from Cape Cod to Vermont

I couldnt finish our Cape Cod trip on my last post because my computer was driving me crazy. Im suffering through it now with the last few photos from Cape Cod and our few days in Burlington, VT.

Before leaving we stopped to visit and have lunch with my cousins, Steven and Marcia. They have a little store in Chatham, MA featuring "Life is Good" gear.

We stopped at yet another ice cream shop here and it is winning so far as the worst yet. It was worth it to stop to see the inside of this shop, which is an old-fashioned soda fountain that remains mostly the same inside since it was opened in 1889

Our cottage in Yarmouth. We enjoy staying places like this, but for the rest of our trip we are touring the La Quintas across the US.

Bonding with Epic at our cottage



We enjoyed our pie for breakfast before leaving town


On our first day in Burlington we went to the Ethan Allen homestead and had to leave quickly, due to my inability to maintain when mosquitos are present. We also went to a wildflower farm, Ben and Jerry's factory tour and a strange place called Dog Mountain. Burlington is a cute little town. Its not the typical quaint New England town with a church in the town center, but still very charming. The countryside is unbelievable in the surrounding areas.

The Homestead. It was restored with furniture and other items as if it was still lived in.

Cuddling with Bens stuff after a hard day of touring Vermont

Somehow when searching for things to do in Vermont and places to take the dogs for exercise, I found this place called Dog Mountain. Its a gallery featuring the art of Steve Huneck, which mostly features his black lab, Sally. Its very playful and fun to look at. We enjoyed walking through his gallery. He also built a dog chapel, designed to remember dogs that have died. It was kind of creepy, but understandable that people may want a place to go to remember pets and write notes them.


















Epic and Indigo took advantage of the pond and agility equipment

the chapel walls covered in little notes and photos

The back county of Vermont seems to be stopped in time. The town centers of the small villages sometimes only have a general store. We stopped at this one for a snack. They had freshly picked strawberries to hold us over until the Ben and Jerrys tour.

The Ben and Jerrys factory tour was a good deal at $3. It was fairly interesting and quite corny. The best part was learning that the milk they use is from a cooperative of Vermont farms and is hormone and antibiotic free. We got samples at the end too.

We took a ferry from Charlotte, VT to Essex, NY. It was so much smaller than the car ferries in WA. It was a short, scenic ride.

Yesterday we stopped in Erie, PA, a generally depressed old industrial town. In the interest of saving money, we sadly skipped the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH and drove straight through to Madison, WI in just enough time to sample some local ice cream and go to sleep. Tomorrow we go to Fargo, ND and then to Kennewick, WA. I will post again after our reunion with Jet City Jumpers in Salem, OR.

Graduation and Last Days on the East Coast

My last two weeks in Northampton went by super fast and before I knew it I was sitting at my graduation ceremony! Im not big on graduation ceremonies or really any ceremony at all usually, but this one was nice and short and to the point. It was nice to see my preceptors again and say goodbye to everyone.

Alice, my amazing clinical preceptor and her interns

My poster that I presented at the Massachusetts Dietetic Assoc. meeting

the 10 interns and our internship director, Nadine

Packing my car was an involved process. Somehow I managed to accumulate way too many things during the past year and ended up having to ship a few boxes home. We made a nice, comfortable spot for the dogs to sleep while we drive. Its far from ideal, but it works.

On Saturday night we drove to Brooklyn for Carly and Fritzs wedding party. It was the most beautiful loading dock/parking lot converted into a party Ive ever seen. They served ribs, corn, salad, and baked beans for dinner and everyone sat at picnic tables with red and white checked table clothes. Instead of a cake they had a colorful cup cake tree.

Ben and his new friend Timmy

Carly was brave enough to sing a song to her husband

It was a late night on Saturday with the wedding and stopping by Rachel and Teddy's place to say goodbye. The next morning we stopped by Carly's parents house for a BBQ. Their home and landscaping gets more beautiful every time I see it.

Its not a BBQ without a keg of beer

One of the many beautiful flowers on the property. Fuschia is one of my favorite flowers, especially the annual showy variety.

We drove straight from the BBQ to Yarmouth, MA on Cape Cod. We rented a small cottage with a nice big yard, just a short drive from the beach. One our first day it was rainy in the morning, so we drove out to the end of the Cape to Provincetown. I love this place and wanted Ben to check it out. It certainly was a lot busier and crazier than it was in the Spring

After P-town we made our way back toward our cottage, stopping at shops and lighthouses along the way.

While on the east coast we wanted to get our fill of the best ice cream in the country. We sampled from various scoop shops, all home-made. On Cape Cod we went to a busy one called Sundae School. Ben was unimpressed with his, but I thought it was really good with lots of unique flavors.


We also checked out Chatham and found one of the only beaches that is dog friendly. It was beautiful and lots of fun. We did have to walk through knee deep water that covered the parking lot, but it was worth it.

We stopped by this cute little pie shop. They sell fresh sweet and savory pies daily. We chose peach/wild blueberry.

We woke up early the next morning to take the ferry to Martha's Vineyard, a beautiful and very crowded vacation spot frequented by the wealthy. It was everything I expected...huge beautiful homes, warm water, quaint narrow streets lined with shops and restaurants, and very accomodating to dogs. We walked around Oak Bluff and then took the bus to Edgartown

sleeping on the ferry

the view just before we arrived

We stopped at Tonys for a greek salad. It was huge and only $4

crowded bus ride. Epic braved through it. Indigo didnt mind one bit.

The meadow near on the the most photographed lighthouses on the Vineyard

A closer view

This is my favorite photo of Epic. He loves laying in water and after a long day of walking on a hot day, all he wanted to do was take a breather in the cool, shallow water.

the view from the bench where we ate our lunch of greasy fish and chips

on another bus ride they fit nicely on the luggage rack!

We had a contest to see who could get the best photo of a seagull. Ben won.