So this weekend we headed down to Woodstock to their annual Wassail Festival which, in years past, has proven to be a lovely way for us to start the Christmas season.
We watch the parade, drink a cup of mulled wine by the fire, wave to Santa, get some new Vermont Flannel PJs for Daphne (since the ones from the year before will inevitably be too small), etc.
It’s nice.
But this year the whole thing had a slightly different vibe. That or perhaps it’s just us becoming a bit more NEK…that’s also a possibility.
First it was pretty crowded…
Which was surprising since it was rather cold on Saturday. I’d assumed the below freezing temps would’ve kept some of the Mass/Conn/NY people at home. Alas, not so much. All of our usual Sneaky Pete Parking Areas were jam packed, so we ended up parking over a half-mile away and walking to the town square. Daphne also exited the car in a foul mood and scratched her mother’s face which obviously didn’t start the proceedings off on festive note.
Also it felt less like a neighborly Vermont gathering and more like the wealthiest 1% from the surrounding states all converged on Woodstock for a snoot convention.
Fashion victims in weird face shield sunglasses and fur-lined bodysuits stepping out of poorly parked Range Rovers, Vermont cosplayers with tweed hunting jackets and immaculate Bean Boots, and I lost track of the amount of Canada Goose jackets. They were everywhere.
Perhaps the Woodstock Inn being rated Gold by Condé Nast, putting them among the best hotels in the world, brought a…certain element into town this year. And while I’m sure they all had a lovely time, in their Burberry and Moncler, I will admit to struggling a little with the vibe change.
Still, we did what we do just about anywhere. We made the best of it and we had a good time.
See you tomorrow.
j.s.
Sadly, this is now the real Woodstock, we avoid it when we can and hang out most of the time in our neck of the woods……dead end dirt road with only 2 neighbors in sight. (Sometimes we say that’s 2 neighbors too many!)