A friend of mine turned 21 last weekend. To celebrate, we hiked Camel’s Hump, watched the sunset, and ate homemade double layer marshmellow and chocolate chip brownie cake with rasberry jelly and homemade icing (we called this cake the monster).

The view from Camel’s Hump was absolutely spectacular. I would rate the hike a ten out of ten. I love being here over the summer. The weather is amazing and I have the opportunity to explore all the beautiful places in Vermont! If you are visiting Midd, go for a hike or explore the surrounding area. Trust me. You won’t be dissapointed.

From the photos you can tell that we were definitely repping our Middlebury swag. My friend (the one who was celebrating his birthday) invited two of his high school friends who currently go to Williams, and we all felt that the need to represent our school. Plus, anything with Middlebury written on it has to be cool! Right?

Speaking of hikes, there are some really nice ones right here at Middlebury College. The Trail Around Middlebury (TAM) has a lot of nice places to walk, and last night after dinner another friend of mine and I walked out past the Organic Farm and did a loop back up to the college. We watched the sunset (I guess that I really like watching the sunset!), talked about life, made flower crowns, and then decided to make homemade chocolate cake for no reason. The decision to take a hike and then make cake was excellent, but very spontaneous.

It feels like the summer is flying by. There’s so much to see and do that I’m not sure I can get everything on my bucket list checked off. Oh well. I can try! I’m also not sure if I already said this or not, but I really don’t want summer to end…

GUESS WHO IS EXCITED ABOUT ORIENTATION?!?!?!

hint: it’s me

I love the way we do orientation here at Midd because everyone goes on trips. There’s no culture of who goes and who doesn’t, and you’re not worried about missing anything on campus because no one is here. I also just love to backpack. It’s not the only trip, but it’s my favorite. I led a trip last year and am sooooooo pumped to lead another one. My co-lead last year was fabulous (we skyped yesterday- she’s in New Zealand and not able to lead another trip with me. sad.), my group was fabulous, everything was fabulous. We may have had some technical difficulties, but I enjoyed getting to know the incoming students on a more personal level than where they were from and what their classes were. My group had reunions up until the end of the school year.

This incoming group has a high standard to live up to, but I believe in them. Also, my birthday is during orientation leader training so I’m also looking forward to that.

This weekend I fell asleep in a car twice. Which means 1)I went on some pretty fun adventures  and 2)  I need to sleep more

The adventures started Thursday when a friend and I hiked sunset ledge. It was an easy 2 mile hike on part of the Long Trail, and the views were unbelievable. The picture doesn’t do it justice but I tried. This was the first time I fell asleep in the car.

Friday a bunch of friends and I made dinner (tabouli, watermelon & feta salad, potatos, roasted corn) then some of us went to a house in Leicester (15 minutes away). That house had a tree inside. I didnt know I needed that in my life unitl now. We swam in Fern Lake and looked at the stars. I fell asleep in the car on the way back.

Saturday I ran and sat a bunch afterwards. I let myself into my friends house to eat leftover tabouli (she was out berry picking) and watched two movies. Very relaxing.

Sunday I had to drive a friend to Burlington so we made an adventure out of the day. We got brunch at 3 squares cafe in Vergennes (mushroom truffle scrambled eggs 10/10) then wandered Burlington. We all got our ears pierced impulsively. I keep accidentally touching it, which hurts, but I think I look cool.

There are many student bands on campus, but the most popular is Iron Eyes Cody. You can stalk them on facebook here or listen to them here. Surprisingly, I had never been to one of their concerts, so when I found out that they were playing in Burlington my friends and I decided it was time for another adventure. The fact that I think the drummer is cute has absolutely nothing to do with it. Neither does the fact that the venue was having its half priced burger night.

They started playing sometime after 9:30 (just after we finished our burgers- perfect timing) and wow ok they are actually very good. 10/10 would recommend. I did not know any of the lyrics so I could not sing along, but that’s probably for the best.

The only downside was that they finished after 11, and I then had to drive home in the dark & rain. I survived but I will be consuming a lot of caffeine today.

Fact: Vermont has more cheesemakers per capita than any other state.

Fact: When I am not tour guiding or working in the Admissions office, I am a cheesemonger.

What is that, you ask? At home, I work at a cheese shop, and as a result have more knowledge about cheeses than I know what to do with. With this cheese shop, last summer I came to experience the annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival for the first time, and came back for round two yesterday. On the gorgeous and expansive grounds of Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, VT, tents and tables abound with all the cheese samples you could ever dream of eating. For real. It’s all-you-can-eat, with much more than just cheese: artisan crackers, jams, bakeries, wineries and breweries, chocolatiers, charcuterie…all in one place. At the farm, I got to pet baby goats and sheep, watch a cow being milked, and see the cheddaring process for making cheese. Some personal favorite cheeses include: *drumroll*

• Cilantro and garlic chevre
• Sage Farm Goat Dairy’s wildflower chevre (Stowe, VT)
• Cheddar curds
• Vermont Creamery’s Cremont (Websterville, VT)

My 3 month old calf friend Betty

I also got to do a maple syrup tasting, and compare different syrups as they change over the course of the sugaring season. (I learned that I prefer the darker syrup that is produced later in the season.) Only in VT, am I right? I wish I could go back today and taste everything all over again.

As mentioned before, I run a lot. More than a rational person should. And sometimes, those long runs get lonely. So naturally, I was thrilled when one of my friends texted on Wednesday asking to join me on my run. I ran the 1.5 miles to her off campus apartment then we jogged 7 miles around some beautiful farms. We followed our run with a delicious dinner (as always) then my friend Ian showed up and suggested we go swimming.

Ian was sad that I did not mention him in my magical weekend post. I hope this makes up for it Ian.

The weather had chilled a decent amount so I was very much reluctant to get in the water. Eventually I did; we swam around for a few minutes then got out, shivering the whole drive home. 

It’s easy to get complacent and follow routines, especially when I get tired after a long run, so I really appreciate having lovely friends who always push me to go on an adventure and take advantage of what Vermont has to offer.

Wednesday is an important day for many reasons. One, it’s “hump day,” which means the work week is almost over. Also, as every member of the Middlebury community does or should know, entrees are half-price at The Lobby. The Lobby is a restaurant on the water (Otter Creek) in downtown Middlebury, with an atmosphere between upscale and casual. Like most dining options in Middlebury (and VT at large), there is an emphasis on local ingredients for most menu items. It’s slightly on the pricey side, but well worth it considering the quality of the ingredients and dishes. Thus, this is why my friends and I chose last night to go out. Our dinners ranged from duck banh mi sandiwches to quinoa burgers to filet mignon. For 4 people, our meal cost under $50 total! It was my first time at The Lobby, and I saw enough on the menu to make me want to come back again soon. On a Wednesday, of course.

The last time I went to prom was my senior year of high school, two years ago. So you can imagine my surprise when I received a map with “Prom?” written over it in sharpie this past Thursday. One of the off campus apartments had decided to throw a mini prom. Julie and I put on pretty dresses, but some people wore outrageous finds from the thrift store. We took an assortment of silly prom photos, danced to songs from 2005-2013, and kept reminding people that prom is the most magical night of our lives. I named myself Prom Queen.

The ~magic~ continued with a long trip to Dunmore on Saturday and a trip to Bristol Falls on Sunday. Also on Sunday we wanted to go berry picking but the farm was closed. Both trips ended with delicious creemees (Saturday – vanilla, Sunday- mix)   .

I also got to attempt to even out that sports bra/ shorts tan that marathon training has so kindly given me, which I then immediately negated by running (a very sweaty) 10 miles on Sunday evening. (I rewarded myself with pad thai from Sabai Sabai – another fab restaurant in town)

All in all the weekend was quite  ~magical~. 10/10 would recommend. Especially all the creemees

This past weekend a friend of mine and I were walking around the town of Middlebury when we stopped in at the Vermont Bookstore. As we browsed through the books an elderly lady approached us and asked if we could grab the book “Babar the Elephant” off of a top shelf. We handed it to her and then started to have a conversation. It turns out that she was originally from France and that her mother helped Julia Child write her cookbook “The Art of French Cooking.” After the conversation she handed us her business card and then offered to teach us French, the art of french cooking, and how to set a table etc. She also invited us to her home to have tea.

Thursday, after work, we went to her home for tea and listened to her stories! She talked about her travels throughout  France and the US, her life experiences, and how she wanted to get to know us better. As we sat in her garden, I thought about how much it felt like a scene from a movie. She said that she didn’t know why she approached us, but she was glad she did. She also discussed how it wasn’t socially acceptable to talk to random strangers but that because she was old she didn’t care anymore what people thought. I definitely think that she has a point. Imagine how many people we could meet, or how many interesting stories you could hear if you were able to strike up conversations with people that you had never met before. You could learn so much about the world!

Oh, speaking of chance encounters, on the same day that we were in the Vermont Bookstore, we also went to the used bookstore in Marbleworks and ran into Middlebury College’s new president, Laurie Patton.

Yesterday after work I went on an adventure hike to Silver Lake, which is over by Lake Dunmore. Theres a place where the trail breaks off and you can hike to some cliffs that overlook Dunmore, otherwise you can continue on to the very tiny (but still pretty) Silver Lake. The trail was lined by wildflowers, and we got to stop at one point and overlook the falls of Lana (another great destination)

 (this photo did not turn out as well as I had hoped it would but I didn’t want to retry because bugs)

It was a nice hike and very enjoyable except for one thing … the bugs. My friend and I were literally swarmed by insects. Don’t get me wrong, I took invertebrate biology and love all things without spines, but I hate things that bite me. I told my friend that my blog post would be a poem about bugs, but alas I am not that creative so sorry Pat I lied. 

I would recommend this hike as a chill fun experience, just don’t go at dusk in the middle of the summer. And always follow up your adventures with yummy dinners.