HawkTalk
Beyond NY Lynn Tay

Leaf Peeping in New England

I have traveled far and wide because of my swimming competitions in high school. Here at Wagner, I have added new destinations to my list of "states I have been to." For our second meet of the season, the Wagner swimming and diving team took a luxurious coach bus to University of Vermont (UVM) in Burlington, Vermont. This was my first time being so close to Canada.

Rest Stop
The rest stop

Our bus ride on Friday was seven and a half hours long. We left campus at 1:30 PM and arrived in Burlington at 8:30 that night. It was a long ride, but thankfully we all fit comfortably on the air-conditioned, plush-seat bus. Driving up to Vermont was one of the most scenic rides I have ever been on. We took a roundabout route to UVM.

Passing through Massachusetts
A view while passing through Massachusetts
The rest stop in Vermont
A picture of the hills when we arrived at the rest stop in Guilford,Vermont.

From Staten Island, we headed towards Connecticut, then we went through Massachusetts, then into Vermont. I was awed by the contrast of driving here on the East Coast compared to driving in California. On the East Coast, freeways are lined with luscious trees and green grass. Even though this is my second year on the swim team at Wagner, I am always blown away by the raw beauty of the landscape here. It is so different driving on the interstate freeway in California, where all you may see is dried up yellow grass on the sides of the freeway on the other side of the concrete walls and guardrails. I appreciated the view of the drive, which made up for the long hours on the bus.

At our rest stop in Guilford, Vermont, we had a good time taking up the view. Our swim team also had fun taking tourist pictures around the visitor center. It was nice to be out of the bus for a little while, so we made the best of it and went around taking pictures and being fascinated by all the little boards on display telling us about Vermont.

Tourists
Having some fun at the visitor center.
Ski Lift
The first time standing next to a ski lift!

Now I can tell people that I have been to Vermont, and have gotten very close to the border of Canada. Next week we will be heading to Bryant University in Rhode Island. This will be our first meet against a team in our conference, so we will be working hard this week to show them what we are all about!