Monday, June 23, 2014

A 200 Year Old Mill

We stayed at this 200 Year Old Mill for our annual father's day trip this year.  After our stay, I was sure this place needed a post of its own!

The minute we arrived at the mill, we were excited as we were met with a charming house with very interesting things even at the porch.
When Don welcomed us into the house, we were amazed by the living area, and couldn't wait to find out how Don created the space.  It was late so he immediately brought us to our quarters, which was a bed room with our own bathroom and living area with a day bed.  The fridge was stocked with orange juice and milk, and there were muffins and fruits on top of the fridge.  There was a wine opener, wine glasses, coffee mugs and a Kurig for use.  The space was fully stocked with bath towels, beach towels, extra blankets, bathrobes, a hair dryer, q-tips, shampoo, conditioner and body wash.  Every little toiletry you can think of, was provided in the vanity drawer.  The space itself was nothing out of extraordinary, but you can tell Don put a lot of effort into every small detail to make sure the stay was comfortable.  I loved all the interesting photographs and art work everywhere in this mill.  I also found the music player at the bedside was loaded with cds that played very soothing music, which set a very relaxing mood for the evening.
The next morning, Don was ready to greet us with answers to any questions we may have had.  We had so many questions for him, and he was so kind to answer them all.  He also invited us to tour the rest of the house.  Don's living quarters was upstairs along with his photography studio.  He is a professional photographer that creates many magazine ads.  He also shot for the Giants!  Aiden asked him if he was a collector because he had so many interesting things around the mill.  He said he could have been a collector, but most things were from photography sets he needed and kept, and now those items lived in the mill.
 There were so many interesting things on the bookshelves throughout the mill.  You just have to be there to check them out!  A neighbor and his daughter came by to borrow some photography items from Don.  They were so friendly and gave us tips for Kent Falls, which turned out to be a wonderful day.  The daughter was taking photography classes, so we gave her our camera and she took the following photos.  They came out really good right?
Onto the backyard/garden.  There is a stream that runs through the mill under a wooden bridge.  Don had put in a pool for the guests.  But to me the most amazing part of the back yard were the stone paved steps and statues through out the garden as you walk through them.
There is a forest behind the mill, apparently you can hike 2 miles on the forest and will end at an abandon train track, but we weren't brave enough to venture out that far in the forest.

Value:      5 Stars (I have never stayed at a hotel for $120 that is as cool and interesting as this, have you?)
Service:   5 Stars
Comfort: 4.5 Stars (The only reason I gave 0.5 stars less is because the TV is in the living area with daybed, and it wasn't as comfortable as a sofa, but we ended up putting some pillows on the floor and it was fine.

I would recommend this to anyone who's looking for a weekend getaway from NYC as the mill is only 1.5 Hour drive from Manhattan, but a world of difference.

Side note, Don has original photographs of the Mill!!!  And he's into Thai cooking as we found this cookbook.

During our stay here, we did this and this.

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