Our soggy Saturday drive from Meredith to Woodstock, Vermont, has given way to some of the most glorious blue skies and cool temps you could imagine. And just like the weather, the change from New Hampshire to Vermont has been equally as dramatic. CG selected Woodstock, Vermont, to home base us from for the three days in Vermont. If you googled Woodstock, wiki and the Trip Advisor page will describe it as the “Prettiest Small Town in America”. For a town with only slightly more than 3,000 residents and no industry other than tourism, it just that, charming, well maintained homes, a river flanking the towns boundaries and a Main Street with shoppes.
The shear number of large well maintained historical homes tend to suggest this is a getaway for people from Boston. The homes date back to the late 1700’s, the newer things from the late 1800’s…painted wooden homes, with shutters or the Federal brick styling that is more prevalent in the Mid Atlantic states. The surrounding towns of Quechee and Bridgewater have a definite artist vibe…furniture builders, wood craftsmen, glass blowers and potters round out the things to do here. The roads switch back and forth over the rivers, with the often pictured red covered bridges, the topography adds a dash of drama to the river (not to mention this past week’s rain fall) with waterfalls and gorges. Woodstock is also home to the only National Park in the entire state of Vermont-the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Historical Park. Just as John D. Was somewhat of a Godfather to the preservation of Colonial Williamsburg, his son Laurence was that to this area. Preservation of a way of life, the nature beauty and sound conservation of the land and resources. Everything down to Gillingham’s General Store and the Woodstock Inn are somewhat frozen in time and preserved for all to experience. The rivers around this area, the gentle hills and terrain provides the outdoor experiences, the shoppes and galleries for your artistic souls and breweries and distilleries for your days end. Here again, there are no franchise operations, grocery stores or unsightly signage….bespoken, curated, timeless….yep, nailed it.
We selected the Jackson for our three day stay here. Down Main Street, out Church street (Of course, all the 250 year old churches line the street) and slightly down Route 4. I am not sure of its history, but it looks to have been a large home built in 1890 converted to a 15 room bed and breakfast. While I might be making this up, based on my early morning coffee with the owner, Dave from Boston, he must have recently purchased this Bed and Breakfast and is renovating and updating the place. Dave (who drives a Porsche) said he lives part time in Boston and part time here as is also owns The Shire. The Shire is a 50 room hotel that overlooks the River in downtown Woodstock. Dave piddles…like Eddie piddles. The on-site couple that manage the day to day looks to be his handyman and reno foreman, the wife is the B&B manager. Dave likes to come for the weekend and slap a few coats of paint on things, or places his most recent antique finds. Like I said, Eddie piddling…without Amazon.
Sunday saw us visiting the Pearson families artistic endeavors. Andrew, the son, is a woodcraft’s man. His turned bowls from the hardwood of Vermont are stunning. His equipment impressed Eddie for sure. Of course, we purchased on of his bowls. It will arrive Tuesday after we get home. For lunch, we went to his Dad’s glass blowing works. Simon Pearce is a renowned glassware blower and potter like his father in Ireland. Apparently, there is an artistic gene there. The glassworks is perched on the banks Ottaquechee River Falls and uses hydroelectric power to run its operations. The glasses have some heft. While Rydell glasses are prized for their thinness, these have some serious weight…but at an average price of $100 per stem, even Eddie was taken aback. His little crystal trees are his signature pieces…again, no sale as each to include the 3 inch ones were in the $500-2000 range. Makes West Coast Chihuly look like a bargain. We had lunch in his restaurant that hangs over the falls. Not a bad way to spend Mother’s Day. Dessert was next door at the Palmer House and the Whistle Pig Tasting Room. With my trusty Total Wine app, no bottles were purchased as we could get most in Humble. Eddie deemed the Vermont only Campfire not worthy of it $75 a bottle price. Besides, Eddie is more a bourbon guy than a Rye Guy.
We made a stop at the Quechee Gorge and met the Troll on the side of the bridge. The Quechee Gorge on one side is a state park with hiking trails and camping areas. This is where the troll was. Grumpy older man, using a elementary school paper cutter. He was not terribly informative nor friendly. Slice, slice, whap, whap. We asked questions based on flyers posted and information on the sheets. One, two word responses. This area has a hot balloon festival every year around Father’s Day. Grumpy’s comment was it has been rained out last two years, and will probably be washed out again. Wow, you must have been up for the Chamber of Commerce’s spokesperson. I inquired what was the best way to see the Gorge since the bridge and area under it appeared to have heavy construction. Grumpy said, take the path…two miles later, you could see nothing but chain linked fence and equipment. The correct and better answer would have been drive across the highway to the souvenir shop and picnic area owned by an Individual and it is a great unobstructed view. So, no view, no good pictures, but I did get my steps in.
We had dinner at the local hang out White Cottage-a throwback hamburger place and seating on the banks of the river….since 1957…April to October…no credit cards, cash only. We were probably the only tourists there…these are the locals, not the ones that live in the big houses, but more the ones that keep it running and maintained. Everyone knew each other and tables inside and out were full. Folks around our age have a certain feral quality about themselves…blue hair, sleeve tattoos …we all see it, don’t stare, no pointing, but Eddie and I would give each other “the look” so we could discuss later. Everyone else our age have a certain Bernie and Jane (Sanders) look about themselves.
We were back early evening and after a day of whiskey tasting, ice cream and long hikes, we turned in early. Dave our B&B host in an attempt to modernize, has keyless digital pads for locks on every door. We are not sure whether Eddie failed the door lock check before we turned in, or the manager texted the folks across the hall the same unlock code, but at 9:45 there was a tall gray headed stranger looking at us from the open door. I would have to say, that was a first. Eddie slept right through it…until I screamed. It took a little bit before my pulse was in the targeted range again. Traveling with Eddie is always an adventure.
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