best vacation EVER

Double-rainbows, gorgeous fields of huge wind turbines, Louis Armstrong singing What a Wonderful World and that all happened before we hit Vermont.

The race was a beast for me. I was under trained and sick and did just about everything wrong. I also had memory loss when it came to the course. I had volunteered to run the leg that included the Assault on Battery--a 1/2 mile climb at the end of my section. Unfortunately I forgot the rest of the hills through the south end neighborhoods I had to conquer before I got to Battery. I started way too fast, I threw up, I snotted, I hacked and coughed and didn't drink nearly enough water. The kicker? I missed the hand-off to my Dad which added about 1/2-3/4 of a mile onto my death march. My sister and bil had the extreme pleasure of seeing me at my worst--lots of expletives--but thankfully they came after me with water once they realized I had gone too far. Everyone else did amazingly well. Bryan was dead on his pace, Dad made up a TON of time for me, and Christina finished so strong I was jealous. I learned alot that day. Respect EVERY distance. Downhills do not mean you should cut 2 minutes off your expected race pace. And, most importantly, I love running races. Despite everything I had a fabulous time and I'm looking forward to back to back half marathons this fall.

The rest of the week was heavenly. I feel in love with Healthy Living Market so much so I didn't even set foot inside City Market. I bought $20 worth of Jasper Hill Farms cheese. I bought books. Lots and lots of books. We went to a used bookstore that had a wall of poetry like none I had ever seen before. We ate at Pennycluse twice. I will dream about the crisp creamy goodness of the grilled polenta for years to come. We ate at A Single Pebble where we took Bryan's excellent advice and devoured the mock eel. We ran in the mornings and biked the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail in the afternoons. I bought lots and lots of dresses to officially kick off The Summer of the Dress. I found a pair of Calvin Klein jeans for ten dollars. We talked politics and religion and books and running. We ate my Mom's Amazing Heath Bar Crunch Pie just about every single day. I deconstructed and devoured a lobster. Vermont is the Land of Milk and Honey. And if I could only afford to live there and find I job I'd move back to be amongst my people in a heartbeat.

So it's back to life. Things are a little different here as while on vacation I was informed I had gotten a job I bid for. It's the same amount of hours with a slightly different schedule, different responsibilities and more money. I'm going to be busier which makes me very happy.

Summer is here. It's not only The Summer of the Dress, but it's also The Summer of Running, The Summer of Biking, The Summer of Lake Michigan, The Summer of Reading, The Summer of Writing, The Summer of Grilling, The Summer of Spending More Time With My BFF, The Summer of Canning, The Summer of Breadmaking, The Summer of Hopefully Learning How to Play the Guitar, The Summer of Very Little Television, The Summer of Fires Out Back, The Summer of Living a Good and Full Life.