Jen on the Edge

This is it, the last installment of our travel tales, I promise.

We left Quebec City on Sunday and headed south toward Vermont.

People, have you ever been to Vermont? It’s not called the Green Mountain State for nothing. Wow. Mile after mile after mile after mile of gorgeous green, green, GREEN mountains. Just lovely.

Rumor has it that some of those mountains are excellent for skiing.

We didn’t do any skiing, but we did spend some time on an alpine slide.  Have you ever seen one of those?  It’s a long track that curves down a mountain and you sit on a little cart and willingly throw yourself over the edge of said mountain.

This ski resort has done a great job of making use of their space year ’round.  In addition to the alpine slide, they had all sorts of other things, including a small water park, various small rides, a zip wire for kids, and a half mile long zip wire for those brave enough to zip down a mountain at 50 mph.

Pete is one of those blurs hanging from the wires.

Eventually, the fun had to end, so we got in the car. Again. We drove through more and more of Vermont and then crossed the border into New York, whereupon we drove many more miles before ending up in a small town near the New York/Pennsylvania border.

How we chose this town was determined 100% by the fact that the younger of my two younger brothers is getting his Ph.D. at the university located in this town. We hadn’t seen him since Christmas, so hugs and a visit were long overdue.

The next morning (Tuesday), we got up early and prepared for our final trek — the long stretch down I-81 through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.

We got home shortly around 5:15 and by 5:20 I was outside in my garden. It had been hot as hell — highs around 100 some days — while we were gone and I needed to assess the damage.  I didn’t lose any tomato plants and, in fact, had tomatoes ready to be picked.  I also found some cucumbers and our edamame was ready, so we had the beginnings of a great dinner even though the fridge was echoing in its emptiness.

We’re now mostly unpacked and getting settled.  Pete biked to work yesterday, while the girls and I stayed home.  We all flat-out refused to get in a car.  The girls reacquainted themselves with their toys while I sorted and folded five loads of laundry.  I eventually logged into my work email and got caught up on what occurred in my absence.  The girls’ summer vacation is nearly half over and I’m a bit bummed that the start of school is coming up so fast.

But, there are lots of good things to look forward to too, including BlogHer in three weeks and my continued runs as I train for three races in two months.  Surprisingly, even though both of my girls’ birthdays are in September, neither one has been planning her party, even though usually by this time in the summer, both have planned them out to the last detail.

Have a good day!