Oh Burlington, you've won my heart!

Wow, I never thought that I would have so much fun in Burlington, Vermont. My two days of rest turned into nearly a week of exploration, art, and culture. None of which would have been possible without my chance meeting of Carol and Alison who have let me stay on their houseboat for the duration. I can't express how much they've actually helped me ( between the food and the lodging ) but I can assure you that I've made honest friends of them both.
So here comes the rundown...I started looking around the city and at first was taken aback by all of the retail shops and the masses of tourists coming through the area. Over the next few days I started to find the culture I was looking for, it was merely hiding. Bikes are everywhere! It's exciting for me to see so many people out and about in such a hilly area. Take a lesson Athens, there are almost as many bikes as cars on the streets but there are hills! Steep hills, all over the place, rising from the water and stretching as far as the horizon. Are people crazy? I don't think so, just determined to make a change. The desire to have an impact on such a wide scale problem can be seen everywhere in this city. There are recycling containers next to every trash can, a bumpin' farmers market, and more 'localvores' then I can shake a stick at. I'm sure if I had the time and money I could find a nice home an be a part of this community. It doesn't seem like I'd get tired of the recreational activities either.


Aside from relaxing and just taking it all in I wanted something to look forward to. I was walking around 'uptown' and saw the marquee for The Flynn Theatre calling out to me "come see The Decemberists, you know you love them". It was hard for me not to listen, even thought the ticket took a healthy chunk out of my budget the show was captivating enough to balance it out. Yet another budget crater was formed when I spied the Ben and Jerry's shop, which I had no less than three times while here.

So for those of you that I've met in the great state of Vermont, keep being awesome your electric energy will be hard to leave behind. My travels must resume if I am to make it to Acadia before it's too cold for beach bouldering. My time's about up on this computer or else I'd tell you all more. Sometimes it's better to hear it all in person, which brings up a though I've had for a few weeks. *A-Town crew ( and anyone else that wants to be included ) let's meet up down south for some bouldering at the Horse Pens 40 triple crown...what'cha think? Cool, see you there. I've got alot of traveling to do before that though, so wish me luck and warm weather. Peace.