Harry Potter Double Feature
On Saturday we met Christine, Nora and levi in Montpelier and drove out to the Sunset Drive In in Colchester for a a Harry Potter double feature at the drive in. The plan was to go on a 15 mile bike ride on the Champlain Islands on Sunday and since it is a 90 minute drive out there we decided to hit the drive in the night before and camp somewhere afterwards and bike the next day.
We arrived 1/2 an hour before the gates opened at 7:30 and were the 2nd car in line. We ate a picnic supper on the grass outside the entrance as the cars started to arrive. We were interested to see how the drive in operated in the age of Covid19. Cars were parked in between the posts which were the proper social distance apart. We were told to sit either in front of the car or up alongside it and no congregating so the kids sat in the bed of the pick up and the adults sat in front of Christine’s car. The drive in filled up, never seen it so crowded, everyone keeping to their cars and walking around with masks on to the restrooms and the snack bar.
Jakobi was more excited for the intermission visit the refreshment stand cartoon from the fifties that plays between movies as we like to imitate the dances the cartoon drinks and hot dogs do. She practically peed her pants last Sunday during Family Movie Night when we were watching Grease and the drive in scene featured John Travolta singing Sandy in front of the very same intermission cartoon! This time we brought sticks with us to the drive-in to be our straws and Levi and Nora who danced with us last year taught Ambiana the moves. It was the best part of the evening.
We had 90 minutes til show time to hang out and watch the beautiful sunset and people watch. The show was the first 2 Harry Potter films and I forgot how incredibly dull they were. Colleen slept through both but the kids were entertained. I took advantage of the 3 other screens to kind of make up my own montage movie experience.
Camping at Chelsea’s in North Hero
My friend Chelsea who works with me at FTY offered to let us camp on her land out in North Hero when she heard we were looking for a campsite as all the state parks and commercial campgrounds did not not open until Monday the 15th. It was about a 40 minute drive from Colchester. I joined Colleen and slept through the 2nd movie and when I awoke at the climax of that film when Harry is stabbing Tom Riddle’s diary with the basilisk tooth the car battery was dead, the other 3 screens were dark, there were 4 cars left at the drive in and it was 2:35 in the morning. A helpful employee jumped our car and we bundled in and drove North arriving at Chelsea’s at 3:15am. We set up the tents in the backyard and crawled in to sleep by 3:30am
We awoke at 10:30 am and were greeted by Chelsea and her man Peter. They were very gracious and welcoming and we cooked breakfast and used the bathroom and hung out on their deck chatting and enjoying the sunshine. Yesterday was cold, only a high in the 50’s so the sun felt good. After breakfast we headed down to the lake and then Chelsea and Peter joined us with bikes and we headed out an a 15 mile tour of South Hero.
We stretched out in a long line and rode past fields and forests and marsh and gently rolling hill, through quaint little towns to an ice cream spot at the 1/2 way point where we had lunch before sweets.
We then biked back along the lake to Eagle Camp where Peter came up to from Pennsylvania as a kid and some of us swam in the lake Fifteen miles and we did it in just over 3 hours including an ice cream break.
