Catch up story...Beautiful Montpelier

David Carris and the Capitol of VT

It is so nice to have friends into whose families I can insert myself for days at a time. David and his three kids constitute one of those families, and it's especially nice for me that their lovely Victorian is situated in the middle of my home state.

Like Washington, Vermont has long, dark winters, so the summers are especially precious. Much of summer life is lived on the front porches that I see marching up Liberty Street...a place to eat, read, do chores, and talk to passers by...or not. I've met lots of the neighbors already. This is a very Walkable small city, about the size of Sequim, but with Many wonderful restaurants, performers, artists, and politically-aware people.

David on his front porch, Classic gray house with red and white trim

 

Downtown Montpelier, lots of street life, Amazing Thai food, Willaiwands Kitchen, with hand-made gellato next door

Friday was the Art Walk, with interesting masks, sculptures, paintings in the State office buildings, as well as galleries. A very walkable town, a place to see someone you know every time you go out.

Ella in the morning...a study in orange/brown/purple

I wish Port Angeles would make more effort to bring life to our downtown and stop discouraging new businesses from locating there. My town has such potential, located between mountains and salt water, visited by cruise ships and ferry passengers from Victoria across the Strait...perhaps the improvements to the waterfront will inspire us in other ways.  Now that I don't have to go away to work, I can go back to reading Richard Florida's books about vibrant communities and maybe try again to implement some.

David, Theo, his friend Oliver, and me at Three Penny Pub...great burgers

I'm falling behind in telling my story, Wonderful community music and food Saturday night, my mother's birthplace and mine yesterday, along with the Museum of Everyday Life and Bread and Puppet Resurrection Circus, Willoughby Lake yesterday. A circle tour of Bradford, East Ryegate today and making dinner for our friend, Tim, tonight. I may be still  catching up on my circle back to home in WA...Interesting, the concept of HOME...more on that later.