We made it to Vermont! (Also, Raffi loves sniffing the air every time he gets out of the car. He’s not protesting another selfie. Really.)
Raffi and I woke up in Rochester, NY yesterday morning and set the GPS coordinates for Brattleboro, VT. After nine days on the road, Brattleboro Bound, it was neat to have the final destination be the next one. We had said Bye Bye Walla Walla, traveled through Big Sky Country, saw Rainbow Land & Rainbow Sky and appreciated some Mideastern Hospitality. Finally, we were on the home stretch of our crosscountry journey.
When we turned onto Route 7 in western New York we weren’t quite to New England yet, but that’s the point when it started really feeling like New England to me: the white farm houses with green shutters and slate roofs, the red barns with stars in the apexes of their gables, and, of course, the rainbow of autumn leaves. We made a stop at a farm stand where I procured (more) apple cider donuts, apple cider, and cheese curds ‘cuz my supply from Wisconsin was long gone.
The leaves waited for our arrival!
I popped in at the Vermont Welcome Center in Bennington where I was indeed welcomed, then savored the winding, leafy canopied road to Brattleboro. Erin had promised to super glue leaves to the trees so there would be some when I arrived, but she didn’t have to. There were plenty of beautiful fall colors there to greet me. And they fluttered down like confetti and tossed in the wind, making it feel like Vermont was throwing a welcoming party.
Raffi and I were greeted by my friend and Yestermorrow co-instructor Erin Maile and her husband Kevin as well as my new landlady with a steaming bowl of chili and green tomatoes fried over the fire pit. I helped them start their Paper Boat Tiny House during a build blitz in 2016 and I’ve visited a few times, but it’s always fun to see how things have evolved as they settle more and more into it. The fire pit is the latest addition, a strategy for cooking and socializing outdoors as the weather turns.
Fire pit hang outs! Next up: fried green tomatoes!
After dinner and apple cider donuts I drove over to my new place and I’d just unloaded the bare essentials that I’d been schlepping in and out of Airbnbs and motels and friend’s backyard accommodations for the past week and a half. Then my pal Beth and her sweetie welcomed me with exuberant air hugs and helped me unload everything else from my car. Raffi and I got snuggled into our little apartment and I’ll do more unpacking this week as I settle in.
I slept like a log and this morning I woke up before dawn and went for a short walk to watch the sunrise over the hills from a nearby field. I look forward to spending the long fall and winter here: watching leaf season turn into stick season and then ski season.
Autumn Sunrise in Brattleboro