Stowe, Waterbury and Burlington, Vermont

Before the cousins flew down to New York City for the last days of their visit to the United States, we were going to spend some time in Burlington.  Burlington is a beautiful city on Lake Champlain, and one of my favorite places on Earth.  We decided to make a couple of stops along the way:  The Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream in Waterbury, Vermont.  If dreams were made of delicious food, this would be one marvelous luncheon, but it also felt like goodbye.

Everyone knows the story of the Von Trapp Family (http://www.trappfamily.com/story) who fled the Nazis in the 1940’s as depicted in the film, The Sound of Music.  But as the VonTrapp website explains, not many know the story behind Maria Von Trapp’s conversion story.  I love conversion stories because I think that they illustrate how God can speak to us in the most common everyday occurrences.  In the meeting of people we have never met before or the experiencing of something new, we can discern our call. 

The Word Among Us meditation for August 2, 2012 worded it like this… “It’s easy to recognize God in grandiose events like a dramatic conversion experience or the birth of a new child. But God is just as present in our regular, everyday lives. Whether we are at work, sweep­ing the floors, or making a meal, he stands ready to speak his message to us. He is always looking to mold our hearts and form our minds. Through his Spirit, he is always eager to reach right into our ordinary days and make them extraordinary.” 

So too it was with Maria Von Trapp as described from the Lodge website.  “Maria's mother died when she was two years old. Her father left her with an elderly cousin so that he could be free to travel. She experienced a lonely and very strict upbringing without any siblings or other children in the household. The movie strongly portrays Maria as the epitome of religious devotion in and out of convent life. Most people are unaware that she was raised as a socialist and atheist and became actively cynical towards all religions. Those beliefs quickly and dramatically changed by the chance meeting of a visiting Jesuit priest to Maria's college.

 Maria had entered a crowded church assuming she was about to enjoy a concert by Bach. Instead, a well-known priest, Father Kronseder has just begun preaching. Caught in the middle of a standing-room-only crowd, Maria soon found herself caught up in the words of this preacher. In Maria's words, ‘Now I had heard from my uncle that all of these bible stories were inventions and old legends, and that there wasn't a word of truth in them. But the way this man talked just swept me off my feet. I was completely overwhelmed by it...’  When he finished his sermon and came down the pulpit stairs Maria grabbed his elbow and loudly asked, ‘Do you believe all this?’ A meeting between the priest and Maria changed her beliefs and the course of her life”.  We all have the opportunity to do this for others each and every day, don't we?  Food for thought...

Despite all of the tempting desserts and lessons about salvation, we saved our last course for down the road, dessert at Ben and Jerry’s (www.benjerry.com).  I swear every time I have their ice cream it gets even better than the time before, and I love that they care about making our world a better place while they make outstanding ice cream.  I got to tell the cousins all of my stories about the old Ben and Jerry’s in downtown Burlington around the corner from my old apartment above the bagel bakery.  So it was down to the Lakefront we went.  It felt hot today, but that didn’t stop us from hiking up to Church Street (www.churchstmarketplace.com).  The Cousins perpetrated more shopping before I had to drag them Before long, it was time to head out to meet our host Ron, aka Ian’s Godfather!  After a quick change, we would be dining at the Black Sheep Bistro (http://blacksheepbistrovt.com/) in Vergennes, Vermont, and it was everything that we thought it would be and more.  The courses kept coming and after three hours, I couldn’t eat one more morsel.  When I think back to the 18 pounds I gained this summer, I am fairly certain at least 15 of them came from the Black Sheep Bistro! 

            ….  Another day that was made extraordinary in very ordinary ways.