Trying to get the hang of this -

Good Morning.  Supposedly the LAST day of way too much heat for Seattle.  Give me 65 and partly sunny or give me a ticket to Seward.

I've spent so much time in hot climates this summer that my beloved plaid flannel shirts are WAY down in the pile and I miss them.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Vermont for the wedding of my sweet, smart and beautiful cousin, Elizabeth to her sweet, smart and debonair friend of a really long time, Andy. They're heading for Seoul for at least a couple of years where Andy and Samsung will work to deepen the impression of Samsung on the world.

Vermont wedding.  Or I should say Vermont Wedding.  I had no idea.  That lovely green and mostly rural state has become Very Important in the wedding trade - with good reason.  My impression is that most of the grand country homes of Vermont have been lovingly restored  and are now doing duty as destination event centers.  Sort of like the castles of impoverished English royals looking to save the family homestead by opening their doors to the ever curious riff raff.

The wedding was FUN.  See the incredible photo above by my cousin, Charlie McNamara's wife Lauren Araiza, of The Bride in all her glory. The guy making her laugh is The Husband. We'd have danced 'til dawn if the band hadn't turned into pumpkins at midnight. Or maybe the bride and groom had something better to do.  Lovely setting, big white tent, enough food and booze and happy friends and relatives to keep us entertained.  And the speeches were of an unusually high caliber.  Overheard the next day:  "Who did that guy think he was, some Oxford professor?"  He was an Oxford professor.  And the Father of the Bride was no slouch.

Anybody invites me to another wedding in Vermont, I'm in.

  

Having a couple of extra days to explore a  state I hadn't visited in over 30 years, I thought I'd check out a place recommended to me by the wedding photographer as Vermont's #1 attraction - Shelburne Farms.  It's a National Historic Landmark and the former estate of Mr Seward Webb, married to one of the 19th century Vanderbilt girls, Lila.  Architecturally amazing and in the process of restoration, this place is stunning.  I was lucky enough to snag a room at its Inn on very short notice and moved into Lila Webb's bedroom for a couple of nights.

I think I saw a ghost.  I've never seen a ghost and I don't think of myself as woo woo at all, BUT, it was pretty damn realistic.  I woke up in the bed I'd fallen asleep in - the bed of Lila Webb in a big corner turret room on the second floor facing Lake Champlain with leaded glass windows overlooking the Olmsted-inspired lawns and gardens.  There was a man at the foot of the bed.  It was pretty dark in the room, but he looked like Lester Holt in an old fashioned 1800 type grey suit.  I didn't move - hardly breathed - watching him through my eyelashes as he straightened the covers from the end then the left side of the bed. 

That's it.  That's all I remember.  Probably a dream.  Maybe not.

If you're ever in Vermont, go there.  It's a very good experience.  If you see Lester, say hi.