Of Maple Syrup and traffic

We took a much needed break from the housing search to travel up to Vermont for a wedding. Needless to say I'm still searching for houses from afar, but I don't have to spend my weekend looking at them. My impressions of various states/regions

Washington, D.C.-On a good day and in the right light the District looks a bit like Paris. The tree-lined (a great line used in every home advertisement on Redfin even if the house is located in the middle of a parking lot) streets echo the boulevards of that great French city, and the old churches that dot street corners remind you that Washington is an old city. D.C. is also known for being a city that was planned to be the American version of Venice before planners realized that mosquitoes love water and malaria.

Quiz question 1-Correct spelling? Ideology or Idealogy? (Answers below. Don't cheat, unless you want to feel smart like I would, then cheat by all means).

Maryland-We mostly saw the freeway in Maryland, which though compelling offered little in the way of charm. Maryland is also known for that movie the "Blair Witch Project," which I never saw and which makes me dizzy to even think about.

Quiz question 2-He got his just dessert or his just desert?

Pennsylvania-We drove through Pennsylvania while I was sleeping. The only thing that awakened me were the near constant soul-killing tolls.
M: Why can't they just raise taxes?
S: Tolls are good because it discourages driving.
M: (Points to 1,000 cars on the road in traffic jam) They sure look discouraged.
Proceed to stop at station in Philly to pick up an EasyPass which they are out of once again.
Pennsylvania is also known for being home to that Quaker Oats guy who hasn't aged in years but always looks like someone's pleasant if slightly stern grandfather.

Quiz question 3-Miniscule or minuscule?

New Jersey-Driving through Newark it looks as though the earth has vomited up some terrible machinery that has lain dormant since the dawn of time--tall red and blue statues stand like mini-brontosaureses blocking out the sky line. A brief green hill is revealed to be a land fill surrounded on three sides by industrial run off. Jersey is also known for...uh.

Quiz question 4-It's not that big a deal or It's not that big of a deal?

New York-
M: I love this city!
S: These buildings are unsightly.
M: I think you just hate New York because I like it.
S: That's possible.
M: How do you spell minuscule?
S: P-E-N----
M: Very funny.
(Just then we pass a white billboard that has a picture of a doctor holding a needle behind a patient with the caption "Life is full of little pricks.")

New York-We opted to hit Manhattan at rush hour, which turned out to be a gross miscalculation on our part. Apparently lots of people live in New York. Who knew? New York is also known for the distinctive accent of its inhabitants who seemed to have been planted at various rest stops along the way to reinforce stereotypes about their thick accents.

Quiz Question 5-self-deprecating or self-depreciating?

Connecticut-Why do they have that annoying C? Wouldn't it be easier if it was just Conneticut? Connecticut is also known for being one of those properties on the monopoly board that are sort of useful and acquired early in the game.

Quiz Question 6-expatriate or expatriot?

Massachusetts-I believe that the Berkshires, our esteemed apartment building, are located in Mass. Our wonderful building who is refunding us in the amount of 200 dollars for our month-long roach infestation. S calling the woman who she spoke with about the refund as "wily." Massachusttes is also famous for being home to the Salem witch trials where teenage girls convinced mass amounts of people of witchcraft and had them killed. A proud moment.

Quiz question 7-presumptious or presumptuous?

Vermont-We finally arrived into the beautiful state of Vermont in time to see the dark. Okay, we had a nice view of the moon thinly veiled by clouds appearing brighter than I've seen it in months, and you could tell by the shapes in the dark that it was mostly rural, and pretty, and green, and all those sorts of things which city slickers secretly crave. We arrived at a farm house in the middle of the night and slept blissfully. Note: Almost blissfully. I have an extreme fear of being pitch-forked to death by an insane asylum escapee. Rational? No. Probable? Yes.
Vermont is also known for maple syrup and people who speak with pride about wearing layers, and who we secretly dislike for loving things like the cold and ice that the rest of us hate.

1. Ideology
2. Just desert
3. Minuscule
4.It's not that big a deal
5. self-deprecating
6.expatriate
7.presumptuous