Woodstock, Vermont holds a special place in my heart as I have spent the last six years celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving with my four children at my brother-in-law's idyllic country farm in nearby Bridgewater.  My sisters and I make yearly pilgrimages into the village of Woodstock for last minute Christmas shopping at the town's two charming toy stores, The Unicorn and The Little Red Wagon, or to eat out at one of the town's lovely restaurants, Cloudland Farm and the Kedron Valley Inn being two of our favorites.   Each Christmas Eve, my older sister and I inevitably end up at the amazing Gillingham's General Store in Woodstock buying stocking stuffers, maple candy, card games, or traditional board games for gifts.   Gillingham's is a destination all on its own with aisles lined with a mix of antiques and modern artisan ware; it is a hardware store, a specialty food and wine shop, a toy store and a kitchen supply store all in one.  Since 1886 patrons have enjoyed its warmth and rustic tradition.  

 

 

 

Gillingham's General Store

 

One year, we bought six matching pairs of Muck winter boots from Gillingham's to place proudly under the Vermont grown Christmas tree for the six girls in our family.  Last year, we all went together into Woodstock to lovingly approve (the way sister's only can),  the antique engagement ring that my sister's fiancé had bought  the day before at the local jewelry store, N. T. Ferro's; we then celebrated with spicy Bloody Marys  at the Red Rooster bar at the Woodstock Inn and Resort right around the corner. 

I arrived yesterday in this quaint New England town and spent the day enjoying the natural rural beauty and sights of Woodstock and nearby areas.  After years meandering familiar roads, I found myself at new local attractions like the Vermont Distillery where I sampled vodka made from local maple sugar for the first time, (surprisingly delicious).  

I have driven by the Quechee Gorge more times than I can count, but yesterday I actually  stopped and walked over the bridge which quite majestically spans what is called Vermont's "Little Grand Canyon."   Although it was too cold for a walk, there are trails right near the gorge where one can take family friendly hikes. 

I spent the majority of the afternoon at the Billings Farm and Museum which is owned and operated by the The Woodstock Foundation and was founded by the Rockefellers.  Thanksgiving weekend provided ample opportunity to share in the activities the farm had prepared including making homemade pumpkin soup and apple sauce.  The farmhouse was decorated as it would have been for a Thanksgiving in the late 1800s and the slow horse drawn carriage ride was a calm and even meditative treat,  run by a retired schoolteacher from Fairfield County.  Woodstock is just that type of place, an American town where laid-back people come to retire and enjoy peace and natural tranquility.

For me, the real soul of Billings farm and what makes it worth the half mile stroll from the Woodstock Inn were the cows.  Yes, it was a bovine paradise for an aspiring vegetarian like me.  Billings Farm espouses sustainable dairy and animal husbandry, which coexists with the museum and educational aspect of the farm, a real-life dairy farm living out Rockefeller's vision to serve as a model of environmental stewardship.  When I entered the Billing's cow barn, I immediately fell in love; not exactly what I expected as a grown woman.  Yet the majestic and sweet beauty of these Jersey dairy cows had a palpable impact on me,  their simple presence alone I believe is enough to melt anyone. The encounter was awe inspiring; a double line of cows 50 deep, huge, beautiful, brown, dewy eyed creatures happily chomping hay and patiently waiting with bursting udders for the afternoon milking.  One visit to the Billings farm and I promise you will rethink the idea of mass produced milk and the treatment of animals. And if the adult cows didn't have you swooning in delight then one trip to the nursery with the baby calves would surely have you cooing like a child.  Adorable!

I couldn’t really believe it myself, but there I was in Ohio in the beginning of November, and politics were the last thing on my mind. In the rural county of Hocking Hills, a land of limited cell reception and winding forest roads, Romney and Obama's automated "will you please just vote for me already" phone calls would have needed a bloodhound to track me down amongst the tall pines. The election is an important thing, for sure, but to be honest I couldn't have been happier to step out of the crossfire without taking one side or the other.

Despite what the name would suggest, there are no great changes in elevation in Hocking Hills. While it's not flat as far as the eye can see, describing the area as hilly would be close to an overstatement when you're evaluating it based on adventure travel standards. Ohio is not the west, but that is not to say it doesn't have a few solid options for losing yourself in the outdoors. It's actually a great place for those who want a full dosage of the wilderness without having to carry their clothes on their back - most of its gems are highly accessible, perfect weekend getaways for those living in Columbus (1 hr ), Cleveland (3 hrs), Cincinnati (3hrs), and Pittsburgh (3 hrs).

While I never associated Ohio with a paved landscape, glaciers actually took a large toll on the area. The best example of this is found in Hocking Hills State Park, known for its glacier-carved, historically-smothered sunken valleys. The headline attraction, Old Man's Cave, is supposedly haunted by a man and his two dogs who lived and died in the cave in the late 1700s (the man was found dead by a group of men passing through and is buried somewhere in the vicinity). At night, visitors and park rangers have reported hearing barking dogs, only to arrive at the cave and find nothing.

Ash Cave - a larger, more dramatic cave in the State Park - is also apparently one of the most haunted places in the area, with reports of loud "drumming" heard throughout the night. I say apparently here and supposedly above because, as I explain here, ghosts don't seem to want anything to do with me. The cave is beautiful, though, and the largest in Ohio.

Zip-lining, kayaking, and caving are all other options for visitors to the area. You can fly superman-stylewith Hocking Hills Canopy Tours (my friend Kristen of Hopscotch the Globe is going to be making a video that will include this ride, so I'll be sure to pass it along when it comes out for a visual), paddle down the Hocking River with the Canoe Livery , or take a scenic flight for an aerial view of the inspiring colors, caves, and waterfalls.

For lodging, I was invited to stay at the Inn at Cedar Falls. While the first thing you come across on their website is that they have free Wifi, don't get the message twisted - a stay at the Inn is a damn-good escape (awful cell phone reception, which I enjoyed). They just added a spa cabin and you have the option of staying in a private cabin or a single-room in a lodge. Its location a few miles from Cedar Falls and a five-minute drive from Hocking Hills State Park puts you right in the thick of it.

One thing I would highly recommend would be to plan this trip for late September through mid-October, when the fall colors are at their peak. We caught the tail end of it all - the winds from Sandy sort of spoiled it - but the potential was beyond evident.

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