Surprise! I have another interesting innkeeper day out to talk about! See, it’s not all work, work, work around here.

This week, after serving breakfast, seeing our guests on their way and then having tea and toast and watching England and the USA World Cup games simultaneously (well, watching the England game – they get first dibs in this household – and then switching over to check up on the end of the USA game, to manage to just barely see four of the most thrilling moments of sports ever) we drove to Albany, NY to get my car serviced. As I have explained previously, nothing happens around here without a chore attached.

I will pause here to say that I love my car. Here is an old picture of me with my car. I will never change my car. And if I keep up my current driving habits I will just about hit 100,000 miles as I go so blind I will have to be removed from my car. Yes, we were taking my car in to get a new battery, because I have killed the battery through lack of use. My mileage makes the whole dealership laugh. I am very happy when I am in my car. It just doesn’t happen quite often enough.

After getting the Mini all spruced up and in working order, and catching the Germany v Ghana game while we waited – we left the dealership and headed back to Saratoga Springs, which is a really lovely little town. It is also home to our closest Target, so we had to go there for a truly bizarre shopping list of odds and ends (mascara, whisk, three hole punch….). Then we headed into downtown Saratoga Springs to wander down main street, do some window shopping and then stopped at The Wine Bar, which is a gem of a place. It’s an old brownstone-type building and the inside is really nicely decorated, but they also have  small outdoor sidewalk terrace. And we sat, had some wine, delicious homemade crackers and dip and people-watched to our hearts content. One of the things I love about where we live in Vermont is how quiet it is, how pastoral our views. But once in a while a good, healthy dose of watching other people is necessary. And with a glass of wine in hand on the sidewalk of Saratoga, it was very satisfying.

The very next day we had guests from Australia show up on our doorstep, having been in Cooperstown, NY that day, and headed for Quebec the next, and it just got me thinking again about how well located Shoreham is for that kind of stop. We can give you a little taste of Vermont, a cozy bed, delicious dinner and send you on your way to do some beautiful driving and admiring of our views on your way to or from somewhere else. So next time you might be headed to the horse races in Saratoga Springs, or up to Montreal – we’re a nice little stop in the middle: 1 1/2 hours gets you to Saratoga and about 2 gets you to Montreal.