This is my last post for Vermont and I might have saved the best for last. It's hard to say because I fell in love with Vermont and have so enjoyed writing each post for Vermont and sharing my pictures. (Even though my phone camera couldn't show the scenery that well.) I checked two items off my "bucket list" with this visit -- first time in Vermont and first time at a B & B.
I think running a B & B would have been a great "job" to take up when we retired 12 years ago. I'm so glad my aunt Eleanor mentioned there was one near when I asked her about places we could stay while we were visiting them. When I told her I was interested, she and my uncle Sam went by and "checked it out" for us. I looked it up online and had decided it looked perfect.
Bailey's Mills is over 200 years old. Our hostess, Barbara's father bought the place 50 years ago (The family actually celebrated their 50th reunion right after we left.) The beautiful three story house has held up nicely. It has obviously been updated during the 200 years with "modern" conveniences, but still has much of the original aspects, such as the flooring. The stairs have been changed but some parts of the stairs are original. I asked Barbara how many bedrooms the house has (she offers three to guests but I took pictures of two other rooms that looked ready for guests) and she laughed and said she didn't know.
The largest room she offers she calls the Queen's Room...(my picture only shows part of the room)
The Guest Room... (I couldn't get the whole room in one picture)
We stayed in John's Room (John was her brother) and I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of it. You can see a picture of it on her website. It also had a fireplace.
Every morning we enjoyed breakfast in the first floor sunroom. (I miss that a lot.)
My view each morning...
Each morning we had a generous offerings of fresh fruit, nuts, loaf bread with jams, and yogurt...
The rest of breakfast was made-to-order -- omelets, scrambled eggs, waffles and my favorite - blueberry muffins which I am sharing the recipe below. (Thanks, Barbara for sharing the recipe with me.)
I said there was a lot of history about Bailey's Mills and the cemetery in the front yard is really an interesting story. (You can read the story on the "History" link on Barbara's website.) She has a picture of it, but here is mine...(The road used to go right in front of the house and Bailey's Mills was the center of Reading.)
Here are some more pictures of the grounds...
(In the center of the picture is the bridge that the road used to cross the brook. Now the road is along the top of the ridge that you can see through the tree.)
View of the brook from the "bridge"...
Print just the recipe here.
Bailey's Mills Blueberry Muffins
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon lemon oil (or 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries (or 1 cup blueberries + 1 cup cranberries for a blueberry/cranberry muffin)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 12 - regular muffin cups. (Barbara uses a muffin pan that had slightly decorated cups.)
In a medium-size bowl, beat oil and sugar til fluffy. Beat in egg, one at time.
Add milk, vanilla, lemon oil, and blueberries.
Fold in flour, baking powder, and salt.
Scoop batter into muffin cups.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Let muffins cool at least 30 minutes in the pan before removing.
Barbara did serve the muffins warm.
They freeze nicely and can be heated in microwave.
If you are ever in southern Vermont and want to stay in a beautiful old historic home with "southern" charm, I hope you will consider Bailey's Mills Bed & Breakfast. I give it 6 stars out of 5.
Here we are standing in front just before we left...
If you missed my post for Plymount Notch, the birthplace and boyhood home of President Calvin Coolidge, click HERE.
OR HERE for Beautiful Vermont...
Check out the start of our trip in Boston, HERE.
I think running a B & B would have been a great "job" to take up when we retired 12 years ago. I'm so glad my aunt Eleanor mentioned there was one near when I asked her about places we could stay while we were visiting them. When I told her I was interested, she and my uncle Sam went by and "checked it out" for us. I looked it up online and had decided it looked perfect.
Bailey's Mills is over 200 years old. Our hostess, Barbara's father bought the place 50 years ago (The family actually celebrated their 50th reunion right after we left.) The beautiful three story house has held up nicely. It has obviously been updated during the 200 years with "modern" conveniences, but still has much of the original aspects, such as the flooring. The stairs have been changed but some parts of the stairs are original. I asked Barbara how many bedrooms the house has (she offers three to guests but I took pictures of two other rooms that looked ready for guests) and she laughed and said she didn't know.
The largest room she offers she calls the Queen's Room...(my picture only shows part of the room)
The Guest Room... (I couldn't get the whole room in one picture)
We stayed in John's Room (John was her brother) and I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of it. You can see a picture of it on her website. It also had a fireplace.
Every morning we enjoyed breakfast in the first floor sunroom. (I miss that a lot.)
My view each morning...
Each morning we had a generous offerings of fresh fruit, nuts, loaf bread with jams, and yogurt...
The rest of breakfast was made-to-order -- omelets, scrambled eggs, waffles and my favorite - blueberry muffins which I am sharing the recipe below. (Thanks, Barbara for sharing the recipe with me.)
I said there was a lot of history about Bailey's Mills and the cemetery in the front yard is really an interesting story. (You can read the story on the "History" link on Barbara's website.) She has a picture of it, but here is mine...(The road used to go right in front of the house and Bailey's Mills was the center of Reading.)
Here are some more pictures of the grounds...
(In the center of the picture is the bridge that the road used to cross the brook. Now the road is along the top of the ridge that you can see through the tree.)
View of the brook from the "bridge"...
Print just the recipe here.
Bailey's Mills Blueberry Muffins
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon lemon oil (or 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries (or 1 cup blueberries + 1 cup cranberries for a blueberry/cranberry muffin)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 12 - regular muffin cups. (Barbara uses a muffin pan that had slightly decorated cups.)
In a medium-size bowl, beat oil and sugar til fluffy. Beat in egg, one at time.
Add milk, vanilla, lemon oil, and blueberries.
Fold in flour, baking powder, and salt.
Scoop batter into muffin cups.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Let muffins cool at least 30 minutes in the pan before removing.
Barbara did serve the muffins warm.
They freeze nicely and can be heated in microwave.
If you are ever in southern Vermont and want to stay in a beautiful old historic home with "southern" charm, I hope you will consider Bailey's Mills Bed & Breakfast. I give it 6 stars out of 5.
Here we are standing in front just before we left...
Check out the start of our trip in Boston, HERE.
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