Swaddled in our many layers of warm, winter clothing, we journeyed at the crack of dawn from balmy Boston, MA, with its 9-degree F weather, to even balmier Burlington, VT, with its -4-degree F temperatures. Located in Northwest Vermont, on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, Burlington is the largest city in Vermont. With a population of close to 40,000, it was recognized in 2009 by Forbes Magazine as one of the prettiest cities in the US. It is the home of the University of Vermont and also the birthplace of the Ben & Jerry ice cream enterprise, the band Phish, serial killer Ted Bundy and former Democratic chairman Howard Dean.
Burlington is a very beautiful and idyllic hamlet. The several feet of snow and bitterly cold temperatures only helped to enhance Burlington’s quaintness. We spent one snow flurry-filled afternoon exploring downtown Burlington and its many shops on the Church Street Marketplace.
Over a three-day period, we performed four shows to full audiences at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. The Flynn Center is a two-tier, 1425-seat venue with a great local crew (including a wardrobe crewmember named ‘Dragon’) and two sweet resident dogs. Our performances at the Flynn were successful and also unique - for the first time in our adventures out on the road, we had to use one of our understudies. During our voyage from Boston to Burlington, Kevin (our Mayor) came down with a bad case of the flu and his understudy Jen (who is also my understudy) had to fill in for him for two performances. We were on our toes for the shows, trying to cover for lines and set changes, but we made it through. With the cold weather and our exhausting schedule, I am sure that we will probably have to make use of our understudies again, but at least we will be better prepared.
While staying in Burlington at the Holiday Inn, we encountered Mitzie, a wonderful server at the hotel restaurant. During dinner one evening, Mitzie informed Jess and I that 30,000 troops from Vermont had recently been deployed to for their second tour of duty. The Holiday Inn in Burlington hosted a going-away event for some of these soldiers and their families. Mitzie said that seeing these soldiers and their families and knowing all that they would experience in their lives made her realize and appreciate just how lucky she is in her life. Her sage words of wisdom also brought perspective to me, making me realize just how fortunate I am in my life - another great and memorable moment in my Strega Nona adventures.
Next stop – the Sandler Center for Performing Arts in Virginia Beach, VA. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
No comments:
Post a Comment