It's old news by now, but I haven't had much chance to catch my breath. Last weekend we went camping with our friends in the North Woods chapter of the Tearjerkers, who are very understanding about the fact that we don't have our trailer yet. Our hosts provided their front yard on seven acres of farmland in central Vermont, near Barre.
As usual, camping included a lot of singing around the campfire, lots of good food, and a chance to talk to friends that we don't see enough of, especially in the winter. But there were some unexpected treats as well.
On Saturday, Karen and I rode with the boys to a floating bridge in Brookfield, which had just been reopened after, apparently, some years. From there we went to Barre, looking for an interesting place to eat, and also for the longest zipper in North America. We found both.
The eatery was a diner along the downtown strip that serves wonderful burgers and shakes. The zipper is a 74-foot-long granite sculpture next to a gallery and studio complex. That was pretty cool, but not as cool as the granite sculpture of an easy chair sitting nearby. A sculpture you can actually sit in. And it's fairly comfortable.
And neither of those were as the fact that the studio complex was having an open house. We got to visit several artists in their studios: sculptors, painters, and even a stained glass artist who put us on to someone who might be able to help Karen with a technique she's been trying to track down for over a year. Karen got to talk art with professional artists for more than two hours. That was her big treat, though the boys enjoyed it too, and they even learned the proper way to cut glass.
But the big treat for William was still to come. Around 7:00 in the evening, he got to go over to one of our hosts' neighbors, who happens to own a 1941 Piper Cub. And William got to fly in it. It takes off and lands on a little grass airstrip, and William was out in it for around 15 minutes. He even got to take the controls for what he described as a "long 30 seconds." He had something to brag about at school on Tuesday!
Danny decided not to take the ride; the Piper's cockpit felt a little too close for him. It's a shame, because I think he would have enjoyed it, but I didn't push. When he's ready, he'll get a chance. Maybe even in the same plane, because our hosts promised to do this again. We're looking forward to it. The pictures will be slowly making their way onto the Web site over the next week or so.
By Tuesday I was sneezing and my throat was sore. I was figuring allergies and too much singing out of my key, but by Wednesday I knew better. I managed to squeeze in one song recording in Thursday for a class, which is good, because this morning my singing voice was just gone.
It'll be back, and I'm already feeling better.
Summer vacation will be upon us soon. William has a two-day camping trip in the White Mountains, and Danny has an overnight stay at the Museum of Science in Boston. Exciting ways to end the school year. I hope summer won't be boring by comparison.
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