I'm not sure if there is a heaven . . .

but if there is, I think I may have stumbled upon it today. You never would have known it from the way my day began--early, with work obligations, which took much longer to wrap up than I would have liked. So it was not until nearly 3:00 p.m. that I was leaving my B&B.

I set off for Bennington, determined to have a quick look at the town and find a pleasant place for a belated lunch. Lunch was very nice--I enjoyed an open-faced crab sandwich at an old train depot with beautiful wood paneling. I quickly viewed the very phallic Bennington Monument, snapped photos of three covered bridges and was on my way north to Burlington. I had already traveled the eastern north-south road, so I chose the western, which took me over the border into New York. The landscape was rolling and beautiful, though not quite as charming as that of Vermont and New Hampshire. Before long, I was within 30 miles of Burlington, and that is where the magic began.

The sun was beginning to set. Finally, I understood where the phrase "purple mountain majesties" comes from, as the western mountain ridge began to appear purple in the shadow of the setting sun. At the top of a hill, I suddenly had the breathtaking view of Lake Champlain, lit until it glowed by the setting sun. I was soon near the inn that was my destination, but I did not realize it and accidentally drove past. After a few miles of tree-lined road, the trees disappeared and I was on a road just a few feet above the lake, with a shipyard on my right and the lake on my left. The view--of the mountains and the water and the setting sun--left me breathless once again. I gazed and snapped photos and gazed some more. Finally, I called the inn for directions, thinking my cup of magic was full and that I should call it a day. But when I went to turn the car around at the shipyard entrance, two beautifully delicate deer were in my path. I looked at them in wonder while they gracefully walked away.

I then found the inn . . . more on that later. But suffice it to say that if a person ever wanted to dream she was a princess, this would be an excellent place for that.