Aisha and I drove to very-western Vermont for a life partnership event on Lake Bomoseen (congrats Theresa and Matt!) and stayed at the Marble Mansion Inn in Fairhaven, Vermont. Each room in this 1860s inn is named after a different literary figure. We stayed in the Jane Austen room, though it could’ve also been called the “Peacock Room” due to the peacock wallpaper and decor.
The marble mansion was sweet and strange and possibly haunted (a Jane Austen book on our bed’s nightstand somehow moved and turned upside-down in the night… nothing unsettling about that). It was very quiet and had a great complimentary breakfast and a nice front porch.
Perhaps our favorite “feature” of the inn was a friendly black cat with a fluffy tail who regularly cuddled up to us whenever we were around the porch. We thought the cat lived at the inn, but learned from another guest that the poor feline was a stray abandoned by her owners who moved out next door. We thought the cat had snuck inside when we saw him on the first floor of the inn, but nope, that was another black cat with a fluffy tail who did, indeed, live in the inn. By the time we encountered a possible third black cat hiding beneath a chair during our contactless checkout, we were like—ok, this is weird. We almost took the stray home with us. He was about ready to hop in our car. But Kitty would’ve never forgiven us.
On the drive home, I accidentally turn a wrong turn and crossed the border into New York. The nearest turnaround happened to be a pumpkin patch, so of course we stopped to get some pumpkins. We also stopped in Woodstock, VT, at Quechee Gorge, the Vermont Antique Mall, and at that charmingly NH Common Man-themed rest stop in Hooksett.