This post has been a long time coming, and we are in fact back in Scotland. However, never one to start a job and leave it half finished, we are gonna finish this blog!
So! Crossing the border by land back into the US was pretty straightforward. The stern but pleasant CBP guy waved us through and wished us a pleasant end of trip. It was back on the bus and on to Burlington, a small city in the state of Vermont. We were only staying here for one night and had booked what promised to be a perfect little inn called University Inn. The drop off at Burlington Airport and the free shuttle to the inn was seemless and incredibly easy. Take note Chicago O’Hara Travelodge! We arrived at the inn around 2pm and the staff were very friendly and helpful, our room was a good size for an amazing price (around $30 each) and the best part? It had both an indoor and outdoor pool and a jacuzzi! We had definitely scored. So, after checking in, we decided to go eat at Applebees; a decent restaurant and bar that served good food and drink. Our server was one of the best we have had (after Carl in San Francisco) and he had an impressive moustache that we just wanted to twirl around our fingers. Think World War One era moustaches and you’ve nailed it.
Filling up on food, we decided to go and explore downtown Burlington before returning to the inn intent on taking full advantage of the free services.
The walk to downtown only took around 30 minutes. SB, our friend from LA, had told S that Burlington was very green and home to one of the most liberal universities in the States. Our liberal minded hearts were overjoyed to hear this and knew we’d feel immediately at home. The state is indeed green and we now understand why it’s called the Garden State. We can only imagine how amazingly beautiful it’ll look in the autumn. Passing the University of Burlington, we checked out what downtown had to offer. The town offered a city hall, a string of independent shops alongside more mainstream establishments, and quintessential all-American streets. It was perfect. We took a dander down to the harbour (visits to the harbour are becoming a common theme in the places we have been in) and S was kindly informed by an 8 year old that the steam coming from a small area of play park was in fact mist that people can run through to cool down. A future teacher perhaps?! It started to rain a little so we decided to head back to the inn. The thought of a swim and jacuzzi was most enticing!
S changed into his swim shorts and A into her bikini, both of us lamenting at how unfit we probably were although determined to do at least a few laps rather than just tread water. The pool and jacuzzi were empty so naturally S immediately pretended we were rich and famous with our own private pool. The water was warm, and after a few shaky laps we got into our stride. A few more weeks of practice and we may be blogging about our plethora of gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, destroying the records held by the likes of Michael Phelps and Jenny Thompson.
Finishing off the night of heart racing exercise, we chilled in the jacuzzi before heading to bed. We were beat. We could have spent an extra day in Burlington owing to the impression it had given us in the space of a few hours. However our megabus to Boston was booked and we were ready to get our historical hats on and see what Bean Town had to offer.
We leave you with a colourful picture S took in the street. Plus, this post is lacking on photos purely because the majority are on camera rather than iPhone and not easily accessible!
Much love,
S&A
la-ny2012 