs:  Southside and Pam met us at Lovers Lane west of Londonderry en route to his resumption of his Northbound AT trek to Katahdin, Maine.  Our GPS found Lovers Lane despite the missing sign (imagine people stealing a sign for Lovers Lane).  We arrived about the same time and had a quick breakfast before saying good-bye to Pam with plans to hike for awhile with Southside.  It was a nice hike if that had been the end of the story, but, it turned into an eight hour nightmare.  The short of the story is that after hiking with Southside for two hours plus up the mountain we turned back.  Ron stopped at Stile Summit ( BIGROCK) to roll up a soggy sleeping bag someone dumped alongside the trail.  Cynthia said she would continue hiking back to the car, but she became confused and turned northbound instead of southbound.  WRONG WAY SMOOCH SMOOCH!  After 2.5 hours of increasing concern that she was going the wrong direction, she started re-tracing her footsteps, blowing her emergency whistle LOUD and LONG and OFTEN!  Onward she trekked believing she was the only person alive on the mountain this late in the day.   A father and two sons heard the whistle and turned back to locate her; they phoned Ron  who did not answer so they left a vox mail message.  Trekking on - she encountered a German man with a patch over one eye who told her Ron was planning to call Search and Rescue: he was WORRIED!    Trekking ON and ON she met a lovely young woman who was calling, "Cynthia, Cynthia, Cynthia!" and delighted to discover she had indeed found Cynthia.  She tried to send Ron text messages and a phone call but did not reach him.   She turned back too trek with Cynthia for a ways to make sure she was OK.    Cynthia also tried texting and phoning to no avail.  Now Cynthia's phone battery was nearly dead.   Finally, she reached the BIGROCK and panicked for the trail had NO marking southbound.  It was as though this was a dead end to the trail.  She ate, drank some water and decided to hunker down until a rescue ... maybe in the morning??????   About fifteen minutes later, another northbound hiker approached and showed her the southbound trail over and below a huge boulder.   Clambering over the boulder - down the trail she trekked ON.  And then.   AHHH.  TEARS of JOY! Ron had hiked up to that summit FOUR TIMES searching for her.  The happy couple -in -love was delirious with joy at being reunited.  He called 911 to report that the lost hiker was INDEED FOUND. A four hour hike turned into an eight hour hike by the time they reached their car.  Do you know where one can buy a retractable leash for an independent woman??????

Southside and Pam

6 July, Wed: NOT More of the same.  We hiked the Long Trail to the junction of the AT and followed the AT loop back to Route Four - - with lots of ups and downs with one mile up up up hill to the Inn once we reached Route Four.  Nearly seven hours of hiking and exhausted we went to bed mighty early.

5 July, Tues: And MORE of the SAME!  
4 July, Mon: More of the same.
3 July, Sun:  Another long hike and trail maintenance.  The Irish Soda Bread at the Inn at Long Trail is very low fat.  108 calories per slice. YUM.


2 July, Sat:  We hiked the Long Trail to the Meadow and enjoyed seeing the fruits of the trail maintenance.   JOY!   This is good.    This is very good! 

1 July, Fri:Up Up and Away to Glens Falls, NY for lab tests (the closest LabCorps location) and into a marvelous day following a humongous egg white breakfast to end the fasting for the tests.  The drive through along the charming scenic route through the Adirondacks was a delight for the eyes.  The ferry crossing at Essex to Burlington was also a treat - but even more so was the delicious meal at Jenny's Inn and Restaurant - oh happy chance.