no lack of good things

you find out who the outdoorsy people are around here when it's cold...or when it's not, i suppose. my host, took me and one of my new friends up to mount sugarloaf. no idea why it would be called that. i should look it up for you! ah, they used to put sugar into a certain kind of shape for packaging and shipment - i take it if you look at these peaks, you'll know what that looked like. fair enough.
well, anyway, on our way there we passed the yankee candle place, and it seems that a lot of people think it is worth a stop. none of us cared about it. but get us on a trail? happy campers! i will say though, on the way up my thighs were questioning my motives. i should work out more so that they dont get surprised next time i go hike around anywhere. thankfully though it was just a short distance, and by the time we were back down they had forgiven me their misfortune.
at the top you find yourself overlooking the connecticut river. on either side of the landscape it cuts through is farm land and what look to me as segments of towns (but i think they are full towns, but i dont know how). at the beginning of my stay i learned that the long barns are for drying tobacco, and the fields next to them are where it grows. let me just tell you they are everywhere. there's something neat about the way they look though, so they end up in my pictures. i guess they tell of our crazy history, silently pulling through into our crazy future. there's something to be said for that.
once we were back in our town, a stones throw away practically (well, maybe a few throws), my lovely host gets a look in her eye and asks, "time for a treat before we break ways?" speaking to our friend that joined us. so we stopped at this charming modern/rustic/industrial cafe. the base of the counters were covered in pieced together cabinet doors and other decorative framework parts (old door frame corners, from a time when even the little things got some loving attention - the type of thing that is part of the norm here). wooden shelves on the dining area walls were supported by black metal pipes and the lights were wine bottles w/ the bottoms cut off, hanging over the tables. the long table in the middle had a lovely series of bottles, amber, green, and blue in all different sizes laid out in a lose stair step (by height, w/ the bottoms level) for a nice unified feeling. our round bistro table was a hodge-podge of wood scraps fit together and covered with a shallow pool of resin. some of the boards had faded logos and writing from their past lives. the food was great, i had a little sandwich w/ scrambled egg, apricot jam, whipped gorgonzola, and arugula. a sticky wonderful thing. oh, and citrus ginger tea. which i pretty much drank all of (those little tea pots seem to hold more than you realize). i've been needing more liquids here than i thought i would, even now my knuckles are dry (i've never had dry knuckles). the others had carrot cake, a smoothie, and soup...and we shared the cake. i'm glad we did, it was packed w/ walnuts and the icing was thick and rich, it was well done. i think i would be willing to try anything there.
there have been so many chances for great food this week, even my last event of the day was dinner. earlier in my stay we were told to check out a sushi buffet. well, that idea is typically sketchy, but a second person said it was worth it too. i mean, if two reliable friends recommend it, we should at least give it the benefit of the doubt. w/ one of the roommates in tow we went...and it was wonderful. several really creative flavor combinations - like mango, which was lovely in sushi rice. and the nigiri was tasty good. i night have overdone it w/ the coconut shrimp (but who says no to fried shrimp in creamy sweet gooey sauce?)so i've had sushi twice now, i'm quite the happy camper indeed.