vermont weekend

it's been exactly six months since i've been back to vermont, so when beatrice asked me if i wanted to take a weekend trip last wednesday, my answer was a quick "yes!". burlington is a town that i dream of. truly idealistic. friendly faces, farmer's markets, a creative spirit and a definite sense that the city cares. it's small and simple and a great change of pace from new york. as soon as we arrived, i felt instantly relaxed. burlington is always a warm hug of familiarity. i feel peaceful there and i know i will live there again one day.

we were lucky enough to be there for the first warm weekend. it's miserably cold in the wintertime, so when the warm weather comes around, everybody is in a wildly good mood. we went to burlington bay cafe, to pick up a snack before heading down to the waterfront. the man at the cash register, when asked how he was doing today, replied in such an honest tone, "could we be any better?". and that really stuck with me throughout the day. because as long as there is warmth and sunshine in burlington, it's enough reason to be happy. and the whole city is smiling along with you. we all really couldn't be any better.

along with happiness, the warm weather brings everyone down to north beach in droves. lying in the sun on the blankets, feeling the cool breeze from lake champlain, music blasting, seeing all of your friends, playing assorted beachy games. the temperature being higher than forty degrees is reason enough to celebrate. when i was in college, i really embraced these days of heat and readily skipped classes to go down to the beach (sorry, mom). and though there were masses of people, you really knew most everyone and it was incredible. being there this saturday brought back so much joy. i only recognized a handful of people outside of the friends i came with, but it still made me happy knowing just what everyone else was experiencing. it was their time now. the amazing feeling of the first days of warmth. they survived the treacherous winter and now it was their time to delight in it.

i love how i haven't lived in burlington for nearly two years, but i was still constantly running into so many friends.

and i love partaking in my old favorite activities, like having a delicious breakfast at penny cluse, a must for any trip to burlington! (my roommates and i even rented it out at night for our graduation party!)

my time was spent amongst lovely friends

and the typical gallivanting around town.

we drove by our old house on converse court. seven boys live there now and we talked to a few that were hanging out on the porch (the second floor porch was, by far, the best part of the house!) they told us which rooms they were living in and confirmed that the house is haunted. it was built in the 1890s and was definitely not a place you'd want to spend the night in alone. but nevertheless, it was incredible living there.

oh and i must mention all of the stars in the sky! they were so clear and beautiful. living in the city, i forget that stars exist sometimes. when i travel outside of new york, i am always amazed. it's funny, really. or really unfortunate. the stars alone were worth the trip up to burlington, but this weekend brought so many more delights.