As we’ve plotted various Prufrock trips to cool spots, we’ve looked at some alternative means of travel – like ferries.
A neighboring camper in Arizona first told us of the possibility – between islands in the Pacific Northwest. We’ve thought about getting a ferry to head to Alaska someday.
On this trip, we practiced with the Grand Isle ferry linking New York and Vermont across a stretch of Lake Champlain. It worked just fine.
After waking up in Plattsburgh and doing some work in the morning chill, we packed up and headed to the city’s ferry dock. We pulled right up, and the fellow in the booth eyeballed our length and asked us to pay $31. He directed us into Lane 2, behind a box truck.
In a few minutes, a westbound ferry pulled up, the cars drove off, and we were directed on. Easy as that.
It took just a few minutes to cross over to Grand Isle, Vermont, and then we drove south 30 minutes into Burlington.
Karen in particular has a fondness for Vermont’s largest city. She graduated from UVM, and as she likes to say, when she was a student, Bernie Sanders was the mayor, Phish was just a local band playing at Nectar’s, and Ben & Jerry’s was the local ice cream stand.
Vermont breeds great, funky things.
We parked near the lake, and suited up for a 10-mile run on the rail trail. It was one of our last big runs as we prepare for our next race.
One of the advantages of a small travel trailer is the ability to navigate in cities. I found two parallel parking spaces together and pulled in.
I knew I needed to pay for two spaces, and really wanted to. But on the ParkMobile app, I couldn’t figure out how to add a vehicle so that the Prufrock plate was in there. So I paid for just one space.
I gambled. And lost. When we came back from our run, we were greeted with a $20 parking ticket. We cleaned up, changed, and decided to move Prufrock.
I found a pretty empty commercial lot nearby, near some hotels. I was able to pay for two spaces. But each space had a two-hour minimum, so we dropped another $26 just to wander around Burlington and get some beer and food.
But here’s some good news that also awaited us back at Prufrock: the error message that was preventing the Truma furnace from firing up was gone. Disappeared. No errors. No problem. The heat and hot water started working. It fixed itself, just as I hoped. Just not soon enough to prevent two chilly nights sleeping – and several urgent phone calls and warranty requests. But for now I’ll take the W.
We were ready for an early dinner and picked the Farmhouse Tap and Grill on Bank Street. Excellent food and great service, and we recommend.
We were first planning another Harvest Host stop at a winery that night, but never heard back from the business. So – looking forward to a hot shower and a bed with heat – we drove to our condo in Lincoln, New Hampshire. Both of our happy places are now together.
Postscript
When I booted up computer and checked ParkMobile, I learned you can only have five vehicles registered. If I had known, I could have deleted one and added the trailer and likely avoided the ticket. Between the ferry, the meter, the parking ticket and the commercial lot – it was a pretty pricey day for Prufrock travel.
But now I know.
