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Dale Visits Vermont 
As a Massachusetts native now living in Connecticut with a fondness for the real Vermont, I was in my glory on my fall trip to Ludlow and Chester. Ensuring I’d find the real McCoy (no big-box stores or chain anything for this girl), I stayed with a friend, a transplanted Connecticut neighbor who now considers the Okemo Valley home. What did I find? Some special, out-of-the-way (to me) spots I’d like to share with you: in Ludlow, Black River Good Neighbors Services, the place to get gently worn/barely used items at bargain-basement prices and lend a helping hand at the same time, and Calm Moments Spa, a body and face sanctuary enhanced by a spa mistress who knows her stuff and really cares about your well-being; and in Chester,Inn Victoria, a trip back to a more gracious time via an elegant high tea, and Country on the Common, the kind of place, with smartly selected women’s clothing and well-curated jewelry priced under $25, not to mention a one-of-a-kind wedding-dress corner, that locals are reluctant to tell you about for fear it will be overrun by out-of-towners. And along the way, picture-perfect farm stands and cows of many colors, accommodating folks who ask if they can help when you stop to snap the horses grazing in their fields (in Connecticut they’d likely shoo you away or, worse yet, call the police) and traditional harvest festivals where complete strangers welcome you like a long-lost relative and invite you to sample pie so delicious it belongs in the pantheon of baked goods. All reasons to start planning the next visit.