Aaaaaah! New England in September! The locals have told us that this is the VERY best time of year. Warm days, cool nights and the tantalizing promise of breathtaking, spectacular color across the landscape at the dawn of each new day. Only two more of these beautiful days here in New Hampshire then on Tuesday, we will drive north to Bangor, Maine for “more of the same” we hear … maybe even warmer. According to the local meteorologists on TV, category 1 hurricane/tropical storm Ophelia, that’s slowly moving up the east coast could brush the outer banks of Cape Cod by Friday. Fortunately, we will be farther north and with luck out of harms way if that actually happens.
After 22 years of reminiscing about my last visit to New England, I have been surprised and somewhat mystified by the difference between my “memory” and what is real … at least so far. These past years, I have been willingly charmed by my recollections of Vermont being a green, pastoral state with a stand of deciduous trees here and there among the quaint and picturesque villages, each with at least one tall white church spire soaring into the blue sky. I remembered an agricultural state with a proliferation of dairy cows, grazing peacefully in acres of green meadows around every turn.
Well, for sure there is some of that along the western side of the state in the Lake Champlain valley of Vermont but I was totally surprised by the spiny ridge of heavily wooded mountains that runs down the middle of the state. Tree covered foothills spread out in all directions making narrow, winding secondary roads the rule (at least along our route) rather than the exception. Way back then, I often remarked I would happily move to Vermont if there were any way for my husband (shortly thereafter, he became my "ex", but not because of his refusal to move to Vermont ;-) to earn a living. At the time, he had a very lucrative job in Anchorage Alaska and did not share my feelings, so the move was never seriously considered. I subscribed to “Vermont” magazine for a year and got my “fix” each month when the new issue arrived. Three weeks ago, when I was at last reunited with my “favorite state”, was I surprised? Yes, very much so and as my bubble burst, I was forced to change my way of thinking about Vermont and then New Hampshire as well. Don’t misunderstand me, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this beautiful area but in retrospect I will always be amazed how different my memories were from the reality.
After 22 years of reminiscing about my last visit to New England, I have been surprised and somewhat mystified by the difference between my “memory” and what is real … at least so far. These past years, I have been willingly charmed by my recollections of Vermont being a green, pastoral state with a stand of deciduous trees here and there among the quaint and picturesque villages, each with at least one tall white church spire soaring into the blue sky. I remembered an agricultural state with a proliferation of dairy cows, grazing peacefully in acres of green meadows around every turn.
Well, for sure there is some of that along the western side of the state in the Lake Champlain valley of Vermont but I was totally surprised by the spiny ridge of heavily wooded mountains that runs down the middle of the state. Tree covered foothills spread out in all directions making narrow, winding secondary roads the rule (at least along our route) rather than the exception. Way back then, I often remarked I would happily move to Vermont if there were any way for my husband (shortly thereafter, he became my "ex", but not because of his refusal to move to Vermont ;-) to earn a living. At the time, he had a very lucrative job in Anchorage Alaska and did not share my feelings, so the move was never seriously considered. I subscribed to “Vermont” magazine for a year and got my “fix” each month when the new issue arrived. Three weeks ago, when I was at last reunited with my “favorite state”, was I surprised? Yes, very much so and as my bubble burst, I was forced to change my way of thinking about Vermont and then New Hampshire as well. Don’t misunderstand me, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this beautiful area but in retrospect I will always be amazed how different my memories were from the reality.
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