36 Hours in Quechee, Vt.

For you Vermonter heads . . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/26/travel/escapes/26HOUR.html?8td
March 26, 2004
36 HOURS 
In Quechee, Vt.
By TINA KELLEY
IN Vermont, spring usually means one thing: the end of ski season and
the beginning of Mud Time, when the melting snow has turned the
landscape, well, to mud. This might sound like the perfect time to flee
the state, except that this is also the season when sap saturates the
sugar maples, the latest batch of leaf-shaped candies stack up on store
shelves, and towns like Quechee shift into high gear. Settled in the
1760's, Quechee (pronounced KWEE-chi) at one time produced white baby
flannel and the fabric for the uniforms of both the Yankees and the Red
Sox. That industry has long since left town, but Quechee (along with
surrounding towns in Windsor County and across the Connecticut River in
New Hampshire) has reinvented itself as a tourist destination, trading
on its quintessential New England spirit. 
Friday
6:30 p.m. 
1) Why Choose? Try Both
You might not expect east-central Vermont to be a hotbed of ethnic
cooking, but Sakura (6962 Woodstock Road, Route 4, 802-296-7600) not
only serves Japanese seafood dishes and fine Chinese cuisine, but even
has a Quechee sushi roll, with yellowtail, salmon and tuna breaded and
fried tempura style ($8.95.) Or go Chinese with a sesame beef hot pot
($16.95). You can choose your décor, too: a clean-lined sushi bar or a
log cabin interior, shellacked to a high gloss.
9 p.m. 
2) Stargazing
In Hanover, N.H., 13 miles away, Dartmouth College's astronomy
department (Observatory Road, 603-646-9100) offers free guided glimpses
of the heavens on Friday nights from 8 to 11 (and also on Sundays from
noon to 2 p.m., when solar activity can be seen through safe filters)
most weeks of the academic year. Call ahead for the schedule and weather
conditions. Head behind the Shattuck Observatory and climb a ladder to a
small turret in the center of a little white house with a retractable
roof, and then, by the red glow of the special light bulbs that protect
your night vision, your own personal astronomy graduate student will
curse the encroaching trees, punch a few coordinates into the telescope
and direct your eyes to the rings of Saturn, the moons of Jupiter and
various nebulae. Dress warmly. 
Saturday
10 a.m. 
3) Stock Up at the Farm
Take Main Street to Hillside Road and follow the many signs to Sugarbush
Farm (591 Sugarbush Farm Road, Woodstock, Vt., 802-457-1757). Though the
current generation of the Luce family has switched the specialty of the
550-acre farm from dairying to maple syrup, there's a smoky-smelling
cheese room where you can try 11 kinds of cheese, some of them smoked on
the farm. You can also taste four grades of maple syrup. Walk along the
nature trail, see the maze of tubing that connects tapped sugar maples
to buckets, which are collected in a wagon pulled by the farm's handsome
draft horses, take a peek in the sweet wedding chapel in the woods and
don't forget to try the maple butter, which is $5.95 for a 10-ounce tub.
Syrup-making is an early-spring enterprise, but the sugaring house is
open all year.
Noon 
4) Tasteful Glass, Tasty Food
Back in town, near the Quechee Covered Bridge, at the Simon Pearce
Glassworks (1760 Main Street, 802-295-2711), the showroom glitters with
thick hand-blown creations. Simon Pearce, originally from County Cork,
Ireland, came to Quechee in 1981 and restored the building, an old
woolen mill on the Ottauquechee River (Ottauquechee meaning "swiftly
moving water" in the language of the Abenaki Indians). Browse among the
elegant candlesticks, vases and barware and take a look at the discounts
in the seconds room. Upstairs an Irish weaver can often be seen at work,
and downstairs, glassblowers sweat from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through
Saturday and Sundays and Mondays until 5 p.m. The restaurant
(802-295-1470) at the glassworks, overlooking a waterfall that spills
into the river gorge, offers hearty Vermont fare, including cheddar
cheese soup ($6) and organic ice cream ($6.50) made with the help of
what the waitress calls "happy cows."
2 p.m. 
5) Over the Bridge
Travel west on Main Street and over the Taftsville Covered Bridge, then
west on Route 4 into Woodstock, which takes pride in its four Paul
Revere bells and boasts having had, in 1934, America's first ski tow.
Check out the F. H. Gillingham & Sons general store (16 Elm Street,
802-457-2100), 
the Yankee Bookshop (12 Central Street, 802-457-2411) and the
Whippletree Yarn Shop (7 Central Street, 802-457-1325), which has
squeezable Cashmerino yarn, hard-to-find patterns and elegant silver
Scandinavian sweater clasps. At the Stephen Huneck Gallery (49 Central
Street, 802-457-3206), Mr. Huneck, who specializes in furniture and
woodcut prints featuring whimsical, rustic-style black dogs, can
occasionally be seen signing the children's books he has created. The
black dog roaming the gallery with a little sign on its collar reading
"Please Don't Feed Me" is not Sally, the star of his books, but Samba.
Many customers stop by just to see her.
7 p.m. 
6) Jazz and Maple Flavors
At the corner of Elm and Central Streets, Bentleys (802-457-3232) has
live jazz from 8 to 11 p.m. on Saturdays, as well as savory food. Call
ahead for reservations — there was a 40-minute wait for a party of six
late on a recent busy weekend night. Settle in with fellow knick-knack
hunters, business people and tourists on Victorian settees and listen to
performers like David Westphalen, who specializes in swing, or the
saxophonist Fred Haas. Try the maple mustard chicken breast rolled in
pecans for $16.95, followed by a maple sundae, with dark amber maple
syrup, nuts, whipped cream and a maple candy ($5.95).
Sunday
10 a.m. 
7) Back to Grade School
The Vermont Toy and Train Museum (5573 Woodstock Road, 800-438-5565,
Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; $3 a person over age 2), in
Quechee Gorge Village features over 400 lunch boxes that can bring a
baby boomer straight back to the third grade. (Remember "H. R. Pufnstuf"
and "Julia," the show featuring the nurse played by Diahann Carroll?)
Besides showing the evolution of playthings from Shirley Temple dolls to
Happy Meals trinkets, the museum has rooms full of model trains in
miniature landscapes with moving ski lifts, a caravan of circus animals
popping their heads down and a Thomas the Tank Engine play area. There
are factual nuggets, too; did you know the distance between train
tracks, 4 feet 8.5 inches, was directly derived from the width of wagon
wheels, which evolved from the width of road ruts in England, which take
their measurements from Roman chariots, which were built to fit the
rumps of two horses?
11 a.m. 
8) Wilderness Trails
A quick drive west on Route 4 takes you to the bridge over the Quechee
Gorge and the steep trails down to the Ottauquechee River, some 165 feet
below. If it's still snowy and too slippery for walking, conditions may
be right for setting off on cross-country skis ($12 a day) or snowshoes
($15 for adults) rented from the Wilderness Trails Nordic Ski Center
(802-295-7620). Come May, the center offers seasonal outdoor activities,
including bicycle tours and fly-fishing lessons.
To drive to Quechee, take Interstate 91 north to White River Junction,
then take Interstate 89 north to the first exit, for Route 4. Follow
Route 4 west to Quechee. There is an Amtrak station in White River
Junction, 7.5 miles away. 
Visitng Quechee
The Quechee Inn at Marshland Farm (1119 Main Street, 800-235-3133) has
22 rooms and three suites at $90 to $245, including breakfast. Its
restaurant is open every evening for dinner.
The Parker House Inn (1792 Main Street, 802-295-6077) offers seven rooms
in its 1857 house for $125 to $165, including a full breakfast. Its
restaurant is open for dinner.
The Quality Inn (5817 Woodstock Road, Route 4, 800-732-4376) has 59
rooms at $79 to $140, including breakfast.
Copyright 2004 </ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html>  The New York
Times Company <http://www.nytco.com/>

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