’Fly’ Through the Woods With the Greatest of Ease
Who can’t imagine dashing through the snow in a horse-drawn sleigh! Taylor Farm, a 180-year-old working dairy farm in Londonderry, sells delicious cheese and gives sleigh rides, too. It’s a great place to invite friends and kids to enjoy a 45-minute ride through scenic SoVT in a large wooden sleigh. The farm offers rides all winter, Fridays–Sundays, 11a to 4p, for up to 10 including children. The ride includes a fireside stop in the woods, where you can toast marshmallows and enjoy a picnic from the shop. Hot cider is also available. Blankets are provided to keep you warm and cozy. After the ride, shop the farm pantry and pick up award-winning Vermont cheese. Private rides are available any time. They’re necessary on non-vacation mid-week days. Private rates are $185 for two to five people and $250 for up to 10. Regular rates are $25 for anyone over 7; $15 for ages 3 to 7; and 2-year-olds and under are free. Reservations are necessary for all rides. For more information, call 802 824-5690. [www.taylorfarmvermont.com]
The Thrill of the Hunt: Find Vintage Treasures in SoVT
For young and old these days, finding unique consignment scores might beat the thrill of riding the slopes this winter. SoVT offers a variety of consignment and resale shops that sell vintage and “gently used” goods. According to digital resale platform ThredUP, consignment and resale apparel sales are on the rise. Secondhand apparel already is a $20 billion industry, but the resale biz is projected to hit $41 billion by 2022. If you’re one of those consumers who would rather differentiate yourself than blend in—would rather find clothing with a story and not just reach for the biggest brand name—then you might want to take a tour of SoVT’s resale shops.
Swirl in Putney Village offers resale women’s and men’s modern and vintage clothing, jewelry, antiques, collectibles, vinyl, books, and more.
Twice Upon a Time is housed in a renovated 1906 department store on historic Main Street in Brattleboro with three floors and 10,000 square feet. It features more than 100 vendors and more than 4,000 consignors. There is something for everyone! [www.twicetime.com]
Boomerang is an award-winning new, used, and vintage clothing store for men and women, located in downtown Brattleboro. Their racks are packed with a hand-picked mix of select resale, eclectic vintage, a curated group of indie makers, artisan-made jewelry, high-end second hand denim, contemporary vintage-inspired pieces, and a revolving stock of shoes, boots, bags, graphic tees, and accessories, with heaps of new items hitting the floor every day, all day. They also accept items on trade or consignment. [www.Boomerangvermont.com]
Second Hand Rose is a fine consignment shop in Bennington that offers quality secondhand jewelry, clothing, toys, and household items and has an artisan section. [www.secondhandrosevt.com]
Ellen Adams followed her passion for fashion, as well as her Earth-conscious lifestyle, and opened Zippy Chicks nine years ago. The shop features upscale women’s consignment clothing in Manchester [www.zippychicks.com]
We couldn’t forget Experienced Goods Thrift Shop in Brattleboro that is the main source of funding for Brattleboro Area Hospice and exists through the generosity of its donors, volunteers and community. The shop sells a wide variety of collectible and vintage items including furniture, housewares, jewelry, linens and books.Definitely worth the trip. [www.brattleborohospice.org]
Try Ice Skating in an Abandoned Quarry
Thanks to the high quality and uniquely colored marble that sat in the bedrock of the mountains, Dorset played host to a huge mining boom in the late 1700s. In winter, large flooded pond-like portions of Freedley Quarry freeze over and remain frozen until July, making this cavernous abandoned mine a favorite for skaters. making this cavernous abandoned mine a favorite for skaters. From 1785 (when the first marble quarry broke ground) to the 1920s, Dorset marble found its place in the architecture of cities such as New York and Washington, D.C. When cheaper and more versatile Portland cement arrived, demand for Dorset marble dropped, and the bottom fell out for many quarries.
Elijah Sykes opened Freedley Quarry in 1808. It sits 1,160 feet above North Dorset as a lasting memory of the small town’s colorful past. Freedleyville was the settlement just below the quarry, at the valley floor, where there was a marble mill and housing for workers and their families.
The nation’s first marble quarry was the Norcross-West Quarry, also in Dorset, which Isaac Underhill and others opened in 1785. The quarry is at the valley floor in South Dorset, just along Route 30. Today it’s a popular swimming hole. [www.dorsetvthistory.org/museum.html info@dorsetvthistory.org]
Kipling’s Dream Home: Your Unique Historic Stay
In 1892 Rudyard Kipling and his new American bride bought 11 acres on a Vermont hillside while on their around-the-world honeymoon. By year’s end they had begun construction of their dream home, Naulakha, in Dummerston, overlooking the Connecticut River Valley. Kipling designed the home to resemble a ship, with his study in the prow. There is a full clay tennis court, the first in Vermont. Living in this house, Kipling wrote many of his most famous works, including “The Jungle Book” and “Captains Courageous,” and he began “Kim” and the “Just So Stories” here. Naulakha, beautifully preserved as a National Historic Landmark, is a historic vacation property. Rent it and you get the whole house. It is completely equipped, needing only you and your food and drink. There’s a game room with pool table and Kipling’s extensive library, where he wrote. There is a spectacular rhododendron corridor, sledding and skiing in the meadow, and hiking out the back door. The house sleeps eight. Prices are $450–$520 per night, with a three-night minimum. Wi-Fi is available. Naulakha is near skiing, fine and casual dining, maple sugar houses, museums, summer and winter farmers’ markets, music festivals, small villages to explore, and so much more. [www.landmarktrustusa.org]
