Hotel Life

Since Saturday, we have been living in a quaint inn on Dartmouth's campus. Brian enjoys the commute and he comes home for lunch every day. The room is old and cute, but not equipped for a week's stay. We were able to get a tiny fridge for the room, so we don't have to eat out for every meal. Our room is pretty full, as we have most of our belongings that fit in the car on our drive here. I don't think the maids are used to cleaning around rollerblades and filing bins! I think we know all the valets. We have not had any zany mishaps, like people who live in hotels on TV. We are able to use the college gym and I can walk everywhere in town (we have eaten almost everywhere in Hanover). We are really looking foward to having our own place for the first time, but we are worried about living in our apartment for 2 weeks without lights, furniture, etc. We are in for an adventure! Oh, and we are conflicted about our apartment - another unit in the same complex is availible, and we have a few hours to decide which one we want.

Hanover is a compact, well-preserved New England town gone upscale. There are several sitdown restaurants with "American fare," plus places serving Thai, Indian, Italian, and, of course, pizza and burritos. The town has everything one would need, as long as one does not need a McDonald's (Quizno's is the only fast food) or a place to buy reasonably priced clothes (the boutiques are quite pricey). Our new home, West Lebanon, is 4 miles from Hanover and includes all the big box shopping, supermarkets, and fast food in the area. We think we'll enjoy being close to all that, while still being near Hanover's charm. There are also many interesting villages in Vermont that we've heard about but not yet explored. Hanover has one of the best small libraries in the country, but it costs a lot for non-residents to get a card and unfortunately Dartmouth employees don't get the benefit (though students do). We'll make due with the Lebanon Public Library, plus Brian can borrow from Dartmouth's library system.