Fall in Beautiful Woodstock, VT

Next on our big adventure in New England is the beautiful state of Vermont. I had never been to Vermont, Mark has been only once and I was looking forward to seeing the quintessential fall scenery of this iconic area, known for rolling hills filled with the beautiful hues of autumn, gold, red, and orange. Our first day driving to Vermont was mostly sunny and I loved seeing all the countryside as we headed from Maine to Vermont. There is still a lot we didn’t see, but we did see quite a bit in the day and a half that we were there and I can’t wait to share with you.

If you missed the first stop stops on our trip, check them out here:

• Bar Harbor, Maine
• Kennebunkport, Maine

Quechee Gorge, VT

Heading into Woodstock, I got a message to stop at Quechee Gorge, so we did that. I following several suggestions I got from many of you along the way, as you sent messages on Instagram or Facebook. I tried to take notes of things we should try to do and I appreciated the ideas. We parked and walked to the overlook to see Quechee Gorge and it was breath taking. It’s a lot further down there than it looks! That’s quite the cavern.

Here’s the other side of the bridge. I read that you can hike to the bottom of the gorge, but we didn’t try that at all. We were ready to head to Woodstock to check out that quaint town.

So many beautiful turning trees along the way.

I’m glad we caught some sunshine the first day, because it was completely rainy the second day. The Quechee covered bridge.

Simon Pearce Glass

Someone also mentioned that we should visit the Simon Pearce glass store, so we stopped in there too. I didn’t know anything about the glass, but it certainly was beautiful. We didn’t buy anything and enjoyed seeing the fine craftsmanship of the glass blowers.

These glass Christmas trees were outstanding.

Such gorgeous glass pieces.

And wooden bowls too. The artistry was amazing and we walked downstairs and watched the glass blowers in action.

Sunflowers growing by the river.

This pretty waterfall is behind the store along the the covered bridge I showed earlier. It’s quite the view!

More beautiful scenery of the countryside of Vermont.

Another covered bridge near Woodstock.

Woodstock, VT

Woodstock, VT is exactly what you would picture it to be, a quaint town in the rolling hills.

We parked and walked around town a bit. Again, I’m not a big shopper on vacation so we didn’t go in a lot of stores.

I enjoy just walking around and looking at charming towns.

This is the center of Woodstock and the historic old buildings are beautiful.

The iconic Woodstock Inn is very charming. I think I looked into staying here when I was planning this trip, but it was either really pricey or booked up, I can’t remember.

It certainly is pretty though and right in town, so a great location. I found an inn out in the countryside about 10 minutes from town and we were very happy with this choice too.

The Kedron Valley Inn is really out in the countryside and it’s a pretty drive to get there. I ended up booking two inns that didn’t include breakfast so I guess I didn’t read it close enough. This one did not include breakfast, but they own a cute General Store that’s next door to the inn and they have plenty of breakfast offerings there for a reasonable price.

The inn is gorgeous and this part of the inn is the main building with a restaurant and hosting.

This part of the inn is where we stayed in the back.

I enjoyed all the gorgeous landscaping.

Our Colonial inspired room was very spacious with a fridge (Note: all inns should have a mini-fridge in the room). Some of ours had a fridge and some did not, we love the ones who do. We really enjoyed our two night stay at Kedron Valley. It’s more of a country inn, not a traditional bed and breakfast but we loved it just the same.

They also own the S. Woodstock Country Store next door and it was nice to have this close by. We picked up snacks and drinks and the next morning, I grabbed a breakfast sandwich as we headed out.

This stately historic home was just across the street from the inn. Someone on my Instagram (I think it was) told me that someone in her family owned this house and she also knew about the old school in the next picture.

They were both so picturesque I couldn’t resist taking photos.

This guesthouse is also part of the inn and I think this is pet friendly. That tree caught my eye as you can imagine!

Inside the main building of the inn is the lobby. The award winning restaurant is called Ransom Tavern and it was a great place to catch a bite to eat the first evening we arrived.

We ordered a delicious buratta tomato salad to split and also pizza.

If you don’t like pizza, you’re out of luck as that is the main fare on the menu but what we got was delicious and wood-fired tasty.

We also saved room for dessert pastry with custard and it was yummy too.

We had one full day in Vermont and unfortunately it was drizzling rain most of the day, but we got out and went sight seeing anyway. I was afraid my pictures wouldn’t turn out that gray since it was so dreary and foggy, but they look pretty good. Every time I saw something to shoot, Mark would slow down so I could take pics. We saw plenty of magnificent fall color in Vermont and all through New England and Cape Cod. I’d say we hit it just right on our October 15-25 tour.

I love churches, covered bridges, quaint houses, lighthouses, and anything charming, so that is what I try to capture.

Another charming church along the way.

Mark really wanted to go to the Vermont Country Store since he had visited there once before years ago. It was about an hour away so we took off with our map and headed down the country roads until we found it. You can’t miss the country red color that is so prevalent in New England.

I made Mark pose in front of the old truck.

Inside was just about anything old fashioned that you can imagine. They had it all from clothing, to candy and toys.

Not to mention plaid and plenty of flannel. You have never seen so much plaid! I’m sure you all have gotten a Vermont Country Store catalog in the mail before.

It’s quite the place and they love Halloween too.

We enjoyed strolling around and picked up candy and snacks while there.

More plaid!

Across the street is the Christmas Shop so we went in there too.

Vermont Country store from the road. They have quite the business here and it was packed.

Someone also mentioned the Calvin Coolidge homesite was pretty cool and that we might enjoy seeing it, so I mapped it out and we stopped by. Again, it was raining and you had to pay to go beyond the first buildings, so we didn’t opt for the tour that day, but it was neat to see.

The old barn at the homesite.

Another pretty scene on the property.

Another covered bridge near Woodstock. So quaint! I really love a covered bridge, don’t you?

We also heard about the Sugarbush Farm, so we following directions to it, down a winding country dirt road. Our rental car was filthy after that, but luckily it rained enough that it washed most of the mud off later. There were plenty of people here too and we did a maple syrup tasting as well as cheese tasting and bought both to take with us. We do love maple syrup on our weekly blueberry pancakes that I make every Saturday (Mark’s favorite!).

Pretty trees on the way to Sugarbush Farm.

Another red barn in Vermont. Isn’t this what you picture Vermont to be? This was part of it for me.

More pretty homes along the way.

Another cute little red barn.

I loved this homesite with all those red trees and stone wall. The stone walls in New England are famous and really capture everyone’s attention.

They just fit in with the landscape in this part of the country. I loved this house!

An old cemetery.

Stone church in Woodstock.

Gorgeous yellow trees.

More fall color on the road.

Yet another church. Yes, I noted that rainbow flag.

There were not all that many restaurants that close to where we were, so I found this one online with good reviews, Skunk Hollow Tavern.

It really was an old tavern that dates back 100 years or so, very quaint inside.

I enjoyed my meal a lot, Mark was just so-so with his, but mine was delicious.

We sat by this pretty window overlooking the street and landscape and it was very enjoyable. A perfect way to end the day.

We shared stuffed mushrooms which were delicious.

And my meal of chicken marsala over pasta was super tasty. I loved it! I think Mark got fish and chips and he was not as happy with his fare, but that seems to happen with us pretty often. I’ll be happy and Mark won’t be so that’s par for the course.

We headed out the next day for our nest destination, Newport, RI. We had a few hours drive to get there, but Mark had one detour he wanted to make, which we ended up doing but wishing after we were headed there that we had not done it. Traffic was pretty bad around…..Salem, MA. We kept following the map and getting closer and closer and he was about to call it quits about 15 minutes away, but I said you’re this close keep going! Can you guess what he wanted to see?

This is the kids house, Max and Dani, from the movie, Hocus Pocus. Mark thought it would be fun to look up this house. It’s on the map and easy to find, but the roads are blocked off around it. We managed to get a drive by and take a picture and then headed back out to the highway and on our way to RI.

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