As a follow up to my previous post, more about my Christmas in Vermont.

Sunday morning Kathleen and I made our traditional Monte Cristo sandwiches for breakfast and opened presents. We were both on the road to our respective families a little after 10am. Traffic was pretty light and the weather was good. I saw only one police car, just north of Middlebury, with a minivan pulled over.

Arriving before 1pm, my family and I shuffled through our “stockings.” Among other goodies, I got rum and granola bars. Then we opened presents. Dry sacks, nice sweaters, bicycle magazines. Then I think we all took a nap. I certainly took a nap. Mom made Christmas dinner and there was a lot of food. We went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie.

Monday was Boxing Day. I went for a walk and took some pictures. There was new snow, and it was quiet. I hoped I might see some animals but all I saw were turkey tracks. It looks like the kids still party in the same place they used to years ago. There was a burned up mattress and a couch in the snow.

Later my brother suggested a long walk down Piney Woods Road, so I packed up some things and off we went. My parents live on a dirt road, and Barnum Town Road is also dirt, and so is Piney Woods Road. It was “posted” land, and there was a lot of discarded trash on the side of the road. In Albany we have broken glass, plastic bags, and fast food containers. In Vermont they have couches, old stereos, and beer cans. We got all the way to the end of Piney Woods, where more dirt roads spun off, and I began thinking about bringing a bike up there in warmer months and riding around.

We went out to dinner Monday night. Bristol has a brew pub. Bristol always surprises me by having civilized things like this. The brew pub was just about the only thing open, and despite reservations they sat us next to the door. I had a mediocre wheat beer, Ryan had a red ale he didn’t finish, and Dad had some kind of red wine. The food was pretty good. I really enjoyed my chevre and mushroom lasagna. It had a beet salad and some kind of red sauce that may have been roasted peppers.

Tuesday Dad had to work, so Mom, Ryan and I went hiking. An hour and a half of driving, and two wrong turns. I don’t know why but I am horrible with maps. But we found a snowbank to part next to and identified the Davis Neighborhood Trail. We opted not to use our snowshoes but we could’ve gone either way. There was a few inches of snow, and after a few hundred meters it started to climb. It took us just under an hour to cover a mile and a half to Corliss Camp. Corliss Camp is one of only four shelters on the Long Trail that Mom hadn’t photographed. It was a cute little cabin, and we were the first people to sign the register in 13 days. It only took us 40 minutes to get back down.

Wednesday Ryan had plans to meet friends. I drove Mom into Bristol to get coffee and tea. In the afternoon Ryan came back and it began to snow. He wanted to go to Jerusalem to pick up some maple syrup for his friends back in Washington, so we got in the car and drove up there. The roads got worse as we got closer. We couldn’t find the parking lot buried in six inches of snow. Ryan got about $100 worth of maple syrup and we headed back down the mountain. There were complete white outs, with snow coming off of the trees obscuring everything, even the hood of the car. At one point we had to stop while a giant State truck pulled a pickup out of the ditch. While we waited, snow blew off the trees and the headlights of the truck disappeared. I was worried we’d be rear-ended but no one came behind us. We made it home without incident, but news reports were full of accidents and roads being closed, and the weather people said it was going to get colder. I had planned to leave that night, but opted to stay until morning. Ryan borrowed a car and drove to visit more friends.

Thursday I was on the road a little after 9:30am. Despite all of the snow at my parent’s house, there was no snow 15 minutes south. There were police cars everywhere. I was back in Albany a little after noon. I had a bunch of unpacking to do, and some laundry.

Left at 1008. Good road trip weather. LG at 1100 and VT at 1132. Started thinking a lot about my expectations for other people. Renounce and enjoy. And kick my own ass. Arrived by 1236. Opened presents. Took a nap. Ate dinner. Played a card game. Went to the movies. Stayed up late. Alarm went off at 0800, got out of bed at 0830 and was the only one up. Did a lot of reading. 2 F&W, Bicycle Times, and Urban Velo. Went for a walk around noon by myself, walked on new snow and took pictures. Went for another walk, with Ryan, for two hours. Dinner out; brew pub in Bristol was crowded. Up after 0830. Showered. Left by 1000. On trail by 1130. All uphill in the snow. Shelter by 1230. Photos and snacks. Headed down by 1255. Dog-like tracks since we’d been through, and blood. At the car by 1340. Stopped for maple stuff. Stopped for lunch. Slept most of the way home. Played a game with Mom and Ryan. Read magazines. Leftovers for dinner. Made myself tea. Called Kathleen; signal faded, so I used the land line. Did the dishes. Wednesday Dad was at work, Ryan was visiting friends, so Mom and I went for coffee and tea in Bristol. In the afternoon, with Ryan back, we went to get more maple syrup. In a blizzard. The roads were bad. That night Ryan drove to visit more friends. Mom stayed up late waiting for him. I was going to leave that night but given the conditions of the roads, postponed. Up Thursday at 0850. Breakfast, pack the car, and on the road by 0938. Despite the snow at the house, no snow in Middlebury. NY at 1048, LG around 1123. Home and dry a little after noon.