Vermont to Idaho

So, we felt very lucky to have our wonderful friends, Justin and LeighAnn throw us a goodbye party at their lovely brook-side home. LeighAnn’s parties are always overflowing with food and hospitality, so we were grateful that she decided to have a party for us. We are also grateful to Justin’s parents, Mims and Mr. B, for making us feel welcome in their home.

Thursday, June 19th was our last day of work at Bromley Brook. The day was quite surreal because it never seemed as though our experience there was truly over. After many goodbyes from students and staff, we rushed home to finish packing. We left Manchester the following day at noon to drive across the country.

Our first stop was in Pittsburgh, to see our friends Brenda, Scott, and Tina (the cat). Our time with Brenda and Scott is always amusing, and this visit was no different. We spent a few days in Pittsburgh eating, exercising, and driving all around the city, going to one restaurant or another and seeing the sights. Sunday we went to Falling Water, one of the best-known architectural landmarks in the US. It was built by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930’s. The building itself is beautiful and quite fascinating, considering Wright’s genius and visionary ideas. The building balances in a novel and ingenious way, and some of the boulders from the earth are built into the interior of the building. Although many aspects of Falling Water are not functional, Wright’s vision is beautiful, focused, and brilliant.

Next was Cincinnati to visit Peace Corps friends, Kim and Barry. Kim and Barry both served as environmental volunteers near Mafinga, Tanzania while we were there. It was really great to see Kim and Barry again and to share stories of Tanzania. So often we find ourselves telling stories about Tanzania, and trying to explain the culture, customs, and events that made such an indelible impression on us. It was a unique experience for us to not only talk to someone who has been in the Peace Corps in Tanzania, but who had been on many of our adventures with us. Kim was with us during training and homestay in Arusha , in Machame where we slept in tents on Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mkalala, when Dan was struck with dysentery while we were learning how to “double dig.” She accompanied us on our first trip to Zanzibar when we got henna tattoos and I got the worst sunburn of my life while snorkeling in the Indian Ocean. Kim was even able to remind us of stories we had forgotten such as the time we were visiting her village. We were returning from somewhere (a Tanzanian’s house? a duka? I can’t remember), and the stars were so bright that we all laid down in the grass on the side of the road and stared at the stars. Unbeknownst to me, I left my glasses in that grassy, roadside spot, and I did not realize it until the next morning. Luckily, Dan was able to find them in the same spot the next day.

Our next stop on our Vermont to Idaho tour was Grand Junction, Colorado. In Grand Junction, we stayed with our friends, Nancy and Ryan. We last saw these two when they came to visit us in our village in Tanzania, almost four years ago. My, have they been productive. When they were in Tanzania, they were newly engaged (Ryan having proposed to Nancy in Ruaha National Park), and vacationing from their jobs near Boulder. Now, they are married, have sold one house, and bought another, moved to a new town, and have two beautiful daughters. It was nice to see these guys in their domestic bliss.