Chris and I are spending this week in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. I am attending the AP Institute to earn my Collegeboard AP Literature training (and earn re-licensing credits), held at the St. Johnsbury Academy campus.

SJA is one of the foremost private boarding academy high schools in New England, and costs nearly $40,000/year for a boarding student. It's a darn steep price for students, but the accommodations are lush for the conference. We've been treated, in particular, to the best food I've ever been able to eat for free*. We had ostrich and bananas foster for lunch, yum.

Chris took his vacation from work this week, and he has spent the days drawing by the pool and cartooning in the hotel. I've spent eight hours each day in a dynamic, very helpful course. We're both in heaven, and it is GREAT.

Also, the Institute gave us nearly $500 in free books. Of course, the publishers hope we will, in turn, buy classroom sets... but I adore pre-press copies and old classics.

*We are paying a mere pittance for our hotel room (discounted conference rate), and everything else has been paid by my school district. It is a nice perk! They lead free nightly activities (canoeing, theatre trips, skeet shooting, trivia bowls, hiking, poetry readings, etc) for participants and their families, too.

Suffice to say, the wedding planning has not been at the front of my mind :) I will provide photos of some of our new purchases and planning details once we get home. Promise!