How To Take A
32-Hour Vacation
By Bob Eddy

Everyone’s travel style is different, so I’ll be up front by saying that my wife Kathy and I both really enjoy using the "Balboa method." (You will remember from grade school that Balboa is credited as the first European to discover the Pacific.) When Kathy and I are out exploring a new area and one of us has gone on ahead, the other will often call out, "Have you seen the Pacific yet?" This is our code language for, "What new and wonderful somethings have you come into contact with?"

So, we are very comfortable with not making careful plans when we travel. Letting the trip unfold in its own way is fine with us.

This is an account of an impromptu 32-hour sojourn we took last month. It turned out to be a complete vacation in less than a day and a half. We started with no other firm arrangements than booking a night’s stay at the Dorset Inn. Everything else flowed from that decision.

The Dorset Inn, having opened its doors in 1796, credits itself with being the oldest Inn in Vermont. I do know that it is a very comfortable nineteenth century inn, about eight miles north of Manchester. This region is very different from central Vermont, and that makes for good exploring and grand new discoveries. We didn’t find the Pacific, but had a great time and recommend a similar trip to you.

The Inn offers lodging for two, afternoon tea, a four-course dinner, and breakfast with tax and gratuities included for a low package price Sunday through Thursday, excepting holidays and three weeks in leaf season. How low? Call them. And, when you do, remember that Sissy Hicks, the owner, is a chef herself, and the food is outrageously good.

But Wait, There’s More

Staying at the Inn is a great way to become introduced to the Manchester area. As you check in at the front desk, be sure to pick up your coupons for free admission to Hildene, the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln and to the Southern Vermont Arts Center.

Hildene, south of Manchester village, is a great destination for anyone interested in turn of the century gardens, landscape, architecture and furnishings, or the Lincolns. We were hooked by all four. Every room here has flowers arranged by volunteers. Many of the blooms are brought in from area gardens. These floral offerings bring the residence delightfully to life, as does the guided tour.

Out in the gardens, set among over 400 acres of gorgeous landscape, take the time to talk with the certified master gardener, Cindy Lewis. She is bringing the formal garden, designed by Robert Todd Lincoln’s daughter Jessie, back to its 1907 splendor. We walked among over 1000 peony blossoms, and I hear the July and August show is equally fabulous with new colors coming each day.

After Hildene, we popped over to the Southern Vermont Arts Center. There was a free opening reception for the 78^th Annual Members’ Exhibition, so we didn’t use our passes for the permanent collection which includes works by Georgia O’Keefe, John Sloan, William Merritt Chase, and Will Barnet. Instead, we feasted on hors d’oeuvres, free pinot grigio, and visited with 15 Vermont artists and their current work.

Colorful Chickens

On the way home, coming north through Danby, and flush with the experience of contemporary Vermont art, we spied a huge display of colorfully painted chickens outside the old train station.

Stopping, we met Ray Sousa, the Da Vinci of poultry art. His work is selling well at huge mark-ups through chic galleries and designers, but you can see the whole collection and negotiate your own deal with Ray.

We arrived back in Braintree at 7 p.m., having left about 11 a.m. the day before. Tucking into bed, Mr. and Mrs. Balboa, talked for about two hours about all the grand and glorious discoveries uncovered in 32 hours of journey away from home. Total cost, including gas, under $275 … and Vermont Life is coming in the mail, courtesy the Dorset Inn.

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