251 Club, Episode 1

While driving back from visiting our dads the other weekend, my sister and I decided we are going to join the 251 club. To be eligible for club membership, we must make a concerted effort to visit each of the 251 towns in the state of Vermont. 

It came up as we drove the familiar route between Pittsford and Burlington, because we realized that, even though we have driven through these towns on Route 7 a hundred times, there are few in which we have stopped for any reason, even to fill a gas tank. So, we began our Project 251 as we drove through the town of Ferrisburgh. Every time I have driven through the town on recent trips, I have enjoyed seeing two spots, separated by only one lot, hosting signs advertising buildings which no longer exist. It’s entertaining to see the lots, almost side by side, with the empty spaces behind them, where the road house and inn used to be. By stopping to photograph this pair, we marked Ferrisburgh on our maps as the first stop in E&S’s Project 251. Follow our updates throughout the year as we tour around the beautiful state of Vermont, with fresh eyes. 

Easter Memories

I've always been curious about the ways my friends and their families differ in their easter egg hunt/easter basket traditions. 

When I was a kid, my family never used the common, plastic eggs that are usually filled with various candies. Instead, my sister and I searched the house for small chocolate eggs in beautiful, shiny, foil wrappings. Our baskets contained old-fashioned, cardboard eggs, the size of ostrich eggs, filled with jelly beans (the licorice ones were my favorite), and sometimes, if we were lucky, a My Little Pony. 

I had one friend whose family hid the kids’ entire easter baskets, which I always thought seemed silly (how easy it must be to find an entire basket!), until I was present one year at the festivities, and realized how difficult it can be if your parents are dedicated and tricky. 

And my friend Margaret’s mom hid candy-filled plastic eggs around the house for her three daughters, with the exception of one egg, which contained a single penny. The lucky girl who found the penny was awarded the large chocolate bunny from the communal easter basket. 

Friday night, I had the pleasure of dying easter eggs with Margaret and her daughter for the first time. It has been years since I’ve dyed an egg, and it was a joy to watch my “niece” discover the process of mixing colors and learning how the dye color gets brighter with time. 

Saturday night, after the kid was in bed, I got to help Margaret hide the plastic eggs full of M&Ms around the living room. 

I’ll be spending Easter with my family, so I won’t be able to see her daughter's eyes when she finds the eggs, but I’m sure her mom will take pictures. And I won’t forget the look on her face Friday night, when she lay in bed and said her “best time of day was dying eggs with Auntie Liz”. Happy Easter, everyone. I hope you are building your own lovely memories and traditions.