Vermont to Massachusetts / April 2023
Hyde Park, VT to Pittsfield, MA | April 2023
On the day before Charlotte’s post-surgery appointment, it was time to pack up and leave the Airbnb in Hyde Park, VT. Her appointment was scheduled to take place the next morning at the satellite clinic in Plattsburgh, NY, which was a couple hours away from us in Hyde Park. At first we thought that was perfect, because hotels were much more reasonably priced there compared to Burlington — until we looked again and found the prices were much higher for some reason. No problem, we thought, it had been over 70 degrees for almost the whole week, we could just camp! But of course, the day came and we looked at the forecast…and realized that it was predicted to snow that evening and get down to the 30’s.
After waiting some more to make the decision, we finally just decided to camp — 30 degrees wasn’t that bad, we’ve camped in worse! With that, we loaded up the car, said goodbye to Hyde Park, and made the drive over to New York and back into the Adirondacks.
We decided it was too cold to hike, and we didn’t really have any easy trails saved anyway. So instead, we just drove to a free campsite that we knew of off of NY-30. We found the area after a few tries, then drove down a rough road to reach a campsite that was further back from the highway. After thinking it over, we decided car camping would be better since it was also windy on top of cold with a chance of snow. We shuffled everything around in the car, then took Charlotte for a walk, following the road and other wandering trails through the area. That evening, I read, Curtis metal detected, we had soup for dinner, and stayed warm in the back of the Subaru.
While Charlotte had been improving and acting more and more herself over the past couple weeks, this evening when we were camping was when I felt like she was the most herself, and the most comfortable. Everything she was doing was exactly what she’d be doing if she could see. Since we were all alone in this area and had a large open site, we let her wander around, and she did so well finding her way around and kept herself occupied with all the different scents. When it came time for dinner, she eagerly begged for our soup and licked the soup cans clean. And when she and I were together in the car while Curtis was detecting, she circled around the car and managed to wedge herself between me and the pillow I was lounging on, claiming the ‘Optimal Comfort Spot’ for herself. She slept well through the night, snuggled up between us, and was excited to play in the dusting of snow that had fallen the next morning. Sure, she had done fine finding her way around the different Airbnbs, but it was clear that she was most comfortable and independent while camping!
The next morning, we moved everything around in our car, then made the drive over to Plattsburgh for Charlotte’s appointment. Everything went well, she got her stitches removed, and the vet was very pleased with her progress. And now Charlotte never has to see an optometrist again! We were so thankful to have found this doctor, she was so compassionate and helpful, and very comforting to us during the worst week of our life.
Once we were finished here, it was time to make our way South. Curtis had a new assignment starting the following Monday, and we had made plans to spend the rest of our time off staying near his brother in Western Massachusetts. I just have to once again be thankful that, despite how terrible things were that happened to Charlotte, they happened at just the right time — where we were able to get to the right vets right away, have surgery scheduled so quickly, and still be able to see the same vet for the follow up before we needed to be somewhere else. I thank God for the way these events played out!
And so we began our drive heading South on I-87. This drive reminded us of how far North we were, and why we didn’t spend as much time near the High Peaks region and beyond while living in Saratoga Springs. Not because we didn’t want to, but because it was such a long drive that it wouldn’t have been practical to do the drive and a longer hike all in a day!
As we drove further South, we started to see more places that sparked fond memories of our time living in New York. When we came to Saratoga Springs, we couldn’t help but exit the interstate to drive through Saratoga and Ballston Spa on NY-50. We pointed out all the places we remembered, and reminisced on those Good Times we had before the Dark Days… which were moving to and being stranded on an island, and thus beginning active duty sub life… We were so young, so innocent, so not-jaded by the military.
And then we had to bring up the fact that if we had taken the detailer’s final offer last fall, we would have been in our 5th month of living here again. I sometimes imagine us in that alternate reality where we said yes, and wonder where we’d be and what we’d be doing at this time. I’m sure we would have been content and felt secure in the job and with staying in the military another 10 years, but we would have no idea how good life could be on the outside if we just took a risk.
After our drive down memory lane, we got back on the interstate and drove down to Albany, then West over to Pittsfield, MA. We were staying in one more Airbnb for our few days here, and while we were happy to have found a cheap spot, at this point we were tired of the constant searching for places, checking in and out, packing and unpacking the car, and getting Charlotte acquainted with a new space. Thankfully after this week, we’d have a few weeks to settle down in a hotel while Curtis worked his next assignment.
That evening, we picked up some groceries for dinner, then drove to Curtis’ brother’s home where we spent the evening making and eating dinner, catching up, and hearing about his life in Western Massachusetts.
