I’m sitting here at my desk at home and looking at a little stuffed moose with the word “Vermont” stitched on its belly. Above “Vermont” there’s a scene of a lake surrounded by pine trees and a full moon peeking out from behind them, its reflection rippling on the water. [sigh] I miss my son.
I’m so proud of him for taking that huge leap and going to a college so far from home. It’s one of the few colleges that offer a forensic psychology program, and since that’s where his interest is, that was his school of choice. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a car up there (he does have one sitting in my driveway but right now it needs a new belt and it always seems to need something).
It’s about an 8-hour drive including stops for gas and breaks. It’s not a bad drive and I actually enjoy the scenery. And I love Vermont. It’s a beautiful state. Castleton itself is a charming little college town – perhaps a smaller version of Westminster, MD. Much smaller.
I picked up that little stuff moose in Hoosick, NY at a little gift shop/deli that Josh and I like to stop at when we take the Route 7 route into Rutland. It’s the cutest little place with all kinds of NY and VT souvenirs and tchotchkies (did I spell that correctly?). And their food is good too – Josh loves their pulled pork, and the last time we stopped there I got a Moose Trot Wrap – a wrap with roasted turkey, stuffing, and cranberry jelly (I skipped the mayo).
Every time I go to Vermont there are things happening with the mountains and the sky that I’ve never seen before. I usually stop on the side of the road to take pictures, but some of them simply can’t capture the natural beauty of what our eyes see. It’s a shame. I post some of the pictures on Facebook but the best of them are in my mind.