Day 2: Sunday, May 27, 2007

6:20am

Sleep is a funny thing when I’m on a trip. I’m super tired at the end of the day, so I fall asleep in a flash, but the circumstances are so unusual and the schedule so unfamiliar, that at 5:45am I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to get my day started. I also really enjoy having all this free time in the morning without having to rush to get things done.

8:30pm

Today almost began with disaster. Running out of my room this morning I saw that the bus was gone! We were only 5 minutes late! I looked a bit further and saw that the bus was there, but stood closed with all the lights on at the end of the parking lot, ready to leave. I ran toward it and the door opened, taking in me and my folks who ran up after me. Thankfully our neighbors in the bus made the bus wait for us -- the tour guide was going to leave without us! Both me and my mom were upset for a while, but it ended well…

Today was all about food… well, almost.

We ate lunch at a buffet, then went to a cheese production place where we sampled probably 18 varieties of cheese. I discovered I love sharp cheddar cheese -- ad the sharper, the more pleasure it gives me. After the cheese, we went to a different place where we sampled fresh, ice-cold apple cider. I bought a jar of cider mustard -- it’s out of this world! After the cider place, we headed to a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop. This was at Montpelier around 6pm and just about everything else was closed.

In between all these food tastings and shopping we went to an awesome place -- the Trapp Family Lodge -- this place is built by the hill where the first shots of the movie "The Sound of Music" were shot. It was so wonderful to be there on that hill, pretending I was Maria. Oh, have I mentioned that "The Sound of Music" is my favorite movie?

 

The mountains are so incredible here.

They are always in the distance, as silent and detached observers that still somehow protect the area with their kind presence. Standing on the "Sound of Music" hill, I looked at them hoping to find some feeling of connection. "It’s all God", I thought, feeling their majestic presence and hoping to feel God. Then I put my camera into "extreme closeup" mode and took about 50 incredible flowers of the flowers in the area. My absolute favorite shot is of a leaf with raindrops sitting like perfect glass beads on the surface. The beauty of the vegetation in the area is just overwhelming.

 

Eat, Pray, Love has been a part of this trip to a greater degree than I realize. Even these journal entries have been affected. I finished reading "India" today, and before I went on to "Indonesia", I realized that this book is now officially my favorite book of all time. I am so thankful that Andrea recommended it to me. I feel so much more open to being myself, it’s really changed me.