Last weekend, I had the chance to take some time and get away from it all. Well, not from it all. I still had an internet connection and the company of fine friends. So I got away from most of it. After a 36 hour day filled with aviation to an excess between work and extended airport appreciation time (Thank you FAA!), I finally made it to New England. My 4 pm arrival delayed about 5 hours.
But that stress and endurance race was well rewarded after Adri fetched me and we made our way to Ludlow, Vermont. Christine and Scott, or the Berardii, had arrived at the destination before us, and the home fired burning in our weekend retreat the Jackson-Gore Inn. Thanx to Adri for inviting us up to this piece of tranquility.
I think the four us desperately needed the retreat, short as it was, from the noise and hectic life we run. Well, the hectic life they run. Sometimes, you forget how nice quiet can be. I live in a fairly urban area, which I personally enjoy for the convenience and accessibilty to the things I like. The Berardii are in the same boat... well, not the same boat a much noisier boat that's docked on the Hudson River. But the noises of life being lived around me, the sirens of firetrucks (the firehouse being a mere 2 blocks away), the garbage trucks emptying the dumpsters for the restaurant row behing m house at 5ish in the morning, and the general noise of delivery trucks dropping off their goods int he early morning make for a fitful sleep.
That's assuming I'm sleeping at night. The day sleeping is much harder, since theirs an almost constant cacophony construction, lawn maintenance, traffic, and even more sirens blaring during the lighted part of the day. It's like the world doesn't even care I'm trying to sleep. Enter the peace and quiet of the Okemo State forest in the hills of Vermont. Adri has secured for us a sweet suite; thee bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a push to start fireplace, full kitchen, and living room. And it was quiet.
Once arrived, I graciously accepted the offering from Scott to share in his recently purchased local brew after the stress of nonrev travel and the exhaustion of pushin my self well beyond the healthy time of being wake. On a side note, while I love my travel benefits, there's always an added level of stress when you're not sure exactly when you're going to arrive. It makes it worse when there are people waiting for you on the other end. I have some friends who that lvel of uncertainty would drive them over the edge and totally ruin the vacation. To me, it jst takes a few years off my life. This particular trip, I was 2 minutes and one person away from turning around and heading back to Louisville. Thanx to passengers who gave up and went to the train, the gate agents that just said "get on we'll figure out how to list you on the flight later,' and the pilot who held the plane to the point of nearly missing a take off slot to put me i the last available seat. The stress of waiting in uncertainty sucks.
That part over, it was a welcome midnight conversation and beer. And finally sleep. Normally, I tend to wake up mid sleep. Either from the external noise factors or my internal eternally jacked up body clock. Not the at night. I work 8 solid hours later, a little drool on my cheek, but well rested. At which point I found Scot brewing coffee and partook of Christine's delicious peach muffins, which I found to be crack addict-like in my need to consume them. We eventually ventured out to find lunch in the small mountain town, and decided on a dinner in to exploit Christine and her culinary talents.
The afternoon in the sun at the pool, complete with hot tub, added to the whole lazy day theme of the weekend. After the delicious (albeit partially form a can.. so disappointed :-)) dinner, we spent the night looking at stars and roasting marshmallows with other guests around a bonfire. The occasional shooting star would streak across the Vermont sky, easily noticed in the dark of night. Along with the lack of ubiquitous noise, the lack of the ubiquitous city lights that drown out the stars at home was easily noticed. An again, I slept like a baby.
The time to leave, and that sucked. Though the sadness was eased by the discovery of maple syrup ice cream near by, I still didn't want to leave. I love my trips home to Atlanta, and I do love seeing all the friends and family, but it gets to the point of being run ragged from pint to pint. And while I generally feel the need to always be going and doing something, it was nice to just have company and lounge. Either by the pool or the fire or just staring out the window at the forests. It was nice to just sit back, and breath.
No comments:
Post a Comment