2006.09.06
Ksenia and I went up to Vermont. Brattleboro on the way in was pretty nifty. We stayed at a place called the Deerhill Inn, and I gotta say that of the 3 or so B+Bs I've stayed at, this one is definitely tops. We did the whole web search thing (and man those room photos start looking all alike after a short while) and this one stood out... at first because of the webdesign, but it turns out that's a reflection of the place itself. For starters the room (we stayed in the Dahlia room) looked great in the photos and had the full set of amenities: fireplace, tub with jacuzzi jets, TV/DVD, even wireless 'Net so I didn't feel like a total refugee. Then it turns out that the grounds were beautifully done as well, with better landscaping and a much better view than any other place I've been in...they even feature a small pool. Breakfast was great (though I'm getting the sneaking suspicion it's fairly easy for B+Bs to throw together breakfasts that seem impressive and taste wonderful...) but the place also has a (price-y) built-in restaurant... we had a great creme brulee via something like room service.
Plus you can order these various packages, in-room massage, dinner things, etc... I splurged for some champagne and local chocolates. Oh, and if you poke around the site, the "last minute deals" links is pretty damn bargain-riffic.
I guess in short it manages to get the best of both worlds, some of the features of a small hotel without sacrificing much of the personal feel of a smaller B+B.
Yesterday we also went to the Billings Farm outside of Woodstock. Ksenia had an urge to commune with cows a bit, and that was the place to do it, along with stocking up on Maple Syrup. And Maple Candy. And Maple-infused Seltzer. Etc. Plus, they had some ice cream made from milk from the herd. Kind of weird to think you're ingesting something that might well have come out of the creature you were just petting 15 minutes earlier.
We also did a little factory outletting in Manchester. I had more trouble than I expected explaining the Factory Outlet concept to Ksenia, especially after she saw some of the brands (I stocked up on amusing boxers at Banana Republic) and the prices (Giorgio Armani had shirts at 90% off...which makes a $500 shirt just barely outside of what I'll pay, rather than considering the price "bat-s*** insane") and the fact that there didn't actually seem to be any factories nearby.
Plus, I got my first ever speeding-ticket. Boo, Hiss, frickin' Vermont pseudo-highways going straight through the middle of their little podunk towns.
Quote of the Moment
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.Cool and memorable way of putting the situation, though I'm not crazy about the hint of "Cartesian Dualism" (soul and body as distinct and separable) it carries.