Good-bye Northeast; Hello London

I'll admit I have been a bit slack on the reporting effort lately.  Since the last post, we made our way to southwestern Vermont, where we caught up with our friends Karen & Tim and their kids.  Lucy and our kids had never been to Vermont and they weren't disappointed.  Vermont - green mountain - is appropriately named as dense forests cover the mountains to the ridge tops and soften the angles so nothing seems very steep.  Two days of bicycle riding showed me that the roads somehow lose that soft appearance.  We spent the days swimming at the local lake and quarry, bristling in the cold water and on the not quite sunny enough banks.  We enjoyed meeting a diverse group of friends. 

The Revolutionary War toured southern Vermont and we learned more history when we visited the monument to the Battle of Bennington, a turning point for the struggling Continental Army that motivated the French to support our efforts against the British.  Shortly after losing at Bennington, the British succumbed at Saratoga, New York and surrendered in New England.  Unfortunately, the fighting continued for some four more torturous years and required another two years after fighting ended to conclude.  All of this Revolutionary War history has made me appreciate July 4th more this year than ever before.

With one full day left in New York, we have opportunity to reflect on a very prominent and inescapable aspect of this area:  the local dialect.  It amuses me to listen to my family try to imitate the local lingo.  I grew up with it and for all of you who know me, you know how hard I have tried to shake it.  Nevertheless, the accent is unique and has found a place in my ear again.  As the time here has provided me with the longest immersion in my native speak I have had in 28 years, I hear now in the imitations of my family what makes the vernacular so interesting.  I've never known where it all came from since to my ear it sounds nothing like those accents of folks who live outside of the New York metro area but it is what it is and I have enjoyed reacquainting my ear if not my tongue to this most distinctive dialect.

Next on our itinerary is London.  We look forward to spending several weeks with Lucy's aunt and cousins, and our transition to Europe.