We left our sweet farmhouse in the rear view mirror and headed northeast to one of our favorite towns ever: Woodstock. It is quintessential New England. This trip, we were anxiously awaiting our stay at the Woodstock Inn. This inn is beautiful and charming, but large enough to offer many wonderful amenities for couples and families alike.
We arrived around noon, hungry and ready for lunch. We dropped our luggage in the front and headed right into the inn’s Red Rooster for a meal. After salmon sandwiches and burgers, we were ready for a dip in the pool. We can’t believe how lucky we were to be gifted with consecutive days of sunshine. We remembered to pack our suits on top, pulled them out, and hopped in for an afternoon of splashing.
When we were sufficiently wrinkled, we traded our suits for our shorts and tennis shoes and took advantage of the outdoor center on property. We checked out four cruiser bikes and headed through town and up to Billings Farm. We were just in time to see the cows being milked and to watch the calves be bottle fed. We roamed the pretty landscape and said our hellos to the horses and sheep. By the time we biked back into town, our tummies were grumbling.
We picked up a few things at Mac’s Market and laid out a picnic on the grounds of the inn. We enjoyed a simple supper, because we were saving room for ice cream, of course. We headed out to explore Woodstock’s summer tradition: the White Cottage Snack Bar. This place was adorable. It sits on the bank of a river, so we took our scoops and headed down to skip rocks. We chatted until dusk and decided we had had a properly full day.
On day two, we took off for a morning adventure. We drove a half hour to Norwich, Vermont to explore the King Arthur Flour flagship store and bakery. As a baker myself, I was giddy. We saved breakfast for this visit, so the first place we stopped was the cafe. We loaded up on granola, sweet rolls, breakfast sandwiches, and lattes. Yum. Then, we went exploring and shopping. We watched the morning team make seeded rolls and bought some spices and sugars to bring home. Sweet.
From there, we headed to Quechee to check out Simon Pearce glassblowing studio. We loved this stop! Talk about talented people. We loved watching the glassblowing team in action. Many worked in pairs, like well-oiled machines, one blowing a mold and the other cutting handles or filing. It was fascinating to see. Unfortunately, you really pay for this artisanship. Some day, when my teacher salary expands exponentially, I have my eye on a few Simon Pearce items.
Just down the road, we stopped to peek the Quechee Gorge and happened upon an amazingly neat saddlery, too. As we moseyed our way back to Woodstock, each of us was grateful for such a nice morning.
By afternoon, we were back to the pool for a long and leisurely dip, after which we shopped around town and popped in and out of the library. We were tuckered by the evening and happily ordered dinner in our room in front of cartoons. Then, we spent our last evening out for a walk (Daddy ended up teaching us all kinds of wacky four-square rules when we stopped at the local school playground for a little run-around), in the game room for some pool, and out back for one more round of s’mores.
We were all due for a good night’s sleep. Our getaway to this green, peaceful place was about to come to an end. The next morning after breakfast, we loaded back into the car and headed off to Boston for our flight back to Denver. Though we are always happy to be home, we are all also grateful for these days together. We laughed and rested and made new memories. Vermont, you’re a treasure.
