Beautiful, Muggy Vermont.

today, people got burnt- all over town. It was quite cloudy in the morning, so most everyone was ready for rain. then the sun came out. delightful, save the jeans i was wearing! nothing worse than sitting in the sun, in jeans (or moving stuff from the uhaul trailer to the storage unit)... you work up a sweat as soon as you think about moving around with boxes in hand. the humidity index HAD to be 100% or more. something to get used to, i guess...

abbie and i have decided to stay with joe and rachel for the time being- our reasoning is that we'll be on the lookout for a house to move in to in about one month. we're holding out on one in particular, so hopefully it pans out in the end!

i've been training at the local transit company since thursday, and it seems like training will go fairly quickly as i already have the driving side of it under my cdl-belt. it's mostly coming down to learning burlington's streets, the bus routes, and where to get the best coffee- i've tried 3 places so far, with my trainer. 

lastly, with no surprises of an east coast summer, the bugs are out. the mosquitoes are not quite as big as their counterparts on the west coast- however, they are a little more frisky, and sometimes difficult to track down before they get my red nectar- and boy is it sweet!

tomorrow is chi alpha's first event at uvm in the form of an ice cream social called 'mug shots'. you fill your mug with what's provided, being milkshakes, coffee, lemonade, etc... just a chance for us to get to know the new students, and for the new students to meet each other and learn a bit more about what XA UVM will be doing this year. pray for a good outcome and positive projection of what we came to do!

-s

We've made it to Burlington!

On August 26th around 8:30 pm we finally rolled into Burlington, Vermont.  We were tired, cranky and SO ready to be out of the car after a solid six days of driving! Thankfully, we made it in one piece with the Uhaul trailer still intact.  Both Joe and Rachel were ecstatic we had finally made it, both hoping this just wasn't some dream.  But we made it! We are living with the Gavins for right now until we can find a place of our own.  Hopefully that won't take too long :).  A huge miracle is that Scott already has a job! He went in yesterday for a job interview/drive test and was hired on the spot.  He officially started today with training.  Now it is just up to me to find a job so that I have something to do during the day!

We jumped in with both feet helping out with the planning for the Chi Alpha ministry at the University, getting a full tour of the campus yesterday and also having one of our very first team meetings with a few other people who will be helping out with the ministry.  Everyone is amazing and makes us excited to start this ministry soon.  Tomorrow is student move-in day which we will be helping all the new freshman move-in to their dorms.  In the next couple days we will be holding get-togethers and parties to introduce ourselves to the students.  Pray that all of this goes well and we have a good turn out!

Now to start painting posters and signs for our events! More from Burlington to come!

-a

We Made it!... to Spearfish, S.D.

abbie and i are in the back of the 4runner, pirating a nearby hotel's wireless signal for a brief moment, to tell you all of the awesome trip we've had so far! we've managed to see bison, moose, elk, a coyote, and even were able to sleep at the same time while driving- scott's THAT good.... more on that some other time.

we're headed across the plains states in the next two days, as well as sighting mt. rushmore tomorrow morning. looks like we'll be in burlington come tuesday night, barring any unfortunate events. 

we also got to see Old Faithful blow her top, JUST (and i mean just) as we approached 'er! wonderful timing, and we're definitely taking that as a good luck for the rest of the trip.

it's been a long two days, and only 4 to go! see you on the other side of champlain!

Road trip!

Scott is now doing the last minute packing of the Uhaul as I sit here and prepare myself for our long jaunt eastward in our tried and trusty 4Runner. The time has finally arrived for us to make the trip east where we will ultimately settle in the city of Burlington, Vermont, the city we will soon call home. Our friends Joe and Rachel eagerly await our arrival in about six days from now. The next time you talk to us we will be in Vermont! Please keep us in your prayers as we drive. Now begins the new chapter that God has set for us! Green Mountain State here we come!

-a

A little saddened...but excited none the less

As I write this, i'm surrounded by brown boxes in what used to be our living room. there's a pile devoted to camping stuff, a box of hittin'-the-road snacks, and still a few things remaining to go in the only two boxes remaining. cleaning the place is high on the list today, after i clean myself.

camping at deception is just around the corner. this is the LAST thing we'll do with loved ones from WA before we leave. i feel it's akin to turning a new leaf- out with the old, in with the new. abbie's feeling the same way- especially when i turned over this morning and found her STILL in bed at 6:45! (she has to leave at 8). now, don't get me wrong, if it were me, i'd be up at 7:45 and out the door by 8! but, abbie has a handicap in the morning that requires her to allot enough time in the morning not feel rushed, as i'm sure some of you can relate to. i think when i start to feel rushed (by looking at the clock i've hit the snooze button on for 30 minutes), i get an early morning rush which gets me going. two VERY different approaches to a very old problem with sleep...(it has to END!)

i'm really looking forward to seeing friends whilst camping, and if ever you venture out east, call us up. we'd be delighted to have you for however long. boston/nyc are only 3.5 hours away!

-s

job possibility

Well, things are already starting to fall in place, and we are still 3000 miles away from Burlington! I had a job phone interview on wednesday and they set paperwork in motion to effectively make it super easy to start working once we get to burlington. the job was with the city transit, so bus driving, it seems, is in my future yet.

next on the list of things to get in the early stages is: 1, a job for abbie and 2, a place to lay our heads at night. for the time being, joe and rachel gavin have offered us a room in their stead until we secure lodgings. there is a website for the ministry we'll be involved with: CLICK HERE!

-s

Abbie again.  I forgot to add to my previous post that my family is not as large as Scott earlier said.  My family is large, but definitely not as large as that :).

Abbie's turn!

Hi, this is Abbie.  Since Scott already got us started with the very first post of our very first blog, I thought I would go ahead and add in my own thoughts.  First off, I thought I would explain the meaning of the title of our blog.  As many of you already know, to live vicariously through someone is to experience their own journeys and adventures through them.  Yes, that is a little redundant, but I know that you get the picture :).  Since many of you have not accepted our invitation to join us on the east coast (slight frown and smile), we thought we would give you the opportunity to live "vicariously" through us, hence the title VERMONT VICARIOUSLY.  For me, and for Scott as well, I will love nothing more than sharing pictures, stories, ups and downs and everything in-between with all of my family and friends.  

This is a huge move for me.  I have called the Pacific Northwest home for my WHOLE life! The farthest I have lived from WA is when both of us lived and worked in Juneau, AK for four months last summer, and even then I knew we were coming home from the beginning.  In this case, though, we aren't planning on coming back after four months.  We plan on staying and starting a life there.  As each day passes and our departure date gets closer and closer it's getting harder for me to wrap my mind around this.  I know that we are supposed to go; God is behind this 100%.  I know that He has all the details wrapped up, but unfortunately my human mind is getting in the way and creating worries.  I know many of you are praying for us in this move, and I would greatly appreciate prayer for this.

Anyway, this is the start of our blog and your chance to travel with us from the comfort of your own home (that sounds like an advertisement!).  As Scott promised earlier, we will be posting fairly regularly-ish.  I can't even keep up with email, phone calls, and letters with my friends and family, so this should be fun! Only 17 days and counting! 

Last things before we GO to VT

So... Abbie and I have decided to embark on a couple journeys, and we wanted to take you along! First, we're headed to Burlington, Vermont. pretty different, eh? Second, we're attempting to use a blog for the first time. 

at this point in time, we have both given our notice to our respective employers, and are counting down the days (18) until we hit the road. we have reserved the uhaul (trailer) that we will hook up to trusty, recently maintained, people mover/road trip hotel. 

our trip, although 2 and a half weeks away, is coming quickly, as it was originally slated to commence upon our return from alaska. we have a few events planned between now and then. they include, but are not limited to: 

1. packing up the stuff in boxes we do not yet have 

2. attending dinner with part of abbie's family (part as in 4/2589 people)

3. and the annual ranney + many more camping trip to deception pass. 

after that, we're OFF. en route, we plan on overnighting in the 4unner, visiting yellowstone, mt. rushmore, des moines, IA, family units near toronto, and finally burlington via montreal. we're still open to suggestions in finding various significant artifacts (ie: the world's smallest pint glass, etc...), but make sure it's on the route earlier specified.

other than that, look for some updates, however regular (see- i already promised some regularity) hopefully between the two of us we'll be able to enlighten you through this little window of what we encounter on our journeys! 

in Him,

scott and abbie