My sister BunnyGirl won't be in town for my birthday this Tuesday, so she treated me early to my present. Besides, this wasn't a thing meant to be stuffed in after work.
It was a surprise, too! She had picked up a flyer at the Woodstock Fair and drove me to Roseland Cottage, an 1840s mansion that was well-preserved. We took the tour and I loved it! As a history buff I absorbed the family history and talked with the guide about historical facts. Ha, I know most people would consider that boring but my sister knows me well. :)
As you can see, it's a beautiful 'cottage', complete with an heirloom garden. The rooms were a trifle dark downstairs but much brighter upstairs in the family living quarters. The last descendant to live there vacated in 1968, and it's been an historical site ever since.
We played croquet on the lawn, like proper 19th-century ladies. ;) We hadn't played in years but we were pretty good players as kids.
We saw the oldest surviving bowling alley on the property. The family entertained Presidents at their estate, and Ulysses S. Grant bowled a strike, ha, ha, though I must say, even though they were wooden balls, they looked like something Fred 'Twinkletoes' Flintstone might have used. :)
Afterwards we went down the road to the
Woodstock Inn for lunch. Very elegant but the prices were very reasonable! BunnyGirl ordered a garden salad with grilled chicken and I had a bacon-and-chicken sandwich with tomatoes, red onions, and mustard with a garden salad and chips. Excellent in every way, and we brought home half our meals, they were so big!
We sat briefly in the gazebo in the garden. Absolutely lovely!
Once back at BunnyGirl's place I tagged along with her and her hubby, MooseGuy, to a local fair, so that rounded out a very happy day. :)
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