Quick Trip

We've been wanting to go to Canada since we've moved here. Montreal is only about 2.5 hours away from here and we've never been! Every time we get a good time or think about going, it's Winter, and we opt out because Vermont is cold enough. "Do we really want to go 2.5 hours North?" Not really. So we took a couple days off for a long weekend to set out for Montreal in early June. The problem was, that when we started to look for a hotel to book (already got time off from work) everything in and anywhere near Montreal was booked, aside from the penthouse suites and such. Turns out, the one weekend we decided to go was a big race at the Speedway just outside Montreal. Just our luck!

So we had time off, what are we to do??? We compiled an assortment of things to do and see. We headed off to Boston. We've been there before, but there's always something to do in Boston, and it's only about 3.5 hours away!

It was a really pretty drive that morning. Lots of fog on the mountains. I had a hard time getting a good pic showing the beauty. This one doesn't do it justice.

For lunch we went to the Barking Crab. You may have seen it on the Food Network Channel....Man VS Food. We didn't do the ridiculous challenge that they showed, of course, but it all tasted great and soooo fresh!

Here's Greg's seafood challenge. A little bit of everything, almost. Nice variety.

Ohhh so good!

Funny shirt the staff wore.
After lunch we went to see the Blue Man Group.

A lot of you may be surprised to hear us say it but........disapointment. We don't recommend it. We paid the extra money to sit in the very front, you know, where you wear the ponchos, got the whole experience. They did some different things with percussion/rhythym, but a whole lot of the time they spent just looking at the crowd, then looking at themselves like they just landed on Earth and were trying to figure out where they were. A lot of dead time. Then they ate different foods (to a rythym) and spit it out all over the place. Gross. We went expecting to get dirty. We didn't wear anything we really cared about on purpose. We thought we'd get some colored paint on us or something like that. They did a 'bit' where they were trying to figure out how to get into the Twinkies baggies. They finally got it open and ate them. Shortly after, mashed up banana sprayed out of the metal bolt-like hole in their chest! It got all over us; in our hair, on our face, disgusting! It didn't take long to turn brown and stink! We had to stop by the nearest bathroom to wash ourselves off after and even then didn't get it all. Not a very fun time!

We didn't do much that evening. Wanted to get cleaned up/showered and relax. We had to eat at the Chick-fil-a in the mall nearby. We've definitely missed Chick-fil-a! Soooo good!

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The next day we headed over to Salem, Mass. We had plans to go on a harbor cruise, see the lighthouses, old ships, etc, but it got cancelled because visibility was limited due to fog/haze.

We stopped at The House of the Seven Gables 1st and took a tour through it. A really old house which inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's book, The House of the Seven Gables. Interestingly enough, the house didn't have 7 Gables (peaks) when Haythorne's cousin lived in it. I think they said it only had 5 at that time, but over the years of different owners and remodeling, it did, eventually, have 7 Gables They didn't allow pictures to be taken inside the house, so the outside is all we can show ya.

At some point, they were going to tear down the home that Nathanial Hawthorne was born in. Someone notified someone in the tourist/historical society and they decided, instead, to move the house from it's original location in town, to right next to the House of 7 Gables. Better for tourism.

We took a tour through the Witch History Museum. They took you through the history of the Salem Witch Trials, how it started, etc. with lifesize dioramas to illustrate their story.

And here's the witches themselves.....they look like they're up to no good, don't they?

Not really sure who this guy is or what he's about. Took a picture anyway.

After doing the whole witch thing, we walked around Fisherman's Wharf and went into all the shops.

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The next day, we headed back to Vermont and stopped by Quechee Gorge in Southern Vermont. There's a hike up and down the gorge and pond at one end.

Looks cool, how you can see all the roots above ground.

Mill Pond at 1 end of the gorge.

I've seen lily pads in a pond before, but I've never actually seen Lily's on the pads before. So pretty!

From up above, on the bridge.

Cute little goose family on the side of Mill Pond.

That was about the end of our long weekend. We head back to Burlington to rest that evening and get ready for the work week to start again. We still need to head North to Canada at some time, but we got to do and see things we never had before, so all in all a fun quick trip.

Free Concert - Score!

Every year in Burlington for a whole week there is a Discover Jazz Festival on Church Street. Church Street is a a long walking street in downtown Burlington with tons of shops, restaurants, and on the weekends (mostly) street performers. At one end of the street there's a Church, hence the name. It's where everyone goes when they visit Burlington and a great place for people watching. There are always people of all sorts there, seriously it can be quite entertaining. Anyway, they have mostly tons of different local bands play here and there on stages in front of shops or in restaurants and it's all free.

We hadn't really attended much of it in the past, but Greg got wind of a surprise free concert one of the nights from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. I know, most of you, if not all of you, are saying, who??? We didn't know her either, but were told we had to go! Most of the band members (including Grace) were born and raised in Vermont so people know them here more than most places, but they've been getting bigger and bigger. They apparently made their first breakout onto TV over a year ago on The Jay Leno show and have recently been on Ellen as well. They just came out with their 3rd album, which we just bought and it's really good! The album is currently number 19 on the Billboards Top 200 and the Rolling Stone magazine put her as the Best New Act of 2010.

So off we went to check it out, you know, see what all the fuss was about. For a somewhat surprise concert, there were tons of people!

People as far as the eyes and the camera could see!

She jumped, danced, screamed, whooped, hollered and just had fun the whole time! The concert was about an hour and a half! That has to be quite the workout!

They were dressed pretty schnazzy don't ya think?

What I couldn't believe and am still having trouble believing even though I looked it up when I got home, is that Grace Potter just turned 27! She did not look it to me at all! I would have guessed somewhere in her 30's, like 35. They've been putting on concerts every year in Burlington for the past 5 years, apparently. Finally making there break, I think.

Looks like a Cool Dude, no?

Grace plays 5 different instruments! (3 are piano or piano-like and 2 are guitars, but still)

Here's a video of them playing most of one of their songs at the concert. Greg wishes to add a disclaimer that the camera is pretty small, the size of his palm, and he had to hold it over his head, so don't judge the camera skills too much!

They play a jazz/rock type of music. She sometimes does extra little screams and noises, which I don't especially care for, but despite that, we think they're really good! She definitely seemed to have a blast up there on the stage and she apparently frequently wears really short skirts which many of the crowd didn't seem to mind at all.

If you want to hear some of their ther songs you can check out their website at http://www.gracepotter.com/. They're single is called Tiny Light, it gets played on the radio sometimes.

Check it out!!

April Showers (or snow) Bring May Flowers!

All of a sudden, the trees and flowers have bloomed and there are colors everywhere! It's so pretty just driving around, going to work or the store, anywhere really. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to last too long (2-3 weeks), so off we went driving around to capture the prettiest ones in pics to share with you all. There's so many different varieties/colors: tulips, daffodils, lilacs, poppys, magnolia trees and much more! (most of which I'm not sure the names of)

Enjoy!

Scenes of the waters

So cute! A whole family!

Looks kinda like an otter, but it's a beaver!