Howard Johnson Hotel South Burlington

October 20, 2009<br><br>Back to Shelburne today for a visit to the amazing Shelburne Museum where over 150,000 works are exhibited in a remarkable setting of 39 buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the Museum grounds. Impressionist paintings, 19th century American folk art, quilts and textiles, decorative arts, furniture, American paintings, and a dazzling array of decoys, and carriages ...

October 19, 2009<br><br>We drove to the ski town of Stowe and spent a sunny afternoon biking along the river, the path criss-crossing the river by way of ten bridges, bordering pastures and farms. The leaves are falling and the colors fading but it was still a pleasant ride ending at the Brookdale covered bridge. <br><br>

... br><br>http://www.shelburnemuseu m.org/<br><br>We went straight from there to the Ethan Allen III for a cruise on Lake Champlain. It was pretty windy and a little cold but absolutely beautiful. Then off to the hotel and a group dinner with our new Texan friends; a really great group of people :-)<br><br><br>

... who knew??) Then off to see an apple cider mill, and then to Ben &amp; Jerry's factory for a tour and some ice cream. It just so happens that this weekend was a big festival in Stowe, the fall colors are in full swing, AND it's a 3 day weekend for most over here (Columbus Day), so we had 6000 of our closest friends with us most of the day. That evening we had a great meal and then back "home" to crash. By the way, this is a very nice ...

... a fisherman's platter, and the two of us couldn't finish it. It was huge, and wonderful. Scrod, clam strips, clam bellies (I don't know either, I will wiki it later) scallops, shrimp, oysters, and calamari.<br><br>After all that, we retired to the room to catch up on travel blogging. I hope all is well on your end. Tomorrow it is off to the rocky coast of Maine. Lobsters beware!

The verdant hills of Vermont and the crisp, sunny days that met us there, eased me back into the U.S. after a week steeped in francophone sophistication and grace. A few days in Burlington, with super cool couple, Scott &amp; Mildred and their adorable twins, Stigs and Marcello, allowed us to take it easy and experience downtown ...

... we spent most of time figuiring out a jigsaw!!!!<br><br>We drank alot of beer and so many nice meals. I love going the the Bickford household, we get treated like such gems!<br><br>Had to say bye to Matt at the train station before heading back to NY. Was horrible, but we have plans for him to come to Australia at Christmas for a couple of weeks!<br><br>

Well another bicycle affair has commenced and they were off at 10:30 this morning! This time with the addition of madre (mom). The four (Dave, Carmen, Alexis, and Emily) did some last minute tinkering on their bikes. Alexis and Emily have added rear-view mirrors to their helmets, which is step one in Dave's 5 ...

Hey everybody!<br> That's right-The bike trip is on again this year. There are some changes to the group though. This year our merry pedalers include Dave, Emily, myself, and making her bike trip debut-CARMEN! My sister Jade will be our blogger this year and my dad Ken will be bringing my school things to Rochester and ferrying my fellow riders back home to Vermont. <br>Our plan of the moment is this: We will most likely ...

... my own. It took me two times down the mountain to have it figured out <br>then. For me, I had to think of it mathematically, thinking in percentages of <br>pressure in the heels and toes of my boots with the energy I had to exert. By <br>the time our tickets ran out that night I was able to do turns and jumps. I <br>still can sort of only turn left without switching positions but it's a work in <br>progress... <br><br>Fabio and I always talked ...