beyond cinderella

As I mentioned in my previous post of NYC/Vermont Part One, three days after I arrived at my frissy’s home in NYC, our friends, Megs and Audrey, arrived to join the fun-box party. The day they arrived also happened to be Audrey’s birthday. So, I made my special, homemade jambalaya for dinner. Actually, I made it the day before, so it could simmer for several hours, then I put it in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors blend. Frissy and I also walked to a local bakery where frissy purchased some sweet treats for an after dinner birthday party desert.

I served the jambalaya over brown rice and we had crusty bread on the side to mop up all the sauce…of course we had our wine as well…after all, we were on an all girl vacation… 🙂 We ate, drank, talked, and laughed the night away. OMG what fun we had!

On Sunday, we hit the streets of NYC. We attended an amazing street fair where everything you can imagine was available to buy. Whole city blocks were blocked off for the vendors and people to enjoy the festivities. Food, clothing, art, live music etc… what a fun-filled way to spend the day.

On Monday, we grabbed our suitcases and walked several blocks to the subway that would take us to Grand Central Train Station where we caught the train from Manhattan to New Haven. In New Haven, we picked up our rental car and drove a couple of hours to Vermont where our “cabin” awaited us. Robert, frissy’s friend, calls this his “cabin”… but this didn’t look like any cabin I ever stayed in. Oh what a “cabin” it was… just imagine five beautiful days here:

I can’t even find the right words to describe all the rustic beauty of this “cabin.”  So, I’ll have to let my pictures do most of the talking. This is what I saw looking up as I entered the living room. It’s a Romeo and Juliet balcony that hangs outside the master bedroom so Robert can call down to his lover, now wife, Abby. Robert designed and built this “cabin’ and believe me it has everything one could imagine in the way of comfort, in a romantic setting… I mean who thinks of putting in a Romeo and Juliet balcony…?  Oh, by the way, Robert and Abby were married at the “cabin” two days after we left…

This is the view from the upstairs office area looking down into the living room.

This beautiful view of the pond and waterfall can be seen from almost every room in the cabin and is just outside the cabin’s back door just beyond the huge deck.

Further down the property is yet another beautiful pond. Robert built bridges for his beautiful wife Abby to cross the water to the island in the middle. How thoughtful is that?

Every morning we would walk down to the labyrinth area and hit the gong we bought for Robert and Abby as a thank-you/wedding gift. It was a beautiful way to begin our day. Robert and Abby were married in this area and used the gong as part of the wedding ceremony.

There were so many areas throughout the property that were perfect for medication, prayer, or to just sit, relax, and reflect…if you can’t get relaxed here…you may need help… 🙂

In the evening we would cook wonderful dinners like soft shrimp tacos with chips/salsa, homemade meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted carrots etc. After dinner we would sit for hours sipping our wine and talking/laughing the night away until we would finally decide we needed to go to bed.

This is the bedroom I shared with my frissy. As a child, I always wanted to have a sister to share a room with where we would each have our own twin bed… This trip fulfilled that dream for me. Just look how sweet this little smile maker room is:

After frissy and I got in our beds, we would laugh and giggle for a while about how much fun we had all day. Then, I would say my prayers and give thanks for the opportunity to share in the beauty of special girlfriend friendships especially in the glorious setting of Vermont… 🙂

Much more to come so Stay Tuned!