Last weekend, Christy and I traveled to Burlington, Vermont. Almost 19 years ago, I started working for a company based in Burlington. I've wanted to visit Vermont ever since however, my fear of having a panic attack on an airplane kept me locked inside my own invisible prison. After watching my parents struggle to get around as easily as they used to, I have been acutely aware of how short life is and that you need to do things while you can. I had finally grown so tired of living in fear that I just decided to face it head on. I handed my fear over to God once and for all and took the leap.
My dear friend Liz, invited us up to stay with her. Liz was a very gracious hostess; she thought of everything! Not only did Liz let us stay with her, she showed us a wonderful weekend.
Christy took a picture of me taking the bus from our car to the airport.
Ready for my first flight in exactly 30 years. I loved every minute of it!
Somewhere over North Carolina....
The first thing we did when we got to Burlington was have lunch with some of my most favorite people in the whole world.
L to R: Kim Chicoine, Christina D'Onofrio, Deb Heald, Liz Bossi, Lorraine Jean, Christy, Me, Kristi Mount & Juli Heisler
I love these ladies so much. They are my Vermont family. I am so thankful to know each one in this picture. There is one special friend missing....Jill Robertson. Jill was a sweet friend who used to call me every night at home. She was always trying to get me to face my fear and come for a visit. Sadly, I didn't make it in time as Jill passed unexpectedly in 2005. I told Liz that I wanted to eat at Shanty on the Shore because Jill always loved to eat there. If you look through the windows, you can see Lake Champlain. The mountains that you see are the Adirondacks in New York.
The wind was brisk and I was a little chilly after spending the day before in 98 degree weather. Here's a picture of my sweet friend Liz and me, in front of Lake Champlain. The water was very choppy.
We spent the rest of the afternoon on Church Street. I had thought we'd be back so I didn't take any photos. Here's a picture I stole from the Internet.
Saturday, we drove to Montreal, Canada. Almost immediately after we crossed the border, the land became flat....
There were so many beautiful farms in the part of Quebec that we drove through.
Liz on top of Mont Royal:
Here we are in Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal)
On the way home, we saw 10 hot air balloons over a field in Saint Jean-Sur-Richelieu. I tried to get a photo but, the balloons didn't show up well on my phone.
We passed the "test" at the border and made our way back to Burlington.
Up next....More Vermont
Yay! I've been waiting for these photos. I'm so glad the weather cleared up for your drive to Montreal. This time of year is so iffy. Where in Montreal did you eat?
ReplyDeleteThe thing that strikes me about the group photo at the Shanty is how different everyone looks. I've been retired only 4 years, but in my mind's eye I always picture the people I worked with as they were when I last visited, which I'm embarrassed to admit has been a while. Can't wait to get to Part 2 of this trip.