A Beautiful Saturday in Burlington

A couple of weeks ago, we had an absolutely beautiful spring Saturday that was like a sunny, early summer day.  My health was relatively good that particular weekend so we dropped everything we needed  to do and instead did something we wanted  to do.  It had been a long, cold winter with far too many months spent inside our small home so we decided to get out and about to do some socializing and spent about 12 hours bar-hopping in Burlington on picture perfect Lake Champlain.

The Burlington Boathouse at the waterfront.

The weather was absolutely beautiful that weekend.  We managed to spend time with a good number of friends over the course of the weekend which included this entire day in Burlington with two close friends.  It really was a great weekend and any time spent at the waterfront and on Church Street in Burlington is always a good time and time well spent!  Especially when you spend it with close friends such as Frank and Christine!

Lately, 'good health' weekends are a rarity.  One thing I have recognized in the last few years of having this illness is a pattern before my health crashes.  It seems that just before my health crashes to dangerous, painful and debilitating levels, I always seem to feel like my old, healthy self.  This day in Burlington was one of those 'really good health' days and the usual pattern was subsequently realized early on Monday morning.  For the next week and a half I was plagued with excruciating kidney pain and dangerous anaphylaxia.  The weekend with the good health, however, was a lot of fun!

At Sweetwater's

Let me explain a little more about this pattern I have been noticing in my health.  I could feel amazing for only a few short hours, or I could feel energetic and lively for a few days.  In these rare periods I feel like my old self when I was younger, healthier and in my prime.  One never knows for sure how long this 'good health' will last though.  In fact, when these good times occur, I always wonder if maybe my health is improving and I am winning the battle against this incurable illness.  Or sometimes I even wonder if I am even sick at all anymore.  Then suddenly, with little or no warning, my body sends me a clear message stating, "Hey dude, you are  still sick and I'm going to prove it to you...  right now!"  Then I struggle for weeks or sometimes months.

Even after I start to feel 'okay' or 'fair', I still struggle emotionally and mentally with having little to no faith in my own body.  It can easily take another week or two for me to begin to trust my body again.  I have difficulty wandering from home.  Pushing myself too soon or too hard always results in setbacks.  Even walking around a supermarket too soon after failed health will cause anaphylaxis and associated debilitating problems. (I have collapsed in far too many supermarkets!)  Building up faith in simply finding a stability to my health and my own body comes in baby steps.

That being said, every now and then all the stars in my world seem to align perfectly and, if I'm really lucky, this perfect alignment will coincide with a time when I am well rested and effectively medicated enough to stabilize my mast cells.   Then, these are good times!  The Saturday we spent in Burlington a couple of weeks ago was one such day.

I was feeling good in the morning on this particular Saturday morning so I didn't want to waste any time at home nor did I want to risk wasting precious energy doing anything other than a day trip up to the Burlington waterfront.  Managing my energy is critical to survival with this illness.  If I need or want to accomplish something on any given day, I must compromise by cutting out other energy-sapping chores, tasks and activities.

On the back patio at Halverson's

Burlington is only 30 minutes away but that short car ride can be grueling on some days so when I feel 'good', we need to put all chores aside and take advantage of my unusually good health.  This particular Saturday, we decided to do a little shopping in Burlington until some good friends of ours could meet us there.

As always, I packed a few cameras and lenses for our short day trip.  When I am feeling good, I rarely go anywhere without at least one of my cameras.  If I am feeling lousy, I have learned there is no sense in even attempting photography because my illness affects my balance, my strength, my coordination, my cognitive abilities and quite often causes tremors in my hands.  Photography during these times is difficult, at best.  Conversely, when I am feeling well, I love shooting photos and this is especially true when with friends and when we are enjoying ourselves.  So, I packed up some of my photography gear, my daily medications, my emergency medications, grabbed a sweatshirt and we headed up toward a small city on a picturesque lake...  Burlington, Vermont.

I don't even remember the name of this little dive...

For those who are unfamiliar with Burlington, this is a beautiful little city with many restaurants, pubs, cafes and little gin mills.  There is a brick-paved street open only to pedestrian traffic called Church Street named for the church with its prominent steeple situated at the end of the street.  Church Street is lined with shops selling clothing, candies, housewares, art supplies, as well as restaurants, ice cream shops, taverns, cafes, bars and even a fairly large mall featuring Macy's, Pottery Barn, and many of the usual mall clothing stores.

Main Street, looking down toward the lake 

Burlington lies on a hill on the shores of Lake Champlain much the way San Francisco lies on its bay.  Whenever I drive down the hill into Burlington with the lake at the end of the road, I see shades of San Francisco and thus have always referred to Burlington as 'Little San Francisco'.  The only thing I feel Little San Francisco is missing is an old-time trolley shuffling people around this quaint little city.

The waterfront features a recreation path that stretches for miles.  There is a cruise ship for day cruises on the lake.  There is a yacht club and sailing center.  There is a skateboard park.  There is a small science center and aquarium.  There is a community boathouse with a small cafe and tables on their dock.  There are boat slips and boats moored within the safe confines of the breakwater in Burlington Bay.  And the view, in my opinion, is spectacular.

On Church Street 

The view overlooks one of the places in this world very near and dear to me...  the rugged mountains of northern New York...  the Adirondack Mountains.  The sun sets directly behind these beautiful, dense, steep mountains in spectacular color each night.  The bars and restaurants of Burlington start right at the waterfront and are numerous between here and Church Street just a few short blocks up the hill.

On this particular Saturday, I felt very well so we decided to spend this beautiful sunny spring day in Burlington treating ourselves to tasty appetizers, local brews and creative seasonal libations in many of the pubs and taverns. Visit my Zenfolio website featuring photos from this day at "A Beautiful Saturday in Burlington".  Also, while at my Zenfolio website, feel free to click on the "Galleries" menu item to view other galleries of mine.

When we all arrived in Burlington, Frank and Christine met us in our usual public parking lot tucked behind a small restaurant.  We then walked over to the Burlington Town Mall which leads us toward Church Street.

On this day, we cut through the mall, past Macy's, and made our way to our first stop...  Vermont Pub & Brewery.  Here we had a few drinks in their atrium bar and sampled some delicious appetizers.  We made many stops on this beautiful Saturday including eating dinner at an upscale pizza restaurant where Frank's son works.  No matter which establishment we visited, we were treated with mouthwatering appetizers and tasty drinks.

Window shopping on Church Street 

This was a day of getting out and enjoying the weather.  It was a day of sampling good food and spirits in restaurants, taverns, pubs, and even the occasional dive.  It was a day of window shopping and sharing opinions about window displays and even, God forbid, our thoughts on any topics which come to mind.

It was a much needed day of laughter, fun and sharing with close friends in our "Little San Francisco".