The Vermonter.

(Written on June 18)

So I'm in Vermont. I actually feel as if I've been here for longer than a day, which sounds cliche and silly. But its true. The train was a dreamy way to start the trip. Over seven hours, I enjoyed it so much. I read some, I daydreamed, I listened to music...people got on and off, and on...I plan on taking the train more often. It definitely lived up to its romanticized stereotypes. And by the time they announced my stop was 45 minutes away, I was caught off guard. Needless to say, I look forward to my ride home :)

Patty picked me up from the train station in Brattlesboro, and greeted me with a hug. Patty is an older woman, probably in her 60s. Gray, wire-y hair to her shoulders. Looks like a gardener :) She then took me to Brattlesboro's food co-op which was impressive. It as big as a typical grocery store, probably as big as Trader Joe's. She bought some tofu, hummus and some bread for me. Then we drove north to a town called Townsend to go to the farmers market there. She introduced me to some of her friends and we got some fresh eggs and cookies for later. Then she took me to her house, a couple of miles south. A little town called Newfane. Adorable house. Its an old house with a large kitchen and a few bedrooms. My room is a small but cozy space, right off of the kitchen. Its got a bed and a chair (the dog, Sky, likes to sit on my chair and my bed....) It feels like a log cabin. Like I'm staying at grandma's. I'm not complainin'. Plus I slept wonderfully last night. For dinner, we had yummo burritos with fresh tomato cilantro salsa.

More about the house. The house has about three barns connected to it. The first one, is connected to the house and is basically a screened in living room/barn. Its perfect. It has a couch on one end with a coffee table. On the other end, it has a table (made with an old door) and some chairs, with one side of the table's seating made up of a porch swing. Painted bright blue. It stays cool in there in the day, and is more than suitable for reading books or magazines. The barn next to it is full of tools and stuff. And the last barn is a half exposed building with flower boxes on the second floor's windows. Patty plans on adding chickens while I'm here, and making this their chicken coop.....mmmmmmmm - fresh eggs :)

The 'farm' is a pretty large vegetable garden with all sorts of goodies. Tomatoes, basil, zuchinni, lavender, chives, radishes, lettuce, bok choy and more stuff that I can't think of.

Today, I woke up and Patty was out rowing on the Connecticut River. I made myself some coffee (thanks Michaela) and had breakfast in the 'living room'. After that I explored the backyard and the stream running through the forest out back. She got back from the river and we weeded a bit and then took a break for a while. We ended up visiting another town's farmer's market and then enjoying samples and drinks at 'the best chocolate shop in the world'. It was lovely. Tonight for dinner we had zucchini blossoms, bread with herb butter, and Pad Thai. And then she told me about her soul mate.

Here's a thing about Patty. She talks about visiting farmer's markets all the time, which is convenient because there is a market in one town or another every day. And she loves to eat. This whole WWOOFing thing might very well work out :)

One last thing. Before I went to bed last night, I threw on a fleece and went outside to see the most anticipated view of this whole trip. The stars were unbelievable. I'm no stranger to stars - just star deprived. I can't remember how long its been since I've seen so many stars, probably 7 years. I dream about these kind of stars in the city. Literally daydream about stargazing on my back in the grass. Well, I'm here to tell you that these stars might do the trick. Kajillions of them. They are magnificent, bedazzled, romantic, and breathtaking. To think; they are the same stars above Philadelphia's sky - just covered with a layer or two of smog and light pollution. Why do you hide from me?

Well, I'm off to take a shower and then live the dream of stargazing. Can't wait :)