A year ago, Sue and I were looking for a place to stay so that we could attend a memorial for my Uncle Dom who had passed the prior winter. We looked at AirBnB listings and came upon The Rose of Sharon Cottage at Beforest Gardens in the town of Sharon, VT. Our original plan was to stay for 4 days, but we had to cut it short, 2 nights only, to attend the wedding of a friend back in CT, the day after the memorial.

We instantly fell in love with the cottage, and decided we’d try to go back this summer…well, as luck would have it, all of our travel, including the week we had scheduled at the ocean earlier this summer, was scuttled due to “it that shall not be named”….We did reach out late June to see if they were even taking folks in this summer, and the plan was to book some dates and keep it open in case things either did not improve or, perish the thought, became worse.

As the summer progressed, here in the Northeast, we’ve done a pretty damn good job of inching along and car travel between states has been mostly open and seamless so off we went, this time for a 5 night stay, packing as if we were going for a month, of course…well, wine etc, mandatory supplies….

We arrived after a relatively quick and easy drive up and immediately upon walking in we realized we had, for a few precious days, regained a sense of calm and peace. The cottage itself is comfortable, beautiful, beautifully appointed, and every single detail that you can imagine has already been taken into account by Eric and Coley, our hosts. They own and run the working farm that the cottage sits on, here is the website that will give you a little information about them and the farm: https://www.beforest.com/, but to say it does not even come close to doing them or it justice is truly an understatement.

Think of it this way…the Winvian, in Morris, CT gets constant raves for the 18 individual cottages they have to stay in, while The Rose of Sharon cottage is the only one on the farm, it would fit perfectly, if transported to Morris, CT. It is as comfortable, more spacious, and has what the Winvian does not have, a full, working kitchen. Let me try to give you a flavor….

You walk in to the main living area with a comfortable loveseat that is actually a futon for additional sleeping (it’s only two of us, so that’s not an issue), a small but again well appointed full bathroom with a great shower, within the bathroom is every imaginable item, and some things you would not even think you’d want during a visit, yet it’s there (too numerous to list). Across from the loveseat is a small desk and above it a multi function sound system radio/CD/the ability to plug in and stream from your phone or ipad etc. Games, books, etc. a few feet further is the kitchen. Full size fridge, stove, sink cutting board, work area, island with stools to sit at, coffee maker, toaster, coffee grinder, microwave etc. Pots/pans/bowls/potholders/covers/untensils/spices/olive oil/towels/cleaning materials/foil/bags….and the knives….Misen chef’s, bread, pairing knives to die for… I know I’m leaving out things as well but I don’t want this to become simply a catalog.

Out the back door is a small pond where frogs and crawdads and other things I suspect are fun to watch, Hummingbirds are frequent visitors to the plants growing next to the comfortable chairs where an evening glass of wine is a perfect accompaniment. There is also a garden adjacent where we were encouraged to take what we’d like to use if/when we cooked anything. Upstairs is an incredibly comfortable bed, desk, AC for the occasions that you might need it, a ceiling fan and enough space for the two of us.

While all of this is simply perfect, it is the ambiance and the feeling that Coley and Eric give off that makes it so very magical. The most amazing thing for me is that I am NOT a “woods” guy. That would be the very last choice I’d make when it comes to travel, however, the feeling I got for the quick trip last year simply “sucked me back in” and I was excited to go again and am even happier that we did. There was the matter of the “river adventure” however, even with that mishap Coley and Eric were so great it turned into something I can now really laugh about, and at no time did it take away from the wonderful experience in the area and at the cottage.

From that basepoint, there are multiple restaurants, it’s a short drive to the Alchemist in Stowe (for those who know, no explanation is necessary, for those who don’t none would really do the job), but mostly it was time to change scenery, recharge, relax and reconnect in a way that, again, was just magical…

I don’t often go into the woods, but when I do, Beforest Gardens and the Rose of Sharon Cottage will always be my first choice!