Road trip

We all took Friday off, including Kate -- we excused her from school --, rented a car and took off for Vermont. That's a five hour drive which is always easier on the way because it's an adventure and quite boring on the way home because you want to be home NOW. It's at that moment, like many others, that I want to ditch the car. Any car.

We arrived in Woodstock, Vt in the early afternoon to find a landscape devoid of large buildings but decorated with carefully marked fields dotted with horses, houses, red barns and lots and lots of snow. Our friends are renting a cute house on the main drag of the quintessential New England town with its community church with a tall white spire, classic houses built in 1773 and beautiful country inn named after the town nestled on the village green and surrounded by twee stores in varying stages of rustic.

Cold. Very cold. It was 6 degrees when we went out on Saturday morning for a stroll and breakfast. So it wasn't as much of a stroll as it was a pretty brisk walk. We went to a very good bakery and then poked around in stores selling fabulous winter wear which I only need when I walk the dog. I bought some red thinsulate gloves and various country products. Never go ome empty handed. We filled our time with sightseeing and then in the afternoon we went cross country skiing which was much tougher than I wanted it to be. We spent almost 2 hours there which was just great for all of us. I fell rather consistently and several times really bonked my head on the snow. Arnie did very well and it was the highlight of the weekend for Kate.

Dinner at the beutiful old inn, lots of good conversation with old friends and then we took off on Sunday morning promising Peg and Ave to come back in the summer. I think this part of the country which is so beautiful now with old snow must be extraordinary in the summer when everything is green.

Could I live there? Absolutely not.

More road trips please