Turkey Day USA

It took 12 weeks, but Thanksgiving break was finally upon us!!  And it was a much needed break indeed.  By the time Friday afternoon hit, Caitlin and I were packed and ready to go and oh so keen to get out of here (even if Caitlin almost walked out without her bag).  I got to road trip to North Andover, Massachusetts with Caitlin and two of her theatre buddies which meant I was treated to my own musical.  If you ever want to feel like your voice can be described as synonymous with a dying cat, be in a car with three very musical girls with amazing voices.  But I'm not complaining because I just got to sit back and listen.  Once we got to Caitlin's we ordered Chinese food to begin our long week of over indulging in all of the foods that we have been deprived of at college.

On Friday night one of Caitlin's best friends stayed with us before we took her to the bus in Boston on Saturday afternoon.  This meant that Saturday was full of adventure.  Saturday began with Italian sandwiches for brunch before going into a boutique and trying on copious amounts of dresses and watching the staff getting annoyed that we were there for so long and then didn't buy anything.  We then drove into Boston and had about an hour before Katherine needed to be at the bus station, so we explored the harbour area.  There was a nice glass pergola right on the water that was very echoey and Caitlin and Katherine were singing in it and again it sounded amazing and again I was super jealous but also secretly pleased I got my own private show for the second night in a row.  After a while we figured that we should get something to eat and it was only after we ordered that we realised we had 15 minutes before the bus left and we were ages away from the station.  So that meant running through the streets of Boston.  We had one minute to spare when we got there.  Seems to be that running for buses is becoming a thing after our Montreal incident as well.  When we got home we curled up on the couch watching Harry Potter.  

Sunday sleep in was very welcomed.  We had a chilled morning before I went to mass with Caitlin and her mum.  Afterwards we went and got muffins which are the greatest things ever.  During the afternoon Caitlin and I went to her little cousins 4th birthday party and I got to meet members of her family who would be there on Thanksgiving.  On Sunday night we watched a couple more Harry Potter movies

On Monday we went on a hiking adventure with the dog in the freezing cold, but it was okay because we went to Dunkin Donuts first and bought hot chocolate, so we were set.  I was given the choice to walk up the hill at the beginning or end of the walk so I chose beginning.  It was a decent sized hill.  So we walked up the hill and we were almost at the bottom on the other side, when Caitlin says "I've lost one of my gloves, I think it's up the top of the hill".  There was a look, but I agreed to walk to the top on the hill again when we reached the end of the circle.  The walk around was really pretty and the dog had a great time playing with other dogs we met along the way.

 So we reach the end and walk up the hill again, not as fun this time without my hot chocolate, and we find the glove.  Halfway back down, Brodie meets another dog that he decided to play with which is fine until he wants to continue walking with them halfway back up the hill.  So after we have Brodie back in tow, we get almost to the car when Caitlin says "um, I've lost my phone, I think it's on the hill where I wrestled Brodie".  This time there was a definite look and I flat out refused to walk up the hill again, so I sat in the car.  It's reasons like this that I love her though.  Always one for stories and entertainment.

That night we went out for dinner and then went to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  So many feels in the opening theme song and Harry Potter memories flashing back.  I was in no way disappointed and I'm pretty keen for the next movie.  

On Tuesday we spent the day in Boston!  We drove into the city and our first task was to eat.  Which proved difficult because we couldn't decide what we wanted to eat as there were too many choices.  We decided on Chinese (again) and were trying to decide between gelato and cookies for dessert when we went, what the hell and bought both.  Best decision we made all day.  While we were eating, there was someone playing the piano absolutely beautifully and when we investigated, we discovered that it was a 5 year old boy!  He was so amazing.

After we took our leftover food back to the car, we got on the trolley car that took us through Boston while giving us some history on the city.  I cannot remember anything about what the guy said, but it was interesting at the time.  We got off the trolley at the Boston Common and then walked through the Public Garden with the magnitude of squirrels.  The garden was so pretty and there was a mounted police officer who was getting up people for having their dogs off the leash, which I found kinda fun and interesting.

The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark

This human <3

Once we were finished in the garden, we got coffee at Starbucks and then walked the Freedom Trail back through Boston to find more food.  On our way to find food, we came across this Christmas ornament shop that was just massive.  Like it was two floors and the second floor just kept going and going and going and I didn't even take any pictures because there was just too much!  I've never seen so many Christmas tree ornaments in my life.  There were some really pretty ones though and I'm going to go back when I'm in Boston at the end of semester and hopefully pick an ornament that will be the first of my "I'm now an adult" collection (I'll just have to buy my own tree next year).  It was daylight when we walked into the ornament shop, and when we walked out it was dark.  But that was nice because we got to walk out into the street with Christmas lights and the big Christmas tree.

Our quest for food then resumed.  We ended up in the North End and decided on Italian which was so good.  I love Italian (and this was the first time I braved it again after getting food poisoning in Cairns earlier this year).  I don't even know if we made it through half our meal before we were totally stuffed again but the great thing about America is that a doggy bag is a given.  On our way back to the car, we stopped in at a bakery to get dessert.  I was not exaggerating when I said that our week just involved eating.  It was great when we got home because we had chocolate chip cannoli while we began recapping on Gilmore Girls episodes in preparation for the revival on Friday!

On Wednesday morning Caitlin was babysitting her little cousin which she was really excited about and they had two little kittens which I was really excited about.  All in all it was just a morning full of cuteness.

For lunch we met up with some of Caitlin's friends from high school at this great diner with really good pancakes.  It was good listening to all of their stories.  That night was again filled with Gilmore Girls and eating of leftovers.

The next day was Thanksgiving!  We began by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that happens in New York on TV and they had some really awesome performances. And lots of big floating balloon animals.  For lunch Caitlin's relatives were hosting the family and they graciously invited me in and made me feel very welcome.  And then they fed me.  Lots.  Oh the food.  Oh the really good food.  Turkey.  Mashed potatoes.  Pumpkin pie.  The list goes on and on.  On the way home we put on Christmas carols and watched Love Actually that night.  The Christmas spirit began.  Overall my first turkey day was a great success.

Friday was a much needed day of rest.  And thankfully the Gilmore Girls revival was out.  We watched two of the four episodes during the morning and then took a break for a few hours when I decided that I really should do some study.  After I gave up on studying (way sooner than I should have) I let myself get sucked into my book and really relaxed.  We ordered Indian for dinner and then watched the last two episodes of Gilmore Girls.  It was really good Indian.  

Saturday involved more food in the form of pancakes with stewed apples, before going to friends of the family for a friendsgiving which had more food.  Saturday night was quiet as Caitlin and I had an early morning on Sunday to go back to UVM.  We left Massachusetts at 5.30 on Sunday morning and when we got back, both of us were in bed again by 9am.  Sunday afternoon was spent doing most of the homework that we didn't do during the week.  I thought that I was kind of prepared for leaving Burlington at the end of semester until Sunday when I realised how much I missed my friends in only a week.  Then I started doubting my mental capabilities to actually leave Vermont!

Last week went by in a blur and I have now found myself with only 11 days left in Burlington and 40 days left in America and it's totally giving me mixed emotions.  I'm super excited for my holiday at the end of semester and I'm excited to see my family at home, but at the same time, I'm dreading leaving the life that I've got here.  The next week and a half will be great though and I'm keen to go travelling.

Until next post.

Adios Amigos.

Tyarna xx