Visiting Gene's son, Alan, in Burlington, VT. We expect to be here about three days, I'll take it in two bites.
One of the things you have to know about visiting Alan and Valerie is that they are workaholics that never slow down. When you visit, don't expect them to take time and show you all the sights, unless what you want to see is them doing their thing. This trip we spent most of the time at a rental they have in neighboring Colchester: inspecting after a tenant moved out, changing a downspout, doing some additional planting, and trimming a bush and a tree. Gene got a chance to exercise his supervising skills.
It was not all work and no play, though. Among the fun things we did was to try out a new (to them) restaurant, then go see the movie "Minions." This is not a film I would have chosen to go to, but it was entertaining and a chance to catch up with the "what's happening now" scene. Makes you feel less like an old fogey from the farm.
Sunday morning, we took a walk down to the waterfront to check out the dragonboat festival. There were crowds, many sitting on chairs on the waterfront, an announcer on the PA, a few vendors, the whole nine yards. I found out later that the dragonboats are all owned by an organization that runs such festivals all over the place. So crews just rotate among the available boats. The course is surprisingly short (a few hundred yards), and they run heats of two or three boats at a time. There are a lot of crews who cycle through the boats quickly.
While we were there, there was a performance by a Japanese-style drumming group. One hopes that the paddlers don't confuse their drumming with the drummer aboard the boat.
About the time we left Forest, it became apparent that our tire pump was not doing its job. So later in the afternoon, Alan took me to an auto parts store and I bought a new one. This one works a little differently, so I will have to change my routine slightly.
In the evening we went to a pool party with friends of Alan and Valerie, followed by a delicious pot-luck dinner. Back at the house, Alan and I sat out on the deck until late, talking. Finally Jean and I watched the (2-hour) season closer of Poldark and turned in late.
Don't know what's happening tomorrow, but I will report on whatever it turns out to be (if anything).
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