About Tuesday (3/29)

Tuesday, slept in late and I'm still feeling the hurt. Jason wants to take me to ride the mountain but I'm apprehensive. I'm not sure that an ailing knee is the correct condition for trying a new sport. Decision time. I think I ought to consider returning to Madison. The tourist season is almost over in VT. Most seasonal (read: catering to tourists) jobs are over until after summer. I don't own a car, which renders me almost completely dependent on Jason. This is not a recipe for an extended stay. So I make the call. I will catch the train outta Rutland early Friday morning.

With the rest of our day Jason and I take a short hike to Equinox pond at the base of Mt. Equinox. It's a mostly flat trail located in a sweet nature preserve directly adjacent to the wealthy section of town. To think there's a high school right outside the park. Jason and I agreed that if we had attended this school in our earlier days we would've skipped class in favor of the park often.

About Monday (3/28)

Monday and my bum knee is illin'. Jason calls it my Bitch Knee. He suggests I "beat the bitch out of it." Not sure if that will work. I limp about Monday. Jason takes me on a driving tour of the surrounding areas in order to run a few errands. He keeps a P.O. Box in the town he lived prior to Manchester affording an opportunity to see his winter stomping grounds. I neglected to bring my camera, a blunder as rural VT is gorgeous even during this unpleasant time of year. I like the low stone walls and the covered bridges. Everything is rustically charming.

Our main destination is a cheese factory in Grafton, a small town with rich history stretching back to revolutionary war times. Though the cheese store was neat the little history museum was of most interest. They sported a fine collection of historical glass bottles and an impressive photo archive in the back.

We continued onward. Jason has a habit of stopping in just about every country store just to see what's selling and chat up the locals. Being from rural areas I suppose it's just second nature for him. I myself, hailing from urban environments, am never so bold. City folk seem to be too busy to be bothered, over the years I've learned to keep conversation to a business minimum.

Monday night is cheap pizza night at Bella's, the restaurant immediately adjacent to Jason's abode. We gorge ourselves on pizza and beer, passing out early. I guess we're still feeling that hike.