New England Fall Visit

It had been nearly a year since we left New England in our newly converted van so we were excited for a trip home to visit family and friends. After visiting some friends around Boulder, CO and storing our van in an industrial lot in Aurora (let’s hope it’s still there!), we flew east for a month long visit to New England. 

After brief stops in Boston and New Hampshire, we headed up to Vermont which has been on our short list of places we might consider settling down in someday. Ginny had only visited Vermont a couple times for weddings and I hadn’t spent much time there since I was a kid. So we planned a four day whirlwind visit to see covered bridges, eat Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and buy copious amounts of maple syrup. The trip was great and we especially enjoyed visiting the Ben and Jerry’s factory and the flavor graveyard (see photo below). The covered bridges are incredibly picturesque (see photos below) and we also loved visiting Burlington and the whole Lake Champlain region. Vermont’s Green Mountains seemed more like hills to us though and certainly pale in comparison to Colorado’s Rockies where we spent the summer. So it was a nice visit but we’re thinking that Vermont likely isn’t going to make the cut in our search for our forever home. 

After our Vermont visit, we headed south to the Pioneer Valley where I grew up and my folks still live. We spent the next couple weeks visiting my mom and dad who both live in Northampton, MA. It was great spending time with them and they’re doing very well and definitely not acting their age. My mom is gardening, quilting, doing pilates and takes regular walks with friends around town. My dad has been doing all sorts of home improvement projects including installing a sauna, roofing work and new drainage system and now he wants to fence his back yard so that he can get a dog and goats. We visited a family friend who runs a farm with her daughter and they have a huge CSA garden as well as horses, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and bees (see photos below of their harvest). We also had a family reunion at my dad’s house in which family came from all over New England. It was great to see everyone and meet my cousin Seth and his wife Kiara’s new baby Kofi (see photo below). 

Last weekend we took a trip to Boothbay Harbor, ME with my mom and my sister and her husband. We rented an old farmhouse near town so that we were able to take walks into town and explore the beautiful harbor. It was an early birthday celebration for my mom and she chose the area as she really wanted to visit the Maine Botanical Gardens which are in BBH. The gardens are truly spectacular and the main attraction is unquestionably the trolls which were created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. His sculptures are largely made from recycled materials and he has made trolls all over the world (see photos below).

Ginny and I have been staying with my aunt Caitlin and her husband Dennis this week in New Hampshire which has been great, aside from the stray dog that bit me while I was out running on Monday. We’ve been having delicious nightly dinners with them and my aunt Megan and her partner Chet. The fall colors are quite spectacular and it’s starting to get a little chilly! I also started doing some part-time work this week for my old company, Alta Planning + Design. It’s been fun to reconnect with old colleagues and I’m enjoying having a little more purpose and intellectual stimulation in my life. Tomorrow we fly back to Colorado and are looking forward to reconnecting with Gemma, our trusted steed.