Revive both mind and body:
I love dogs and they have priority here! I am a writer and this place is fun, unique, interesting. (I am also a certified yoga instructor and had a yoga retreat here last year - if you want to have some classes!) Lots of books. Good reading lights. Good spices and oils for cooking. Good soap, good towels, good sheets. Very cozy, not at all like a hotel room or regular rental. Stack of information about things to do. And, as a native Vermonter, I can give you plenty of tips on where to go that others may not know about. At my place, you are surrounded with beautiful things, not junk or sterility, but I am really laid back so Pets and Kids are welcome with open arms. This place loves to be full of life as it should be, and also has a special feeling to it. Maybe it's the lake so close to the cottage, the lapping of the waves. Or the complete privacy, as the property is tucked away in a lovely, shaded and very private glen. If you have something to forget, you can forget it here.
Silent night:
Most places, you hear distant traffic, or some kind of man-made noise, a dull vibrating hum, so that although you feel like you are really in the country, you aren't. This is the country. You hear the wind, the crickets, the birds, the squirrels, a fish jumping, and the achingly beautiful train whistle moaning across the lake. It's amazing to sit on the deck and watch the geese and the sunset and hear yourself breathing. Martini on the deck, reading Thomas Merton or Henry Miller, the lovely viewing of sailboats drifting by and bird watching is spectacular. quiet fishing at an good inlet across the lake. Nice big open kitchen to cook in, as you look out a big bay window to the lake. The lake hasn't many cottages on it, you look North and see only trees for a couple of miles, so you don't feel like you're in a cottage amongst other cottage dwellers, you know what I mean? You are alone. You can go nude. You can drink all day. You can swear and curse at CNN. You can sob loudly.
no people:
The ten miles to the north of the property is Vermont Trust protected property, no people. There are two neighbors within walking distance if you need to borrow a cup of sugar, but you would never know they're there, behind all the trees. Apple and berry picking in the late summer and fall. I know where the private swimming holes are up in the mountains if it gets really hot in the summer. Spring weather is moody, which makes reading by the fire with a cup of cocoa or brandy a special treat. This is a place where the weather doesn't matter. I walk down the beach on the ice in the winter. Throw my skis on the car and head to the Middlebury College Snow Bowl for an afternoon of great skiing without a lot of tourists, stop in Middlebury en route home for a quick Toddie at Two Brothers Tavern. Back to the cottage and silence. A glass of wine by the fire. A good book. A baked chicken in the crock pot, you know, overcooked home-style? Lay back on the couch and eat while you're reading.
Ski:
25 miles to a great ski area that is not crowded like the biggies. Middlebury College Snow Bowl. Great trails and good rates, especially mid-week.
Other Activities:
great bass fishing, glorious hikes, talk to each other
