Vermont (Again)

August 24-30th: We left Connecticut fully packed and ready for our road trip but ironically our next destination was back to Vermont.  Our friends Bonnie and Shawn were having a wedding party in South Reading which was not far from the Massachusetts border.  The party was on Saturday but we met up with a few friends Friday night to go camping at nearby Coolidge State Park.  It was a great way to test out our new home on wheels and get some quality hang out time with our friends Matt, Jamie, Jake and Meredith. We broke out our fold-up bikes, set up our hammocks and spent our first real night in the van!  The next day we all headed to Shawn's parents house in South Reading for the party.  And oh what a party!  Much to the surprise of the guests, Bonnie and Shawn had not actually been married ahead of time and we were all treated to a special ceremony presided over by the newly anointed Reverend Ellen Reed.  Weddings, on their own, are not all that uncommon, but to throw a surprise wedding and fool over a hundred people is something truly special.  The party lasted all night and featured a raging bonfire, several live bands, seemingly endless food, assorted beers and camping.  The next day everyone was slow to wake up but after several cups of coffee and a few beers we all found ourselves swimming in some refreshing crystal clear river water a short distance from the site of the wedding.  The perfect end to a perfect weekend and an excellent hangover cure!

That's right... there's bacon on those chicken fingers.

After a quick trip to the Long Trail brewery to return our keg and grab some lunch we continued north to Burlington.  Now at this point we had been traveling around for nearly a month and we were returning to our original point of departure.  Most people probably would have called that a good enough adventure and called it quits but for us our trip had only just begun.  We also no longer had jobs or an apartment to go back to so the decision to keep traveling was not very difficult... We got back into Burlington and crashed at the home of Katie and Jay Applegate, our good friends of many years and partners in gardening. The next day we took care of some errands in town and said goodbye to Burlington.  We'll miss you!  The next several days were spent in Hinesburg, Vermont at the home of Kim's twin sister Kiesha and her husband Dave.  We had one last goodbye dinner with friends and then departed into the great unknown abyss known as the 'open road.'  Our trip was officially underway.

See more pictures from our Vermont visit here.

Connecticut

August 12-24, 2012 - East Hampton, CT

After our Great Lake vacation it was time to head down to East Hampton, CT to spend some time with Curt's family, acclimate our kitties to their new home, and get the last 'details' done on the van.  There was a lot of work to be done but we made sure to find some time to relax.  We ended up having not 1 but 2 beach days AND a party!   On the work related side of things we were able to clean the inside of the van, Kim made some new van curtains out of some old house curtains, Curt finally installed his birthday gift to Kim (from last year) we added in a chunk of carpet from our old apartment, and we got our bikes to fit up on the roof.  (More pics of the van will be coming soon)

The van was pretty much packed and ready to go so it was time to go to the beach!  After loading up 2 kayaks and 2 paddle boards with 4 people and all our gear we had to paddle out about a half mile to get to our destination and meet up with a few of Curt's relatives.  Because it was a weekday we ended up having an entire beach all to ourselves!  After tubing and floating and eating food we decided we needed to attempt this one more time before leaving CT.  The 2nd trip was pretty similar to the first and that's exactly what we were hoping for!

We also had time to fit in a small going away get together at Curt's parents house.  Family, friends, good food, and a large assortment of beer- we couldn't have asked for more!  Thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated with us!

We also ended the debate over the smartphones.  After taking a poll of the internet to see which phone our friends recommended we eventually ended up going with our gut and choosing the iphone.  It's been working great so far and we haven't looked back!  We've already found useful apps like one that tells you what's off the highway exit as you're approaching it.  Woah!  To be honest it's been a little distracting and slightly overwhelming with all the new technology we now have but it's been fun figuring out how to use it all!  We now finally feel like we're caught up to the future!  Here's some more pictures from our stay in Connecticut.

Hamlin, NY: Lake Ontario "Terry Family Reunion"

August 2-9, 2012 Sandy Harbor Drive, Hamlin NY

Growing up, Kim spent 2 weeks every summer from age 3 to 16 going to Lake Ontario to visit family for the annual Terry Family Reunion! 9 years later and the largest turnout (70+) yet, we traveled the 7 hours from Burlington and spent the week EATING tons of food, hanging out on the beach, and visiting with a bunch of family! Kim's auntie Dawn and Uncle Tim really glued it all together!

August 5, 2012 Terry Family Reunion 

There was always a time to hang out on the beach, during the day and at night.  It was so peaceful and we got front row seats when the kids went out tubing! Man they took some hard spills!

Late night on the Beach

As was tradition every year, Kim with-out fail got an intense sunburn. This year it was on her stomach so she had to cover up the rest of the week! Why does she insist she isn't a ginger?

Ready for the Sun (Kim was very burned from previous day)

 Kim's Uncle Tim was always taking people out for boat rides! Tubing, Waterskiing, and just leisure trips.

Uncle Tim the teacher! 

 Curt was able to get up on his first attempt! And look at that view??!?!?!?! Sunset on the lake while celebrating a new water-skier!

Curt's first time up on Ski's!

One of the clans from the reunion including 9 cousins on the Terry side have a competition every year. The competitions have included: best hot-dogs, best chips, etc. We found out the morning of the competition that the theme was infused vodka so we decided to include ourselves because who wouldn't want to be included in an infused vodka competition? Now, we did have to overcome the odds of only infusing it for a few hours rather than a few months...so what ingredients would infuse the fastest? LEMON AND GINGER!!! And thus the final product of Kim and Curt's VT GOLD! 1,000,000 proof! I'm not sure if they were trying to make us feel good because we were late entries, but  VT GOLD seemed to be the winner!

VT Gold! Infused Vodka

Thanks for another amazing year at Sandy Harbor! It was everything Kim had remembered it and everything and more that Curt had anticipated!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM! Blueberries for Breakfast!

August 1st, 2012: Kim turns the BIG quarter century (25)! As a gift, we got our entire security deposit back..WOO HOO!

The night before, thanks to our amazing friends Jamie and Matt, we attended a Blues for Breakfast concert at the Blueberry farm a few minutes away from the Desautels' house! Hence the title Blueberries for Breakfast! What an amazing evening. We met a few friends, listened and danced to grateful dead covers, picked a ton of blueberries, and ate homemade sushi (thanks Jamie!)

Mr. Charlie and BLUES FOR BREAKFAST!

Curt and Kim 

Sean Piana in the majestic blueberry forest!

I'd also like to mention our friends Sean and Maggie who came to join recently got engaged the weekend before! CONGRATULATIONS!!