Burlington, Vermont

After a long day on the road and a stopover in Syracuse, we rolled into Winooski, Vermont, at about 8 p.m. There was just enough time for me to pour a glass of wine and sit on the couch before the entire weight of ten months of travel hit me full force and I had to go to bed. Poor Brit had to unpack the car by herself in the rain. Sorry dear!!

I was getting very annoyed at Brit for taking me on a roundabout last-few-blocks home after a 40 mile bike ride. When I expressed my frustration, she looked at me wide-eyed and explained that that was the way we had to go, considering all the streets were one-way. After being in Russia for so long, I had forgotten to notice whether streets were one-way or not! Not that they don't have one-way streets in Russia - they do - they just don't pay any attention to them.

Is, friends, I must say, the best way to describe Burlington.

You Boulderites out there probably remember what it was like. 40,000 people, laid-back atmosphere, a sense of separation, removal, and safety from it all (Actually, that's still there - hooray for the bubble!). Well, the Front Range of Colorado has changed a lot in the past 20 years, but a lot of what we Coloradans treasure most lives on in Vermont, particularly in this town. I believe there is one bicycle store per 2,000 residents, I have to actively look for a restaurant in which I can't order a hummus plate, I can use terms like "dress Chacos" and people understand.

Now, there are things about Vermont that are different from Colorado. The thunderstorms don't give warning of their presence with some thunderclaps. The rain falls straight, and it can fall long. There is a gigantic lake here - Lake Champlain - that holds more water than our dear state has seen in the past 7 years. And the hill climbs . . . well, let's just say that the key word here is hill.

But as for the rest of it - the Church street mall, the bike lanes and bike paths, the respect for the local, the organic, the communal, and the community - there are few places I have seen that can hold a candle to Boulder, but this place does.

I very happily put on a big smile, and get ready to give my sister away to it.

After ten months in Russia, I was tired. My muscle was gone, my health was not stellar, and I could feel the smog of the Moscow streets in my lungs. In order to rid myself of the fatigue, I thought it would be a good idea to go on a yoga cleanse. Ten days. No caffeine, no alcohol, no processed foods, no animal products. Just fruits, veggies, and complex carbohydrates. This is exactly what I need. And what better place to do it than Vermont?

CLEANSE, DAY 1, 9.59 a.m. - Brit and Tay get on bikes to ride into downtown Burlington. Brit signals to stop. Taylor crashes bike into Britten and falls into middle of bike path. "What's wrong with you?" Brit asks. "I thought you were pointing at something, and I turned to look," Tay responds. Brit insists that for the greater safety of Tay and the residents of the Burlington/Winooski area, Tay would have to drink a cup of coffee.

That's okay. Coffee is a diuretic, right? That's . . . cleansing.

2.59 p.m:

Fruits. Veggies. After taking a closer look at the sort of foods that are allowed on a yoga cleanse, Brit and Tay both conclude that Tay can do one of two things this week - she can cleanse, or she can ride her bike. But she cannot do both.

So all of a sudden, Luna Bars and Gatorade are on the cleanse list of allowed foods. Those ancient yogis relied on them.

I was surprised to learn that my sister did not regularly purchase them, much less consume them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although I am a person who prefers to eat fresh and natural foods, Luna Bars, how I missed you.

00.21 a.m. -

Although a bit burnt on the bottom, Brit and Tay make an absolutely delicious loaf of bread, recipe a la Joe. But in order to affirm that they have perfected the recipe, Tay will have to try the loaf of bread they just ate.

All yoga cleanse diets make allowances for freshly-baked bread. Right?

Hummus is allowed on all yoga cleanse diets. No questions asked.

I'm used to exhausting, extended moves that take place over the course of weeks and months, and was steeling myself for just such an experience to help Brit settle in. However, upon arrival in Vermont Brit and I found that Amanda and her mom had largely done the worst of the dirty work for us! The bed and couch were in place, the cupboards were full of both cereal and silverware, and there was even a bottle of white wine chilling in the fridge.

I wracked my mind for three days, trying to figure out how to be useful to these kids in the moving-in process. Finally, it hit me - I went to Wal-Mart and bought a rolling pin. But when I got back, I learned they didn't really need that anyway.

Although it does make bread-making easier :o).

Amanda came into town today, and of course I am going to toast my sister's girlfriend. This cleanse thing is so much more of a November thing, anyway.

My sister's girlfriend works at a Girl Scout camp in New York all summer, but she was able to swing a few days off and come up to Vermont, which was great. It was the first time I'd seen her since our Israel trip, and because Brit was at work, we had a couple of awesome days to hang out together. We scoped out plants (and bug juice) at the Intervale Garden Center, we went biking through town (and got soaked in the process), she began explaining the ABCs (or 1s and 0s) of HTML to me (before realizing it was a lost cause), and all in all, we had a great time together. Cheers dear!!

Is very different from Colorado biking.

In Colorado, usually about half of your ride is spent going up something - a canyon, a pass, a mountain, the last ascent to Bread bakery (Dad). Which means, the second half of your ride is usually spent . . . well, going down. Lots of times you've got an extended flat somewhere in that ride, true. And many times, that extended flat features a headwind blowing right to you. But really, in Colorado, once you're up the canyon/pass/mountain, you're up. The sweet reward (for other people) is all from there.

Not so in Vermont. The hills may be shorter, but you will be spending your entire ride either going up or coming down them. And when you get to the halfway point of your ride, well, you are really only halfway. Every single hill you just came down you have to go up again. And then, if that special headwind is blowing in your face, well, good luck to you.

But Brit and I had some great rides in Vermont. The photos were taken from our last ride together, today, when we conquered the hills and and cruised to the top of Mt. Philo.

Easy last ascent. Really. :o).

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