How Not to Die if you Hit a Moose.
John and I ride from Burlington to Saint Johnsbury, VT.
“Set me as a seal upon thine heart for love is as strong as death.” – From a hedge stone in the Hope Cemetary which John guides me through.
Meet John.
John moves the magazines, coffee cups, socks, wires, and such from his passenger seat, while talking on his cellphone and asks me where I am going. He is headed to Saint Johnsbury, which is right where I am heading. It is a small Vermont town, close to New Hampshire on my way towards Maine and the Atlantic Ocean.
A Catholic Priest.
John is a Catholic Priest, whom is taking a rest from working for a bit. He has been visiting friends and staying with family. “I live out of my truck.”
A headstone in a cemetary near Barre.
Italian Masonary Artists.
Outside of Barre, Vermont, which is pronounced “Barry” to the non-Vermonters, is a very unique cemetary. The area was inhabited by talented masons from Italy and John says that the Hope Cemetary has beautiful headstones. We head a few miles out of our way and John slowly drives through the cemetary pointing out the interesting stones and stopping so I can take photographs.
“They use computers to make them now, I think.” John thinks maybe a few Italians are still capable of the art of making the stones but now computers make the grave adornments.
A headstone that was probably made recently
Deli Sandwiches and Goji Juice.
John likes country markets that sell everything from milk to gas to night crawlers to bullets. We stop at one and John treats me to a turkey and bacon deli sandwich and a juice with Goji berry in it. We continue to drive through the mountains of Vermont noticing that here the leaves are changing and trying not to drip sandwich juices on ourselves or his truck.
Roadside Apples.
“The worms are in the middle, so just try to eat around them.” John knows a good apple tree near the roadside and we stop for a couple apples apiece. “It’s not the worms that will kill yah, it’s the pesticides!” He smiles. “Some people think it is gross to eat apples like this. Like if they don’t come wrapped in plastic…”
Jean gives us the Goodrich Sugar House tour.
Goodrich’s Sugar House.
Vermont is famous for their maple syrup and John insists we stop at a sugar house. Goodrich’s Sugar House is run by a man whom John used to teach. Jean, whom is in the sixth generation of the Goodrich family that runs the Sugar House, gives us the history of the place and tips for making maple syrup. She is a massage therapist primarily though, this is just her day job. Though she has worked here most of her life, even as a young girl stuffing wood into the stove. The work gave her large muscles and in elementary school, she was a runner-up for females in the arm wrestling competition.
How not to die if you hit a Moose.
The best advice John gave me was how to live hitting a moose in my car. ”If you can’t avoid hitting him, duck your head to the side.” Because moose tend to be so large that when you make impact, normally you take out their legs and then the huge body fall right on the hood and windshield of the car tending to crush it. Duck your head.
John is a great guide. He drops me off in the small town of Saint Johnsbury and I decide to stay here for the rest of the day and keep heading east tommorrow.
Create Our World.
Ben
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu
Tags: adventure travel blog, Benjamin Jenks, create our world, hitchhiking, Hope Cemetary, roadtrip around the USA, Saint Johnsbury
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Hitchin Stories., People.
