Quote of the day from work:
"It is easier to build a child than to fix an adult."

I've finally had time with my computer & internet access to upload some "illustrations" of my two week trip, and some pics from before then as well. Enjoy!

This weekend has been wonderful. Friday night camping out near Lynx Pass, Sat morning reading by a campfire, bicycle riding & a Sam Bush concert. I'm currently at Amante cafe drinking coffee and catching up, and soon I'm meeting up with Brett to float the river in inner tubes. I do love Steamboat life.

days 11-14 (july 14-17):

cape time! it had been two years since i last was able to enjoy summer on the cape and we sure lived it up! a picnic on the beach, swimming in the ocean, kayaking, a chocolate whole in one doughnut, resurrecting my grandfather's rowing shell, whale watching, walking on fort hill, eating lobster, enjoying the porch, and wonderful time with my grandmother. she is remarkable.

gran's house, designed by my grandfather

one of my favorite views

three generations

whale watching in provincetown

a picnic to the outer beach

aren't we looking rosy?
post-lobster beach walk

heading out for a row in gramp's old rowing shell

gran & fred giving the farewell wave

days 14-16 (july 17-19):
from cape cod, we headed over to west hartford, ct for time with my dad's side of the family. it was hot and humid, so we took advantage of the lakes around her neighborhood for kayaking and swimming. compared to the cape ocean water, the lake was like a bath. we did some chores for my grandmommy, feasted on her good cooking & got together with my aunt, uncle and cousins.

the dodd fam, plus brett & stephanie

early on the 19th we headed to the airport and flew back to colorado. after a few stops along the way (including delicious beaujo's pizza in idaho springs), brett & i got back to town around 8pm. it was a long travel day.

i've adjusted back to steamboat life this week. colorado is beautiful, sunny, blue, green & hot. i'm happy to be here and to call this place home for a little longer, but i feel one stark difference compared to the past two weeks: the lack of incredible friends & beautiful family. i miss you all already.

so far this week is filled with fresh olathe corn, local palisade peaches, a combo of allergies or a cold, and a smooth transition back into the daily work routine.

at some point, i'll go back and add photos for each section of my trip to the posts i've already done. i'll let you know when that is up.

days 6-9 (july 9-12):
a wonderful visit to aloha. i had my little mental list of people who i was eager to see, and upon arrival it was overwhelming how many people were enthusiastic to see me. it felt like home and things seemed to really be going well both for the campers and the counselors. i enjoyed swimming in the lake, teaching crew, feasting on chicken patties, smelling the pines, singing my favorite songs both quiet and upbeat, lounging on winships, driving around the lake, having great conversations, cuddling, hugging, and loving. camp is simply magical for me. i was concerned that i would want to stay forever and question my choices to live in colorado and not be working at camp and such, but i felt ok about it. working at camp is definitely an amazing and fun job (for example, i volunteered for as many odd jobs as possible and those included handing out ice cream, taking the clubbers to the drive-in movies, and driving a truck to pick up a giant grill) and i am thankful that i was able to do it for so many summers. but i know what i'm doing now in colorado is right, and it was ok to leave camp. i would love to spend another summer there at some point trying out new roles and enjoying the community again. in the meantime, i'm happy i got to spend my few days back in it all. i felt like an outsider at some moments, which i think is actually a good sign that the community is fully connected there for 2009.

a few of colorado's finest

fuzzy, but full of love.

day 10 (july 13):
i met cayla & jj and alaya & chol downtown for breakfast at our classic montpelier diner, the coffee corner. we squeezed into a tiny booth, laughed and enjoyed blueberry pancakes, homefries, mangi's bread and other deliciousness. i spent the rest of the day getting in as much cayla&jj time as possible, as they are moving to ohio this week. we did all kinds of assorted errands and enjoyed one more maple cremee (jj & i just cannot get enough). i bought a few gifts at some of our stops. last night my parents and i went for dinner at sarducci's for a special treat.

morse farm maple cremees!

small booth, cozy friends

today we are off to cape cod, picking up brett along the way in boston. i am so excited for some beach time, family time, lobster, whale watching (brett's request), exploring and just general summer on the cape.
i'm sad to be leaving vermont. i have loved loved loved my week+ here with friends, family & familiarity. thankfully i know i will be home for christmas for the first time in 4 years & i can enjoy many of the same faces and places at that point.

day 5 (july 8):
another rainy day in vermont. montpelier was graced with the presence of a few of my favorite camp folks. we went to the royal orchid for lunch and then hung out at 12 mckinley st to escape the rain. eventually we made our way to burlington to see steve earle & aimee mann. the show was originally supposed to be on the waterfront but was moved into memorial aud due to the weather. naturally the sun was coming out by the time we headed inside for the show... all in all it was a wonderful day of fun people & live music. i am entirely enamoured with vermont again and i have been dreading leaving since the day i arrived!
today i'm headed down to fairlee for a few days living the camp world. i can't wait.

jacob & liz at the show

colby!

enjoying new world tortilla

the day off gang minus jacob & liz

day 4 (july 7):

a typical & wonderful afternoon with jenna, complete with chocolate chip cookies and a cheesy movie. it's always hard to make it through the movie because we have so much chatting to do. our past three visits have each been 1-2 day visits and i am very ready to have a long weekend or week of time with miss j. however, i am still thankful for my day with her!

after a delicious dinner (the striped salad, scroll way back to june for recipe), i went over to alaya & chol's house for long over due reunion time as well as time with cayla & jj. i missed a big reunion dinner last thursday the night before i got in, so this was the closest i got. it was so nice to catch up with everyone. we have two weddings in our group of girlfriends next summer (v & mort in may, alaya & chol in august) so that is frequently the topic of conversation. crazy!

i can't help but be constantly overwhelmed, in the best way possible, by the amazing friends i have in my life. in colorado my world is a little lonely, aside from brett, our landlords, and our great friends who are only winter-residents. coming back to vermont, each day has been blessed with time with friends i have known for 10-25 years. it is comforting, refreshing and wonderful. i have gotten one-on-one time with so many of my relationships and it is incredible to see how everyone is growing and changing.

today i am awaiting the arrival of a few of my camp favorites for an "epic day off." i am very much looking forward to my time with them today and then the next few days volunteering on lake morey and seeing an entire community of people i love. and thennn an entire second week of family time.

this vacation is ideal.

day 2:
this is the first summer in 26 years that the dodd family has not owned a sailboat. my dad sold our boat, daydream, this spring with hopes of owning a new one (smaller or larger, yet to be determined) by summer 2010. so far summer without a boat is working out alright for my parents, since my mom has been on cape cod a lot with my grandmother. however, i know they will have many moments of perfect wind this summer when they are just itching to go. yesterday we rented a small sailboat from the burlington community sailing center. we got great wind & good weather and had fun toodling around the burlington bay. we then drove down to charlotte to pick up the mooring from our old boat, so it was a complete dodd day on the water.

charlotte sailing center dock, where our old sailboat lived

charlotte, looking across to the adirondacks

family fun on a rented boat

day 3:
after a healthy trip to the dentist this morning, cayla & her boyfriend jj came over and we embarked on a wonderful hike up spruce mtn in plainfield. the trail was not nearly as muddy as we feared, the drive was gorgeous, and the view was familiar & stunning simultaneously. on the way back we enjoyed a delicious cremee at morse's farm. it was another ideal vt day.

love those green mountains

me, cayla, jj atop the spruce mtn fire tower

the first day in vermont:

• back on vermont soil after 11 months away
  
• montpelier farmers market with v... fresh basil, cilantro, flower bouquet, incredible strawberries and sitting to chat. we saw neighbors, high school classmates & a quilt my mom helped sew.
• a quick walk back up the hill in a slight drizzle
• CABOT cheddar tuna melts with mom for lunch
• local shopping & a chaotic grocery store
• a family field trip to morse's farm for maple cremees
• planting morning glory seed sprouts
  
• shrimp tacos & strawberry short cake for dinner
• thinking of the singing in the barn, CCC & bonfire in fairlee

it feels like home.

Dear Steamboat,

Now that the sunshine has come to stay, the river is flowing perfectly for tubing, the bikes are out, the farmers market is bustling, and the live music is outdoors...

I'm going to leave for a couple weeks. As much as I enjoy summer here, I've got some really important people to see & some very special places to go. I'll just be gone two weeks, but I anticipate it will feel like an entire mini-summer.

I'm just going to hop on a plane and end up in Vermont.
There, I will catch up with some of my lifelong friends, enjoy the company of my parents, peruse the farmer's market (which really beats yours, Steamboat), spend some time in the garden, maybe rent a sailboat (we miss you, daydream) and catch some live music on the shores of Lake Champlain.
I will also smell the sweet pines, swim in Lake Morey, sing songs, have the scent of campfire in my hair, see former campers working as counselors, catch up with friends i haven't seen in far too long & spend a couple of days at the place that is my definition of "summer."
And then! I'll head to Cape Cod (collecting Brett in Boston!) for a few days on the ocean with the Groves clan. I'm eager to spend some time with my Gran, as well as whale watch, kayak & perhaps eat a decedent lobster.
Then we'll all scoot over to Connecticut for a couple days with the Dodd fam, enjoying Grandmommy's delicious cooking, cousin time & doing a few helpful chores.
I'll hop on a plane there and end up back in Denver. And it will still be July!

I promise I'll be back soon. And when I return, I'll tube the river & camp in the mountains & ride my bike. And it will still be summer, and it will still be marvelous.

Love,
Eliza