More of Rob in Vermont

A daytime shot of the covered bridge behind our hotel in Waterbury, VT.

The Green Mountain Coffee Company is headquartered in Vermont. Our love of coffee brought us to their headquarters and company store. Tony, Casey, and Katie try their hands at lifting sacks of coffee.

We learned the proper way to visit a covered bridge.
1. One person acts as the photographer.
2. All but one of the remaining people stand on the covered bridge.
3. The last member of the party climbs down below the bridge, pretends to be a troll, and shouts, "Get off me bridge!" and gestures fanatically.
4. Hilarity ensues, and "Get off me bridge!" becomes a quote oft-repeated for the rest of the trip.

When Rob learned there was a bona-fide haunted covered bridge, he convinced us we should all go. Casey wards off the ghosts with Rob's protective powers.

I don't quite know what to say about this one.

I had the best apple cider I've ever tasted at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill (which is sometimes pronounced "cedar mill").

Here is the best ever apple cider!

In addition to awesome apple cider, the Cold Hollow Cider Mill also sells freshly made cider donuts.

Ben & Jerry's factory tour.

Why buy shoes in New Jersey when you could kill time in Vermont with a shoe shopping adventure?

Rob went to Vermont (way back in June!)

Rob hadn't had an adventure in awhile, so he convinced some other math teachers and me to drive him up to New England. He was most interested in Vermont since he had never been there.

Our first stop was the Quechee Gorge. Casey and Katie pose with a Vermont moose before we went to see the actual gorge.

...and here is the famous gorge! Isn't it.... gorgeous!

Energy conservation and environmentalism is a big thing in Vermont.

We went to the Sugar Shack, where they make their own maple syrup. It was delicious!

Had to throw in an "artsy-fartsy" picture (as my mom would say).

After the maple syrup place we took a tour of the Cabot Creamery. Our tour guide had a lame delivery of the tour, but it was pretty neat to see the cheese being made and taste the samples afterwards.

After dinner we headed over to our hotel, which had a covered bridge behind it.

Ever wanna play on a playground at 10 pm? We did!

Rob's New Home

1/16/10
This was the first time I saw the place. It was already empty so the pictures aren't terribly exciting. This is the far corner of the living room, opposite the front door. There are 5 windows in the living room, so there's lots of natural light during the daytime.


Here's how the kitchen looked. The previous owner must have decided to install stainless steel appliances and, not liking them, promptly moved out. (Or, a more likely scenario... if the old appliances were anything like the washer and dryer that came with the place, the owner must have realized that NO ONE would buy his condo, so he updated them before he left.)

I met a prospective neighbor as I was looking at the place, and she was kind enough to pose under the light in the dining room.

3/13/10
This was taken the day after closing, which also happened to be the day of the torrential downpours in NJ. Casey agreed to go shopping for some cleaning supplies and paint chips. After getting thoroughly soaked going in and out of about 5 stores, we unloaded our purchases and ate Chipotle on the floor. Every article of clothing I wore that day was soaked. I decided to try to dry my socks in the dryer, but became frightened by the noises it made. It did end up drying my socks, but luckily my new neighbors agreed to lend me a pair of their socks. Thanks, J&J!

3/20/10
Ever want to pick up a couch, TV stand, TV, and dresser from Brick... then drive to Toms River and unload various boxes, tables, and chairs from a hot attic... then drive to Beachwood to pick up an upholstered chair and ottoman? Well, I can't say I WANTED to do any of that, but if I wanted to have a kitchen and any furniture in the new place, it had to be done. Many thanks to those that came for part or all of that day -- I owe many people many moves!

Cecilia wanted to welcome me to the neighborhood by sweeping up the living room.

We had many a laugh at Tony's lederhosen-style back brace, but I'm glad that he AND his brace (AND his truck!) were there that day.

Part of the moving crew, having quite a time sifting through my "5th Grade Work" box. Apparently I have been doodling random heads all of my life. I feel badly that we moved an extra box that we didn't have to, but it was pretty funny digging out papers and drawings from 1986.

More pictures to come, especially those showing the progress being made with unpacking, painting, etc. It's not all done yet, but it's getting there! Rob is now relaxing, watching the very first major league baseball game of the 2010 season, Yankees vs. Red Sox.

Rob's Last Day in Kentucky

After seeing some of the Louisville sights, we headed north up through the "chimney" of Kentucky. We had to make a stop at Big Bone Lick State Park because of its crazy name. Apparently they found a lot of fossils here. We were looking forward to seeing some bison; we walked on the path in the heat and humidity to the bison viewing area, but unfortunately all we saw was grass and mosquitoes.

Cincinnati is directly across the Ohio River from Kentucky, so we were able to take in a Reds game on our way back east. Below is a shot of the field at Great American Ball Park.

Several nuns attended the game as well.

Since the Reds play in the National League, I'm not too familiar with a lot of the players. However, I recognized their pitcher, Bronson Arroyo, from his Red Sox days. Now that he plays for the Reds, I was happy for him as he pitched a complete game shutout.

It was a good game for the Reds. They beat the Nationals 7-0, helped in part by Jonny Gomes' 3 home runs.

There were a lot of baseball-related things on this trip: two baseball games (Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals / Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals) and a tour of the Louisville Slugger factory. Yes, it's true that we saw 3 of the worst teams in baseball... but it was fun taking in new stadiums and seeing live major league baseball. So until the prices at the new Yankee Stadium come down from the stratosphere, maybe it could be fun to see some of the smaller stadiums for some of the smaller-market teams.

Louisville is pronounced "Lluvil"

While we were in Louisville we stopped by the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. If you look very closely, you'll see Rob and I at the base of the bat.

The view from the base of the bat.

Karen hugs the bat, but her arms don't quite make it all the way around.

We were not allowed to take pictures on the actual tour, but here we are post-tour, squeezing Ken Griffey Jr.'s butt. I also got to take a swing with Mickey Mantle's bat.

I'm not actually touching the statue... but it looks like I am, right?

In front of Churchill Downs, where they hold the Kentucky Derby. They had just sustained a bunch of water damage and flooding, so we couldn't actually go inside.

Louisville is also home to the World's Largest Bottle of Booze, in the form of a water tower.

Rob and his Coke Habits

Elizabethtown, KY: Home of the Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia

Old fashioned delivery trucks.

The Thinker, fashioned out of cans of soda.

Go Coke!

Rob and Randomness

Rob and I outside of Dinosaur World in Cave City.

Karen really liked this one!

Rob wanted to get up close and personal with the t-rex.

Outside of the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.

Karen and Rob outside of the Lost River Cave in Bowling Green.

At the entrance to the cave. It's the only underground boat tour in Kentucky. The cave actually has an underground river running through it.

There used to be a night club in the entrance to the cave in the '30s and '40s. When air conditioning became more common in the '50s, the night club lost its draw (the temperature in the cave is always nice and cool). The bandstand and chandelier still remain.

The scary, tiny, rocky boat we took through the cave. At one point in the boat ride, our guide had us all duck to avoid getting conked in the head by the low cave ceiling. At times the ride was a little scary but it was interesting to see.

Who said Stonehenge was in England? It's right here in Munfordville, KY. Best part about it? It's free to see!