The summer leg of our journey has officially come to a close, about 3 weeks earlier than we had anticipated. A combination of rising gas prices, depleting funds, and, perhaps most of all, the pressing need to finish preparing for the wedding, have all lead to conversations as to exactly when we should head to Pittsburgh. Our decision was made easy by the impossibility of sleeping in a van during a major  and lengthy heat wave. We decided to return to Pittsburgh early and pick up a few part-time jobs while finishing wedding preparations and sleeping in an air conditioned house. 

On Friday night, when it was so hot we couldn't even think about falling asleep, we decided to stay at a hotel for the first time during our travels so we could wake up refreshed and ready to make the drive back to Pittsburgh from Burlington, Vermont the next morning. We left Burlington at 9:30 am and arrived in Pittsburgh at 11 pm. After languidly taking 6 weeks to reach Burlington from Pittsburgh, it was a bizarre experience to make it home in under 12 hours. We really wanted to make the trip back in one day, so, for once, we sped along the highways and toll roads. 

Our drive home was just as epic as our entire summer has been. Our GPS actually instructed us to "Board the Ferry" in order to cross Lake Champlain. We had really wanted to take some pictures of the lake, so after we got over the shock of being directed to take a ferry, we became incredibly grateful for the unexpected shortcut from Vermont to New York. 

I had never been on a ferry with my vehicle before! 

Surrounded by mountains, Lake Champlain was breathtaking in its deep shade of royal blue. 

This was the ferry we took across the lake. It was relatively small, holding about 20 cars or so.

The ride across Lake Champlain took half an hour. It was like being on a cruise. The wind was blowing in our hair, there were mountains and islands in the distance, and you couldn't feel the choppy waters at all because of all the weight on the boat. 

The van got to take his first boat ride! He was happy to cover some mileage without adding to his odometer. Taking the ferry saved us about 100 miles of driving. Lake Champlain is enormous. 

We could have been content with this view for an entire day. 

Passing by the other ferry. 

Approaching the small town in New York where we disembarked. 

After the ferry crossing, we had three hours of blissful driving through the countryside and the Adirondack mountains before we joined up with the highway. Just driving through them was majestic and magical, and we were grateful for the experience. 

Collapsed barns have been a too common sight in our travels. 

It was a perfect sunny day for a long distance drive. 

We came across this waterfall in the town of Westport. This town was once home to the largest iron mining operation in the country. 

We stopped for lunch at a deli with this as their backyard. 

A perfect place to kick up your heels and read a book.

Beautiful sun rays in the sky. 

We couldn't have had a better summer leg of our journey, and we're excited about being in Pittsburgh, working, and wedding planning. Stay tuned; we'll still be posting all summer. 

Burlington was high on our list of cities to see, and we were excited to arrive on Thursday after a spectacular drive through the Green Mountains. We spent our day hanging out on Church street, the main pedestrian mall in the downtown area. Pedestrian malls are great because they are closed to vehicle traffic and create a great space for people to walk, congregate, and meet. The streets were lined with an eclectic mix of cafes, restaurants, and shops. Many of the restaurants had seating right out on the street under big, shady umbrellas. 

Church Street was vibrantly alive, a feeling contributed to by the many street performers, like this guy, who had this happy baby dancing. 

This magician/ jokester was a great performer. 

He had the audience really involved. 

And he had some impressive feats! 

Burlington is known as a progressive city with lots of green initiatives, such as these rain barrels, which were everywhere. 

Each rain barrel was hand painted by a local artist. 

This was a fantastic, colorful wall mural. 

Church Street Marketplace opened in 1981, and has been described as the gem in the crown of the Queen City of Burlington. 

We visited two of Burlington's many coffee shops. This one, Muddy Waters, was located right off Church on Main Street. 

Muddy Waters was a great place for congregating. They did not offer WiFi, which at first we found strange. After sitting for a while, though, we realized the lack of internet had turned the space into a true meeting place. Many groups of people sat around tables chatting, having meetings, or socializing. Others sat reading or people watching out the windows. We really enjoyed this space as we shared a  pot of ginger tea sweetened with honey water and poured from a cast iron kettle.

Our favorite store we went in was Earthbound Trading Company, which had great clothing, art, and trinkets at fantastically reasonable prices. 

Also, it had these lovely ladies, who were warm, welcoming, brought an exuberant energy, and were an absolute joy to chat with. (Hello!)  Dave remarked Burlington felt a lot like Boulder, CO to him, and they told us Burlington VT, Boulder CO, and Portland OR are all actually sister cities, designed by the same city planner. No wonder they are all known as hip, progressive cities. 

Church Street was a perfect place just to people watch. 

It was filled with a spectrum of interesting people of all ages and from all walks of life. 

Some places, like Burlington, carry a certain vibe that seems to infuse the air itself with energy. If only Burlington wasn't located in such a cold climate; we would love to live in a place like this! 

We spent a morning driving around Windsor, Vermont, where Dave went to high school and lived for a while. 

An apartment building where Dave used to live. 

Windsor has some amazing natural features. This beautiful river runs through it and creates all kinds of little falls, which Dave happily remembers exploring. 

Dave was surprised to see the ambulance and police headquarters where his high school used to be. 

A picture-perfect swimming beach in Windsor. 

It was also a picture-perfect day! 

This really well-done war memorial on Windsor's main street has stone engravings of the residents' names who participated in every war America has been involved in, dating way back to the Revolutionary War. 

The number of names featured for WWII was astounding, considering what a small town Windsor is. It makes you realize the enormous amount of young men away at war and the changes that would have brought to the life of a town during World War II. 

Dave has been telling me about the excellent pizza at Pizza Chef ever since we met, and I finally got to taste for myself. It was everything Dave hyped it up to be, a combination of Chicago and New York style with delicious sauce and crust with crisp pepperoni that curls up around the edges. Delicious! 

Dave learned to play pool at the Pizza Chef on this same table from some really top-notch players. 

He played a game while we waited on our pizza for old times sake. 

We've been spending a lot of time with Dave's 7 year old son, Austin. 

One afternoon, we took a walk along the railroad tracks. We came across this old train car that had wrecked. It crashed so hard that the entire rail was torn up and the incredibly heavy front wheel of the car was bent and askew. 

Austin & Dad. 

Practicing Austin's reading skills on the train car. He's an incredibly bright kid, just like Dad! 

Austin and Dad collected the perfect sticks to fight off "monsters, zombies, and ghosts." 

We picked wildflowers around the train tracks to put in vases for Austin's mom and gram. They loved their flowers, and we had such a fun time collecting them. There is an incredible abundance of wildflowers here at this time of year. 

We had a BBQ one evening at gram's house. Mr. Monkey came along. 

We've been so busy lately and have been getting so many amazing photos that we've gotten a few days behind with our blog, so we'll be posting extra for the next day or so to get caught up!