Back in Vermont!

Occasionally, I ask myself why I blog. The answer is partly because it provides me with a way to let my family know what I am doing. I try now to take my camera with me all the time. Even when I go to work in the morning, I throw the camera in my bag. That has become more difficult as the camera becomes bigger and more complicated, but it likewise can take a greater variety of pictures. But back to blogging. The real reason is that I have long felt guilty about not being a good journal keeper. I have been taught since I was a boy that a journal would help keep one focused on what is important in life, and believe that. So these are my feeble attempts. They are not nearly as comprehensive as I would like, and I find that my camera just does not seem to capture some very important parts of my life, but at least this is better than nothing.

This entry is of our recent visit to Vermont. Our trips there become more and more comfortable each time we go. We love our home in Oregon, but the more friends we make in Windsor, and as the family there grows, it really feels like home as well. I guess only the very lucky have more than one home! When we go, it is always from Portland International Airport, but we have a choice of 4 airports in New England which are between 1 and 2 hours from Windsor. This makes it nice because we can shop for the best airfare. Amazingly, it is cheaper to fly to New England for us than to fly to Salt Lake City. We are usually able to fly roundtrip for under $300. Flying into Boston, Hartford, Conn., Manchester, NH, or as in this case Burlington, Vermont are all equally interesting. Burlington for example, on Lake Champlain near the Canadian border is also a border security location. As a result, the check in there is as strict as anywhere I have been. While the lines are short, the personnel are thorough and you definitely feel safe. The picture above shows aircraft of the National Guard unit named after those famous revolutionaries the Green Mountain Boys who stood up to the states of New York and New Hampshire, declaring that Vermont was an independent democratic country until recognized as a state of this very young country.

While it has been an unusually low snow year, it was nonetheless very cold. Amazing sights include the ice sculptures created by the cliffs along the freeways, and the ice in the Conn. River where it had broken up and then re-frozen.

Looking across the river to Windsor from the NH side, it is hard to imagine the non-frozen river we normally see.

Just out Chelle's back door on Lake Runnameade, they were ice fishing. I woke up one morning to hear what I thought was a chainsaw in the distance, and my investigation found them drilling with a gas auger for the ice fishing expedition.


One of our joys is to have the grandchildren, whoever and wherever they might be. The cold is evident on Mattie's happy face on our walk home from school, which is just across the street from the Parrish house.


We continue to try and make a contribution to Windsor as we are buying residential and commercial real estate to fix up and operate as a business for Chelle and Brig and the family in Windsor. We have now about 35 residential units in 3,4 and 5 unit buildings as well as several commercial properties. We recently bought a property that had burned, and that the owner has essentially taken the insurance money and left town. Kinda scary!



We are not yet sure what we will do with it, fix, rebuild or restore, but our friend and Architect Bob Haight, a true local is helping us to develop a vision and plan for our holdings in Windsor. Bob is a classic Vermonter. Smart, creative, and truly trying to thing about what is really important in life. He has been great at both the macro and the micro vision, even to the point of coming in and advising on how to finish off a room to keep it looking authentic while maximizing it function. Here he displays the Windsor core master plan that we have been using to plan our acquisitions.


So here's to Chris Cammock (then Larson) who more than 10 years ago in far off Laie, Hawaii befriended our Alicia, became her roommate, introduced her brother Brig to Chelle and has had such a big impact on our lives!


And to the little ones which have resulted from this fortunate relationship development like Mattie. Why she decided to clean the entire basketball court perimeter line on her hands and knees I can't explain, but it is not an unusual Larson clan act! We are glad we got invited along on this ride!!!!!!


We are once again "home" in Scholls, work is busy and family is as well. But we cannot help but think how lucky we are for the richness of our lives.