Woodstock, Vermont

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So I know I said there were to be no more entires unitl I had left the mountains but with one more free day before skiing started, my Dad and I decided to take a trip out of Rutland and head east to Wookstock (not the place made famous by the big music festival, but the quiet, Vermont alternative) and it proved to be a very blog worthy decision! After sorting out our things for the week ahead we had the rest of Saturday afternoon to fill so we took a ride out to Woodstock. On the way we stopped off at a suger mill where I eventually saw and learn't how maple syrup is made and we also got some cool photos along the way over the river. I have also seen so many different number plates from each state out here so I am trying to get a photo of each...I am getting there slowly! Now Woodstock is not the biggest of all towns, in fact, it is extremely small, but it's character and charm are by no means limited. All the buildings, including the town hall, court house and shops are all what you would imagine typical American country houses to be. Away from the big cities, America has a quiet side and this sleepy town certainly shows this. The local traffic warden/policeman showed us into a parking spot and we wondered the small streets of this brilliant little town. There are coffee houses, a couple of sports shops and that was it really. However, there is one cafe that has to get a special mention. 'All Echante' was a delightful place and we sat and had a drink in the sun and I think it was close to being the most relaxed I have been in a long time! The staff we so very friendly and it was close to perfection. I must also mention (and Dan will be extremely jealous of this)...Dad and I had two of the best sandwich wraps ever. They were awesome. I have had some pretty good food on this trip, and these wraps definalty near the top! You missed out Dan! In the town there was a signpost for Springfield...could not resist getting a photo of that. In fact, I have got lots of photos since i've been here...I think I am a bit camera crazy now. What I found particularly interesting about Woodstock was how all the houses were big old wooden ones, all with a big garden and an American flag flying! There was a village green, it was clean and it really came across as a fairly affluent area. It really did remind me of England...so I guess the name New England fits quite well (...and I found out today, something I didn't know before, that New England consists of six states; Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut). I also got to see Vermont's famous covered bridges (why they are covered still remains a mystery to me). The whole place had a real country feel to it from the deck chairs by the river, right down to the guy selling newly made maple syrup on the side of the road. We also saw a girl scout cookie sale on the drive back...something I have only ever seen in films! On the drive back we were greeted with a beautiful sunset, which we both agreed looked stunning. We got back to Rutland and I gave the hot tub some serious attention! So all in all it was a great, slightly random, but brilliant spare of the moment idea that turned out to be a pleasant highlight of my time here so far. I am now fully ready now and very much looking forward to the 2 weeks on the snow!

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