Leaving Mass Attempt #1

This is what the last blog was supposed to look like:

I was going to show you the 

entirely unreasonable amount of gear we packed into the van

from three different angles (for added effect)

The side door:

The front:

And the dog "nest" in the back.

I was going to mention how Orin refused to help pack

the van, even though most of the avalanche-waiting-to-happen was his.

There would be a couple pictures from our last

moments with Grandma Elisabeth and Grandpa Dean,

and I would say how hard it was to leave, 

how great of a time we had this summer,

how thankful we are for everything they have done 

for us and for Orin, and how

much we are going to miss them.

And then I was going to have a spectacular picture of Niagara Falls

to lift the mood of the blog.

But instead, I have this:

A picture of the tow truck we had to call to come meet us at

the hotel where we spent the night in some godforsaken town in

northern Vermont after the most horrendous map-reading

blunder that I have ever made in my life.

Ever.

This was way worse than the time I ended up in New Hampshire 

trying to get back to Shutesbury (thanks for reminding me Andy)

Or the time I thought the lights of Boston were Worchester...

why not, right?

Yesterday morning we found ourselves significantly off-course

with a van that would not start.

So what did we do: we made the best of the situation

 and headed to Burlington for a little sight-seeing.

But what about the van that wouldn't start?

We parked on a hill in a spot where nobody could block us in

and crossed our fingers that the jump-start trick would work.

The first thing we did upon arriving in Burlington

was to go down to the water to see Lake Champlain.

Burlington is beautiful,

from almost every block there is an amazing view 

of the lake and surrounding hills.

After the waterfront, we headed to Church Street,

the main strip in the city, for some uncontrolled acts of tourism.

We bought Orin a Vermont Moose tee-shirt 

(picture to come)

and some stickers for the van's collection.

After lunch, we decided it was time to get back on the road and 

figureout what we were going to do about the van.

When I did a search for the best way to get to 

Niagara Falls from Burlington,

Mapquest directed me back almost all the way 

to my father's house,

so we decided to head back there to fix the starter.

When we informed my brother of our plans,

he said he was driving up from North Carolina 

to help Casey fix the van.

I told him he was crazy, but he replied

"I am just that dedicated to my nephew"

Actually, I think getting to spend some extra time with his awesome

girlfriend, Alicia, may have had more to do with why he made the trip,

but it was sure great to see him.

As is turns out, Casey already had enough help with the van.

Who knew Orin was such a handyman?

After the van was back to starting without assistance

my brother, Alicia, and Casey took Orin to the pumpkin patch 

for round two pumpkin picking.

The only difference was this place boasted a pretty cool blue moose. 

Once again, Orin found a good pumpkin

and all was well.

We even got to see the beginning of leaf season in New England

while we worked on getting the van repaired.

So I suppose in the end, it all worked out for the best.

Had we gone the right way, 

the van would have broken down in western NY.

That would have caused a much trickier situation because 

we would have had nowhere to stay while it was getting fixed.

Also, my brother had connections in MA and found us a place 

where we could get the special order starter in right away.

This just proves, once again, that everything happens for a reason.

So tomorrow morning we are off to Niagara Falls.

But this time I am not making any promises :)