good times in the green mountain state

So, after a long day of driving, we arrived in Pittsburgh and spent a lovely evening and early morning with a couple of Joe's friends from Miami, Andy and his girl friend Erica. Pittsburgh, contrary to my previous assumptions, is a beautiful city. It is home to 7 colleges and universities, and since the steel boom happened in the late 1800s/early 1900s, the architecture is absolutely lovely. Andy and Erica had a comfortable (albeit narrow) couch, and Andy fixed us a beautiful breakfast. 

Then, after stopping into a market for some lunch and snacks for the road, we were off. We attempted to avoid tolls, since they had been quite expensive the day before, but this ended up making our route ridiculously indirect and longer than we'd anticipated. We left Pittsburgh around 10, and rolled into Burlington around 10:30. That drive tested our map reading and team working skills, and I am happy to say we prevailed awesomely. I cannot tell you how excited we were to see Vermont. 

Sunday morning, we got up early and I dropped Joe off at the UVM campus so he could check the place out and I headed over to Burlington Friends Meeting for my first Quaker experience of the trip. It was an absolutely wonderful experience and I even met someone who is currently in the program Joe is interested in. Then we met up for lunch downtown and afterwards headed out to Glover. When we arrived at Bread and Puppet around two hours later, I was surprised and comforted by how quiet it was. I saw Diana and Suzy stomping clay and said hi to them on our way into the museum, then I showed Joe around the farm. The New Building, the garden (which looks AMAZING), the print shop, the circus field, the pine forest... Along the way, I ended up seeing all of the current puppeteers (all gearing up for the internship, cleaning, and hanging out), and unexpectedly Jenn and Justin and their kids (a family of homesteaders from Maine who were around a lot the summer I was there and have come back so that Jenn can be the cook this summer). It was really amazing to share with Joe, since it was such a formative place for me and I reference my time there frequently. It was good to see everyone and let them know what I'm up to. It was wonderful and kind of delightfully anti-climactic. Strange to be in a place that hasn't changed much, when I've changed so much. That was somehow reassuring and gave me a sense of closure I hadn't known I'd needed. It was also so great to see Jenn and Justin, (who both remembered my name!) because they can participate in B&P but still have their own sense of reality outside it. 

Around 6, we headed over to West Glover to Parker Pie for some tasty pizza and then back in the car most of the way back to Burlington to stay at a lovely little pet friendly Bed and Breakfast in Caimbridge Village. It was a beautiful old victorian house with all original fixtures, and most importantly, a very comfortable bed. After a great breakfast this morning, we are on our way to Madison, New Jersey today to spend the night with my grandmother's cousin who lives there. 

Joe's currently talking with some professors at UVM, and we're going to stop in Hartford so I can check out UConn's puppet program. All in all it looks like another long day, but I couldn't be happier about my touring companions or itinerary. Tomorrow, we're headed into NYC to spend a couple of days with LJ and Dave, which I am beside myself excited about. 

Send us some good vibes for safe travel. Much love to all from the road!