Staying  in the Parker House in Quechee is very much your classic Vermont experience and a big change from where we live which is New York City. It took us about 5½ hours to get here.  We left on a Friday morning and stopped on the way up in Brattleboro, Vt.  Somebody had told us about a really good delicatessen, called the Vermont Deli, off Exit 2 that has great roll ups. They were good.

We arrived in Quechee in the late afternoon, driving over its covered bridge and saw the waterfall under us on the Ottauquechee River. The Parker House sits on the riverbank with a beautiful view of the old village church across the river.

Quechee  is an old mill town and the Parker House, we discovered, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1857 by the Parker family who owned the woolen mill next to it. That building now houses Simon Pearce's glass making operation.

All  rooms in the Parker House are named after members of the Parker Family. Ours  was called Walter, named after Walter Parker, the son of the original owner.  The room has a huge wrought iron bed and is well-lit.

Our  innkeepers, Barbara and Walt Forrester, have interesting backgrounds. Barbara used to be a pastry chef in Chicago and Walter, who acts as "the front of the house man," has a degree from the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Between the two of them, they turn out delicious meals which we enjoyed! We were particularly partial to the Portabello Mushroom Appetizer and the Loin of Venison with a port, balsamic vinegar with dried cranberry  sauce. The crêmé brulée was one of the best we've ever had. Breakfast included home baked muffins and eggs. We should have stayed in bed  instead of rushing down at 8:30 am. We had to eat at the bar instead of on  the terrace outside because all the tables were full.

The  Village of Quechee has several interesting attractions such as the Quechee  Gorge (some people call it the Grand Canyon of the East..but we think that is reaching a bit!), Simon Pearce Glass Blowing and the Quechee Club where we were able to swim and work out in the fully equipped health club. We didn't  have time to play golf at the Quechee Club, though the Parker House has an arrangement with the club, so we could have done this. We did go off to the nearby village of Woodstock and visiting the Marsh Billings Mansion which  is the only National Park Service site in VT. It is well worth a visit.

We almost forgot to mention that on the first night we were there, the Forresters  recommended we dine at Skunk Hollow. This is truly a Vermont experience. There  was lots of atmosphere and a live band and the food was good. All told, we spent about $500.00 for the weekend, including gas. We got back to the Bronx  feeling well-rested and wishing that we could afford to go off to Vermont  for another weekend immediately!

Lucy and John Murphy