DAY 43 -- SEPTEMBER 17 -- BURLINGTON, VT (over 100 miles off the AT)

So when I called Jody to get a quick update on her life, she also welcomed me to stay at her cabin for a few days. I asked myself if I would ever be in Vermont again in the near future? Before that, I asked myself what I even knew about the great state of Vermont?

Besides a lot of skiing and the opening scene to the movie Super Troopers I came to the realization that I didn't know anything about the only New England state that does not border the sea.

So I stepped off a Greyhound bus looking straggly as ever. The beard was a mess, I was in definite need of a haircut and to top things off, my hiking clothes smelled and I was lugging a 50-pound hiking pack around like I was some kind of refugee. But in the fair city of Burlington, home of the University of Vermont, I didn't really get a second look from the hippie college kids walking to class.

While wayfaring around and exploring the downtown area, I decided to stop at a local pub to collect my thoughts. I didn't want to bother Jody during the day because she was busy studying meteorological and soil moisture data she collected a few months ago in Ethiopia. The girl has a great sense of adventure and she's very bright -- close to getting her Master's degree from Vermont -- so some dingy hiker fresh off the AT showing up on her doorstep shouldn't be too much of a freakout.

   Jody met me at the downtown pub after she was done with class. I threw my pack in the back of her Mini Cooper and we ventured off to another venue to meet her boyfriend, Steve, who I haven't seen in at least two and half years. Their cabin was right off Lake Champlain and was one of the coolest places ever to watch the sun go down. 

My friendship with Jody goes way back. I met her when I was 16 years old and working as a lifeguard at a kids' water park. She was working at the concession stand near the park. One late afternoon, we heard the faint sound of thunder which meant everyone had to leave the pool for at least 15 minutes. I proceeded over the concession stand, hoped through the window and asked Jody if she wanted to see how many hot dogs I could eat in 15 minutes. She got on the grill and started to cook.

For the record, I ate five before my boss saw what I was doing and almost fired me. Five hot dogs! Take that, Kobayashi.

Since then, I've hung out with Jody in Miami, San Diego and now Burlington, VT. I told her that she needs to move to Seattle next so we can cross off all four corners of the country.

When we got back to her cabin, she showed me some pictures from the two months she spent in Africa collecting soil and water samples. Some real amazing stuff. Most of the villagers had never seen a white person, much less a female, before. Because of their religion, she had to alter the way she dressed.

I used the next two days to rest my aching knees and catch up on some well-deserved food consumption. We went to a local butcher and bought enough meat to feed an army. Only it was just three of us. 

Grilling out is one of my favorite things to do during the summer. Hiking the trail limits your grilling chances and probably keeps your cholesterol at a decent number. But in Burlington, I didn't hit the slopes, I didn't take a ferry boat across Lake Champlain. No, I grilled and it was glorious. At least four times in two days.

Picture #1 is me with a bunch of hamburgers and sausages ready to be cooked. Does it get any better? In Picture #2, Jody tries to get the charcoal going in the grill. Due to the multiple grilling sessions, our charcoal stash was used up very quickly. 

After about two days, I knew it was time to get back to the trail. My amazing girlfriend was supposed to meet me in Rutland, VT with my dogs in less than three days so I had to start trucking.

Even though she felt completely awkward about it, Jody dropped me off at a nearby gas station on a major highway so I could hitch hike back down towards Southern Vermont. Unlike my previous hitch-hiking adventures, I was picked up very quickly. Actually, Jody was still at a red light in front of the station when a wine salesman named Jeff picked me up.

Nothing but praise for Jody, Steve and the good people in Vermont. I never experienced hospitality like that before. Maybe it's because of all the Ben & Jerry's ice cream consumed there. That's where their factory is. See, I did learn a few things about Burlington and Vermont.