Brenna is coming to visit! She was on the Amtrak "Vermonter" all day and kept me updated on her progress. One surprise: the train switched over to buses to the north of Springfield (MA). Meanwhile, I teleworked at my condo. After my work day was completed (1600), I drove to West Lebanon for some errands. Also ended up getting a late work call. Next, I crossed the Connecticut River. While waiting for Brenna to arrive, I didn't want to stray far from the area around White River Junction. Still, I wanted to try to find a place to go kayaking. My first attempt was the North Hartland Reservoir but (after getting through some nasty construction on US-5) I found it was closed to boat traffic. Backtracking towards US-5, I took Clay Hill Road north towards Quechee, looking for paddling places (no luck). I then tried finding a launch spot at the Quechee Green (also no luck) and then drove all the way around the golf course, Quechee Club and towards Woodstock (back roads towards the covered bridge). When I reached the Ottauquechee River again, I took the gravel road on the north side of the river but still couldn't find a good place. Returning to the covered bridge, I crossed the river and got on US-4. Feeling a bit defeated, I drove back to White River Junction and parked at the Amtrak Station. After that, I walked around in town until Brenna's bus arrived (1800). It was great to see her! Once we'd retrieved all of her stuff, I took her to dinner at Big Fatty's. It was crowded there, with a long wait for food. The delay was ultimately OK - Brenna enjoyed her meal. We were at the restaurant until 1915 - after that, we crossed the Connecticut River again and did some shopping in West Lebanon. Eventually, we drove to Hanover so I could take her on a tour of the Dartmouth Campus. Brenna enjoyed seeing how the college kids lived and we even found the John Ledyard memorial stone. The weather was nice for a walk and I feel like I really showed Brenna what it was like to live in my little town. We arrived at my condo by 2000 and spent some time relaxing, talking, prepping for our Montreal trip and watching a movie. We finally went to bed after 2200. So excited for our time together!
