We had such a terrific time we forgot to take pictures! But here's what we did:

Christopher's flight got in around midnight so we slept late Saturday morning. Burlington has its big fireworks celebration on July 3 instead of July 4, for reasons that were never quite clear to me. So we spent July 3 on foot, tootling back and forth around downtown. Lunch at Sadie Katz, dinner at ¡Duino! (Duende). We sat for a long time by the water front, watching the fireworks crew take the fireworks out on a barge to the breakwater, where they set them up to fire off the breakwater itself. Here are some pictures of us watching:




We are both somewhat ambivalent about fireworks but, being downtown anyway, we decided to take in the show. Well. Apparently Vermont (and, I'm told, New England) takes Independence Day very seriously. Here's a link to pictures I didn't take but they're worth looking at - it was the most spectacular display I have ever seen. Ever.

The crowd was unbelievable too; walking back to the house was a little like being a salmon trying to swim upstream. I can't remember the last time I saw that many people in one place.

We got to the top of the hill and I said "let's cut around back to the street behind the house - I bet it's quieter." Well. Turns out that the Hannaford Fife and Drum Corps puts on a special unofficial show every year after the fireworks display, on Lakeview Terrace only, and 300 people come to see it. (Scroll down in the article to read about it.) So here we are, stumbling out of the fireworks crowd to see crazy drunk New Englanders following a fife and drum get-up complete with muskets firing (blanks) and weird accents.

At this point C. and I looked at each other and said "boy howdy, they don't do it like this back home!"

You would think it would be impossible to top that perfect day, but we managed. The next day we caught the Scenic Narrated Cruise on the Spirit of Ethan Allen III, which was absolutely as cheesy as it sounds, and absolutely enjoyable. Here are some pictures of us enjoying the tour:






Here's what Burlington looks like from a boat:



After the boat ride we both had Ben & Jerry's ice cream, just to make sure we were thoroughly supporting the local tourism scene.

Today we took it easy, mozeyed over to Fresh Market for lunch and got some snacks for C. to take on the airplane. And then off to the airport. We had such a tremendous time; I miss him already. But I'm so glad he got to come to Burlington -- it's definitely the kind of place for us.

Love,
Sarah