Inside the Honeymoon: Final Edition

"So...what'd you do?" "Did you do anything fun?" "How was it?" I assume when people ask these questions about our honeymoon, they're actually, genuinely wondering about our escapades while there. (I usually have a pretty dirty mind, but when it comes to Dave and I, we don't divulge a s-i-n-g-l-e thing; we're pure as the driven snow...which never made much sense to me -- once you drive on snow, it's not so pure anymore, is it? Great, now I'll have to look up the origin of that saying.)

It sounds pretty bad, what with my only being *gulp* 28, and it only being about a month post-honeymoon, but I'm starting to forget what we did! It seems like SO long ago!! Life has a way of sneaking up on you and stealing precious memories and moments. So, what you'll see is what I can recall. :-)

A lot about our wedding bucked convention, and I LOVE that. When people said something wouldn't work, I tried not to let it get me down. Sure, my thoughts were running until I just decided to relax and have fun... "Will they really USE the Flip cam?" "Will the pie cut as well as a cake?" "Will the vintage car show up at the right time?" "Will we actually have time to eat and enjoy our food -- seriously?" and, most importantly in MY worrisome mind, "Will the 'father/daughter dance' alternative work??" And, of course, it all worked just fine. Better than fine.

One thing that EVERYONE was 100% correct about, though? We. Were. Exhausted. Nevermind the champagne and other...*ahem*..."libations" we thoroughly enjoyed with our awesome friends. That night, I had to run to my mom's house to pick up lots of the "oops, I forgot several important toiletries...and my toothbrush and brush..." items, which I didn't expect to have to do, and by the time I got home it seemed like bedtime. Regardless, we stayed up opening presents, crying, reading cards, crying, jotting down who gave what, being touched to more tears...get the point? Oh, and throw in a heavy dose of spoiling Beardslee, who knew something was up -- and that we were overflowing with guilt about leaving him for more than a day. Granted, we had my mom and sis, who are Class "A" spoilers, watching over him, but it was a bit step for us.

So, it took a little while to leave on Sunday, but we weren't in a hurry. (Heck, we were early and had to wait for our room, after all.) Here we are saying 'bye to the kid...

Face nudges. Daddy's feeling SOOOOO guilty for leaving.

...and Mommy giving some loving. Doesn't he have a
suspicious look? "Tell me why you have your coat on."

We finally left, after packing and grabbing some snacks, and had a VERY fun trip to Vermont. We decided to take the scenic route after a suggestion from my parents, driving through the back roads of Central New York all the way there. It was a perfectly gorgeous day and we gained a huge appreciation for some of the small towns in the area -- we didn't realize how historic and, at the same time, modern some of the small cities and towns are. Definitely worth a day trip or two!

When we reached Middlebury, Dave noticed he was having phone problems. Soooo...

"Hi, Verizon. I'm on my honeymoon, and..."

After discovering that our room wasn't yet ready, we went for a walk around Middlebury. While there was a lot about the town to admire, we loved the cafe and, especially, their community theater -- which had recently ended a special showing of Christopher Lloyd in "Death of a Salesman". Of course, we sneaked in and stole tons of pictures of their recently-renovated building -- gorgeous and classy, just what we'd like for ILTC.

The next day, we aimed our Sportage in the direction of Burlington (ie north). Along the way, we stopped in at the Middlebury Co-Op, which you can read more about here, and the famous Magic Hat Brewery. Of course, you've gotta taste what the locals have to offer.

After a day of LOTS of shopping and walking, we headed "home" to Middlebury. The city was hard to describe. I liked it, of course; lots of green initiatives and Vermont Fresh Network eateries from which to choose...but I can't put my finger on a decisive description of the place itself. Perhaps I'd need to visit more than what we saw, like down by the lake.


So, after getting a good feel for Middlebury and Burlington, it was time to head down south and, alas, back home. But, along the way we had plenty of time to stop to look at antiques and check out other local shops. Here's some of the fun we had...

The traditional "Antiquing in VT" uniform...
who knows whose head that was on!
...eeeewwwwww.

As Mom would say, I'm "in my glory."

First person to leave a message as to the TRUE reason
I NEEDED a picture of this wins a prize. :-)
Anyone? Anyone?

My guy can read!
Practicing his anchorman skills.

aka HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!
You MUST visit here! The couple is awesome.
Their stuff is incredible. It's home.

One reason we loved Branford Antiques? This baby...
now residing in our dining room (sans Victrola speakers).

So, this ends our tour of Vermont. We love going, so I presume we'll have many future trips here...and Massachusetts...and Maine...and Philadelphia...and, of course, NYC...and Toronto...and Europe...and....

Side note: As pure as the driven snow

Meaning Entirely pure.

Origin

'Driven snow' is snow that has blown into drifts and is untrodded and clean. Examples of the precise text 'as pure as [the] driven snow' aren't found in print until around the start of the 19th century; nevetheless, we have to thank Shakespeare for this popular simile. The complete phrase 'as pure as the driven snow' doesn't appear in Shakespeare's writing, but it almost does, and he used snow as a symbol for purity and whiteness in several plays. In The Winter's Tale, 1611:

Autolycus: Lawn as white as driven snow.

In Macbeth, 1605:

Malcolm: Black Macbeth will seem as pure as snow.

Of course, the tradition of brides wearing white in many cultures stems from the association between the colour and purity. This was referred to as early as the 1400s, as in John Lydgate's poetry for example, circa 1435:

Alle cladde in white, in tokne off clennesse, Lyche pure virgynes.

An alternative derivation of this simile has been proposed, which originates from an altogether different source. Mediaeval tanners used animal faeces in the leather tanning process - specifically dogs' droppings, to which they gave the incongruous name 'pure'. Some have speculated that pure referred to the white form of the said stools that used to be more commonly seen and that 'as pure as the driven snow' comes from that association. It doesn't; the 'pure' name came from the purification of the raw leather caused by the enzymes present in the excrement and has nothing to do the 'as pure as driven snow'.

(Obtained from The Phrase Finder, http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/as-pure-as-the-driven-snow.html)