Mid-Winter 2016 at the Cabin
February and March in Vermont often offers a wide variety of activities – some snow related and some not. Of course, you can always just chill out in the cabin in front of a wood stove!
NEW: Dog-sledding on Fridays and Sundays (12-4pm) – check it out at the Artisan Way in Windsor (where Great River Outfitters, Harpoon Brewery and the Silo are located) or contact Braeburn Sledding www.braeburnsiberians.com Pre-booked 2 hour excursions are available on Tues.,Thurs., and Sat.
There is a free outdoor ice skate rink in West Windsor (Brownsville) at the Albert Bridge School on the Brownsville-Hartland Road. It’s open to the public on Fridays 3-4:30pm.
There is also free rope tow skiing on Mt. Ascutney in Brownsville, snow permitting!
Note: Hartland Diner in Hartland 3 Corners will be closed on Tues. & Wed. for the months of Feb. and Mar. Back to open 7 days a week April 1st.
What to do on a Saturday afternoon? Woodstock Vermont Film Series is hosted at Billings Farm & Museum – list of movies is posted at the cabin in the Current Events folder.
The Montshire Museum in Norwich, VT always has a multitude of interesting activities going on!
Windsor Winter Farmer’s Markets -runs the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month through May from 11am-2pm at the Windsor Welcome Center (3 Railroad Ave). You’ll find these vendors:Backwoods Grove: Buy a citrus cleaner, scrubby, and a dishcloth for only $10 as a set! Get a jump start on the spring cleaning! Brookhaven: Spicy pickles, dilly beans, dried herbs, plus journals, notepads and pillows made from recycled materials. Contented Butterfly Farm: Limited quantity of eggs, USDA inspected lamb meat, leeks, canned goods (tomatillo salsa, cucumber relish and strawberry/rhubarb topping sauce), handspun yarn and knit hats. Max & Ozzie’s Homemade Crafts: Limited number of fresh eggs, plus freshly baked focaccia bread in new flavors! Try three cheese, sweet onion, bacon/onion/mushroom, rosemary/sea salt and Italian herb/parmesan. 100% cotton napkins and kitchen towels plus reusable snack bags available in a variety of prints.
Nada’s Notes & Photos: Photograph notecards and framed prints featuring local historical and natural scenes. Split Rock Farm: Beef, eggs, jams, relishes and pickles. The Tragic Whale: Makeup bags, pencil cases and *new item* coasters!
Jan. 30th – Pomfret, VT – 80th Anniversary Party for Suicide Six : Snowshoe race up and down the Mountain ($40 entry, 4:05pm) and Party ($36.80 6-9pm) Reservations 802 457-6665
Feb. 7 – Cornish, NH – Guided Family Snowshoe Adventure, Saint-Gardens National Historic Site, visitor center, 1-3pm, snowshoes available
Feb. 11-15 – Woodstock, VT – The Vermont Flurry: Woodstock Snow Sculpture Festival, on the Green
Feb. 13 – Hartland, VT – Annual Tiki Torch Trek, 5-8pm, A community evening of outdoor fun! Ski or snowshoe on trails lit by Tiki Torches, eat a great meal and enjoy the bonfire and music. www.HartlandWinterTrails.org
Feb. 13 – Pomfret, VT – Suicide Six, President’s Week Torchlight Parade & Dance, starts shortly after dusk
Feb. 13 – Woodstock, VT – Animal Tracking Workshop,Forest Center, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, 10-2pm
Feb. 13 – Hartland, VT – Roast Beef Supper, Brick Church – look for signage at Damon Hall, 5-7pm
Feb. 13 – Pomfret, VT – Boy Thayer Trio, Artis Tree, 7:30pm
Feb. 16 – Hanover, NH – Hirsch-Pinkas Piano Duo, Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College, 7pm
Feb. 11-21 – Woodstock, VT – Sleigh Ride Week, Billings Farm & Museum, 10-3pm
Feb. 20 – Woodstock, VT – Fatstock, check it out at http://www.vermontoverland.com/fatstock/
Feb. 20 – Pomfret, VT – Suicide Six Sledding Party(4-5pm) & Movie Night(5:15pm)
Feb. 20 – Hartland, VT – Country Dance, Damon Hall, 7pm
Feb. 21 – Cornish, NH – Guided Family Snowshoe Adventure, Saint-Gardens National Historic Site, visitor center, 1-3pm, snowshoes available
Feb. 27 – Woodstock, VT – Wildlife Tracking in the Snow, Forest Center, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, 10-noon
Mar. 6 – Woodstock, VT – Guided Family Snowshoe Adventure, Forest Center, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, 1-3pm, snowshoes available
Mar. 19 – Hartland, VT – Country Dance, Damon Hall, 7pm
Mar. 26-27 – Woodstock, VT – Maple Madness, Village Green, 11-1pm
Mar. 26-27 – Vermont – Maple Weekend, Open House at Maple Sugar Producers throughout Vermont
Apr. 18 – Hartland, VT – Country Dance, Damon Hall, 7pm
Below are places of interest – dining – touristy – entertainment:
Some fairly new restaurants in the area! Check it out:
The Hartland Diner in Jessup’s Plaza at Hartland 3 Corners – open 7 days a week for lunch and breakfast (served all day!).Note: Hartland Diner in Hartland 3 Corners will be closed on Tues. & Wed. for the months of Feb. and Mar. Back to open 7 days a week April 1st.
The owners of the former Stella’s restaurant have opened a restaurant in Windsor at the railroad station (Windsor Station Restaurant and Barroom)serving dinner with lots of music events as well!
Opened in Quechee, Singleton’s Market and Jake’s Market with food items, deli, Vermont products and clothing. It has almost everything you could need from fresh fish, homemade sausages, wine, beer…the list is endless!
Another new restaurant in Woodstock – The Worthy Kitchen where the Eastender used to be (on the East end of Rt. 4)! Very casual atmosphere, limited menu but the specials change and the food is great (highly recommend the steak!). Draft Beer choices are endless and there is also a token wine selection. The bartenders/wait staff are great fun too!
Another new restaurant on the West end of Woodstock is On the River Inn and in Quechee, The Public House, near the putt-putt golf, offering food and craft beers.
If you are returning to the area from previous visits please note there are lots of restaurants in the area you may wish to try: Trap Door Bakery and Deli in Quechee, and in Woodstock: Melaza Bistro, Pi Brick Oven Trattoria and Pi Martini Tapas Bar(with Jazz music every Wed. at 7pm), Anchor Wat and Mon Vert Cafe. Of course, many of my “old” favorites are still there: Kedron Valley Inn and Tavern(S. Woodstock)-every Sun. is Burger and Beer night; Keeper’s (Reading), The Black Rock Restaurant (Springfield), Long Trail Brewery(Bridgewater) for lunch, Harpoon Brewery (Windsor), Simon Pearce restaurant and The Parker House Inn(Quechee) and many more!! The Kedron Valley Inn is only 3 mi. from the cabin. Bentley’s restaurant in Woodstock offers dancing to their DJ on Friday and Saturday nights at 10 pm. Harpoon Brewery (at Artisan’s Place in Windsor) is open some evenings for dinner – check first as their schedule changes. In the summer there is often Oven-Fired Pizza offered outside.
I recommend a visit to Sugarbush Farm (www.sugarbushfarm.com) where they have a wonderful educational display and video on sugaring, an animal petting area and a wonderful cheese and maple syrup tasting room with of course a gift shop full of goodies to take home or buy for gifts.
Harpoon Brewery – Windsor – don’t forget live music on Thurs. evenings. And visit Farmstead Cheese (Sustainable Farmer) next door! They offer lots of local products. During the summer they have oven fired pizzas for sale to eat on the picnic tables outside. Also in the same complex there is the Silo making Vermont’s own Vodka/Gin/Whiskey/Moonshine. Located in Artisan’s Park in Windsor off Rt. 5 – home to many other interesting places such as Simon Pearce outlet store and Great River Outfitters who feature a lot of Water Activities – check out their calendar http://greatriveroutfitters.com. Sometimes in the winter dog sledding is there – check with www.braeburnsiberians.com
Brown’s Tavern is also open for dinner at the Ascutney Resort nearby along with their Maple Kitchen restaurant which features Prime Rib on Thursday nights. Ascutney Mountain has been revived as Ascutney Outdoors which now has a ski tow rope and there is no charge to ski there. There are also trails which have been opened for biking and hiking.
If you stop at Mike’s Mobil just off Rt. 91 on Rt. 12/5 you’ll find some hot foods to choose from as well as deli sandwiches made to order, to keep you from needing to cook that first meal! Large selection of beer,wine, and coffee. It’s also the closest place to get diesel.
Montshire Museum in Norwich, VT gets top marks for it’s displays for young and old including the outside grounds www.montshire.org
The Windsor Station Restaurant(Windsor, VT) has live music every Tuesday and Friday. Harpoon Brewery (Rt. 5 Windsor) has live music every Thursday and first Saturday as well as brick oven-fired pizzas on the weekends(Summer and Fall). Browns Tavern (Ascutney Resort, VT) has Live music every Sunday Skunk Hollow Tavern (Hartland 4 Corners) has live music every Wednesday and Friday. For details of who is playing check the links below.
For Windsor area entertainment information:
Windsor Station: http://windsorstationvt.com/live-music
Harpoon: http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/breweries/windsor
Brown’s Tavern: http://brownstavern.webs.com/apps/calendar
Skunk Hollow: http://www.skunkhollowtavern.com/Entertainment.aspx
For info on what’s happening at the Woodstock Town Theatre then check out: www.PentangleArts.org
For more cultural activities in the nearby area check out these sites:
http://www.woodstockvt.com/woodstockvt/events
http://www.thevermontstandard.com
The nearby Billings Farm Museum has an activity going on most of the weekends.
www.hop.dartmouth.edu Hanover, NH
www.TupeloHall.com White River Junction, VT
www.ClaremontOperaHouse.com Claremont, NH
www.OperaNorth.org Lebanon, NH
www.NorthernStage.org White River Junction, VT
www.ArtistreeVT.org Woodstock, VT
