David was at his conference in Vermont for two days which means it's me, the kids and the rental car all on our own. For those of you who've been following my blog since last November, when I attempted to navigate the NYC subway system in order to take my kids to Central Park Zoo but ended up in a Korean inhabited neighborhood of Brooklyn, you know I'm directionally "challenged".
The goal: to take the kids to the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory in Waterbury. How tricky can that be?
I start by turning onto a road in downtown Burlington (how and why I chose this road seems trivial at this point) and Jett says, "Mommy I don't think this road is meant for cars." Because my six year old has been helping me find places since he was in a four point harness car seat, my heart drops as I realize he's right. Looking at my park surroundings, my best guess is that I'm on some sort of bike/jog trail. Continuing down the one way, windy path, my heart sinks even deeper: it is barricaded at the end with "wet paint" signs on the road. PANIC!!! There is no way I can reverse this car down the entire path. I'm pretty sure this Elantra doesn't have 4WD so I can't drive through the picnic area. What's a girl to do? I scan the area and see two city workers on their lunch break. Quick, Jeanine! Time to take on a half charming, half damsel in distress persona. It worked and next thing I know he's taking down "wet paint" signs (everything dry now), is standing in the middle of downtown traffic stopping cars so I can gracefully exit my rental car off the bike path.
Gathering myself together I find the highway and go about my way. People are zipping past me-one even honked as if I was the problem! These Vermonters are speed demons! Where are the cops? But, it does feel like we're kind of going slow. Then I remember...the rental was picked up in Toronto. The speedometer is marked for kilometers per hour, NOT MILES. So, using the tiny, idiot American mile markings, I pick up the pace. Now, I'm white knuckling it and I see a sign that warns me of impending moose in the next two miles. REALLY?!?! I just want a scoop of Ben & Jerry's!!!
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