Revisiting Charles Kuralt's "America" with these two sisters

Janie Gass & Lou Schell

Yesterday we had a very pleasant surprise from two sisters who are driving across the country visiting all of the same spots that Charles Kuralt (journalist and long time CBS news anchor) did in his 1995 book, "America". They began their journey in New Orleans and have spent months in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Brooklyn, and then Woodstock, Vermont. Today they are headed to Maine for July and then will be headed to Minnesota, Montana, up to Alaska, and back down to New Mexico. Phew!

Lou and Janie (both in their 70's but not that you would know it!) have been traveling since the beginning of a year, spending a month in each spot exploring the people and area just as Kuralt did. Our dear friend, Louise (who you will recognize as the star from "The Elders" film) had befriended them during their stay in Woodstock . She told them they had to come see the Inn. We gladly showed them around and headed to the Windsor Station Pub for a delicious lunch.

Last night, Channel 3 News aired a short piece with them, which is wonderful so you can hear their charming southern drawls and get a sense of their warm and kind personalities. They also have a blog you can check in on and their plan is to write a book about their experiences driving across America for a year. We love their spirit of adventurism and were about to hop right into their car with them. We do hope they make it back our way to stay with us someday (perhaps for some quiet time to work on the book) because it was such a delight meeting these two sisters and participating, even in the smallest way, in their great tour of the country.

America is certainly made for road trips, don't you think? What has been a favorite drive you've taken?

Well done friend!

Remember back in February when friend and film maker, Nathaniel Hansen, held a special screening of his new documentary, "The Elders" in the Maxwell Perkins library? Well, his film was chosen as one of 12 to be part of Kickstarter's 2nd annual film festival in New York City on July 9th. Tickets go on sale today if you are in the area, we HIGHLY recommend going. We hear that the DVD will be on sale early Autumn so we will be sure to let you know when that happens as well.

Nathaniel is currently filming in India but we are sending him big high fives from his friends at the Snapdragon!

This one means a lot

The Snapdragon Inn has a strong legacy of family. For nearly 200 years, it has been a beautiful refuge for families. Recently a review showed up on Tripadvisor from a very special guest. McKay wrote a great post here about being part of such a grand history of home and of course you can read more about the previous owners Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. This is also a very special note left to us from one of the 5 kids that lived in the home just before us.

This inn is in a house that was previously owned by family of mine for many, many years. As a kid, I was in and out of this house as well as the other homes on the "estate." I was a little nervous about staying in it as a guest, and not as family, and also to see what had been done to it.I couldn't have been more pleased. Read on...

We love this home and are so pleased that it's legacy of family continues to exist as we take care of 26 Main.

Can't stop thinking about this book

South Dakota, via National Geographic

Hello Monday!

We had odd weather for the last weekend of June-rainy and cooler but this morning is dazzling. June's literary club is this Thursday at 7:30PM in the Maxwell Perkins library. We are very excited to discuss this month's book, "One Thousand White Women" by Jim Fergus. It certainly was an adventure from rural New England into the plains of the expanding and fought over west of the late 1800s. The photo above feels like most of the scenery described in the novel. Beautiful huh?

Save the date: Spectacular fireworks

by Rich Vial

by Aaron Settles

Are you looking for a late July getaway? We have just the spot. Come visit us at the Snapdragon and enjoy one of the best fireworks shows around on Friday July 22nd. They are set over our gorgeous Paradise Park and Lake Runnemede just behind the Inn so the views are brilliant. In fact, there are many viewing spots all over Windsor. This year our town is celebrating its 250th birthday so there will be various activities to enjoy through out the month but now is the time to book a room for that weekend. The show is sponsored by the Windsor Mt-Ascutney Chamber of Commerce and kicks off Harpoon's BBQ Weekend. They will be plenty going on.

Snapdragon Tip: Organizing paint colors

We have over 20 different colors/types of paint in the Inn when you add all the common spaces, 9 guestrooms, baths, and various trim paints. (Remember all those posts on painting? Phew!) Some of the colors are used several times but it makes for a lot of cans and buckets when it comes to do touch ups--which is much more frequently than you might think. It is a constant process keeping up a 200 year old home!

Paula had the idea to make the touch up process a bit easier by filling some baby food jars with a bit of each color. We have a master list of colors and have all our cans and buckets labeled but now all we have to do is grab a small jar and a q-tip which we have found work perfectly for the tiny touch up and BAM, done! Gone is the hassle of prying open the paint cans, accidental spills, and cleaning out of brushes.

It's also a good way to keep a sample of the paint you are using in case you need to go color match it. Do you have any clever ways to do touch ups?

Long live the longest day!

Happy longest day of the year! Last night there was still a hint of light in the sky at 10PM! It is such a beautiful time of the year here in the Upper Valley. Luckily, we have a talented photographer in our midst who has been capturing some of the incredible summer light. You can view Nate's galleries here.

Parade down Main Street!

Monday is here already! We had beautiful weather over the weekend and a lot of action in town with high school graduation, Windsor's Alumni day, the Quechee Balloon Festival, other area graduations, and Father's Day!

Here are a few shots from the parade which heads right up Main Street past the Inn so the guests had great viewing and so did we! The theme was "movies" and there were some great floats this year!

Movies! We are keen to see this one

Zelda & Scott Fitgerald

Hemingway

Summer is a fantastic time to get out to the movies with all the big box office hits but also some of the less known films too! We have a great little cinema just over in Hanover, NH, The Nugget, that plays some of the less mainstream flix. We noticed they are currently showing, "Midnight in Paris" which has received some great reviews but more interestingly to us, is the protagonist of the movie (from NYTimes article)

runs into Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald at an elegant soiree, where he hears Cole Porter crooning “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love).” He gets writing advice from a laconic Hemingway, persuades Gertrude Stein to read the manuscript of his novel, and falls in love with Picasso’s mistress. He meets Salvador Dalí, T. S. Eliot, Djuna Barnes, Josephine Baker, Luis Buñuel, Man Ray and others in the enormously talented cast of expatriates and bohemians that peopled Jazz Age Paris.

We are always excited to see Fitzgerald and Hemingway come alive because they are part of our story at the Snapdragon, having been edited by former owner, Max Perkins (as many of you are very well aware). Here is the link to an article in The New York Times that gives a historical look at the film, Decoding Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris' When you come to the Inn, we have many books in the Maxwell Perkins Library detailing these mens' lives, their work and many of their writings. It was as the article says, "a sizzling time".

Have any of you seen it? We are hoping to get over for a viewing next week sometime.

School's out for summer!

School in Windsor is wrapping up this week which means our school aged little snappers are gearing up for the freedom of their summer vacation and rejoining their younger siblings on the homefront. Last week during that string of hot & humid days, they took summer for a test drive with some night tag followed by ice cream. We think they've got the hang of it just fine! They are just so happy, they can barely contain themselves!

kids + summer = something great. Don't you think?

Wise words from a funny man

This weekend we had guests staying for Dartmouth College graduation. Since Dartmouth is one of the Ivy League schools, they usually secure interesting commencement speakers. This year, Conan O' Brien flew out from L.A. to address the class of 2011. You can read his address here or watch the video above.

It is an entertaining way to start your Monday. He hits some funny bones as only Conan can, but also imparts some appropriately wise words. A couple quotes:

"Yes, I've always had a special bond with this school. In fact, this is my second time coming here. When I was 17 years old and touring colleges, way back in the fall of 1980, I came to Dartmouth. Dartmouth was a very different place back then. I made the trip up from Boston on a mule and, after asking the blacksmith in West Leb for directions, I came to this beautiful campus. No dormitories had been built yet, so I stayed with a family of fur traders in White River Junction. It snowed heavily during my visit and I was trapped here for four months. I was forced to eat the mule, who a week earlier had been forced to eat the fur traders. Still, I loved Dartmouth and I vowed to return."
---

"It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It’s not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can be a catalyst for profound re-invention."

Enjoy!

Beam of light

Then the sky began to darken and change.

Last night we appreciated the ceiling fans and rocking chairs of the back porch as the heat of the day continued to linger into the evening . The screens were shading us from the heat and shine of the setting sun but then it cooled off and what the sun and clouds created was a miraculous moment in the sky. There was a long, straight beam of light shooting from the clouds--just like Batman's. Then we experienced some impressive thunder and threat of big rain and just like it came, it was gone. Did you see the beam of light over Lake Runnemede?

Summer.

Ben & Jerry's by the lake

Ben & Jerry's is always good but it is especially good on an early summer evening sitting by Lake Runnemede just behind the Inn. We happened to have some of Innkeeper Chaz's AMAZING brownies stowed in our bag and paired it with Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch. It couldn't have been a more perfect summer evening.

As we are sure you know, Ben & Jerry's is a Vermont company and you can zip up I-89N to Waterbury and visit the factory where some of the ice cream is made. It is a great little day trip and you get to eat ice cream. Could anything be better?

What's your favorite B&J's flavor? Have you tried any of their new flavors shown above?

New Reviews!

From vintagerosegarden.tumblr.com

Wow, has the weather changed or what? We went from high 80's and full humidity to the 60's and a blustery breeze. It's certainly more early June weather than last week. We are excited to have 3 new reviews up from some of our Memorial day guests. Thank you for your kind words. We are glad you enjoyed your stay and it was the respite you needed.

Are you gearing up for your weekend? We hope it includes an ice cream cone somewhere in there.

Snapdragon Celebrity Guest

Penny & Cloris looking lovely for the opening gala at Juniper Hill

The innkeepers of our neighboring Juniper Hill Inn are good friends with academy award winning actress, Cloris Leachman and she was visiting for the opening gala of their New England Living Show House in which they have had a host of designers take part in transforming rooms in their gorgeous gilded age mansion up on the hill.

Cloris, her son, and friend stayed with us while the festivities were on and the inn was occupied with visitors & designers. She told stories, played the piano, and entertained us all weekend long! What a way to start the summer!

Also, here is a news broadcast about the Juniper Hill Inn Show House. If you would like to walk through this historic building and see the designs, it is open everyday until June 6th and then 3 days a week until Labor day. Check out the website for exact days and times.