Is Woods Hole Nirvana?

If being on the A/T heaven, does that mean that a visit to Woods Hole is like going to Nirvana?  It sure seemed that way to me as we tracked down the gravel road, turned the corner and was welcomed by the barking of a very friendly dog.  Seeing Neville and Michael's rustic but very cozy cottage and bunk house through the woods was a beautiful sight to see after a hike that we thought would never end (the mileage is wrong in the book).

Neville meets us on the soft green grass out front and immediately surrounds us with warmth and comfort with her welcome and introduction to her home.  Of course I am always in favor of upgrading so Nero, Sho Fly and I decided to share a private room with a bath that has real plumbing and a hot shower (in the lodge).  Everyone else opted for the community bunk house...a really cool building with a front porch, a stocked fridge and a hot outdoor shower.  Privy as you would expect.

Woods Hole creates some sort of special "aura" that is really hard to explain.  You just slow down a couple of notches, sitting in the rocking chairs on the porch, drinking wonderful smoothies and soaking in the sun.  Several of us took Neville up on her offer for a massage (at least 60 minutes for $45-60) - one of the best I've ever had.  I also participated in one of her yoga sessions (can you believe that?).

Dinner and breakfast is a huge community event.  The meals are prepared with all local grown or raised food stuffs so everything is super fresh.  The bread is baked fresh every day and the recipes go back to Neville's grandmother's days when she was running the hiker lodge.  Michael has a huge organic garden.

To top it all off for me was being able to sit around the campfire at night as the younguns' pulled out their guitars and other musical instruments and made wonderful music.  Hazard, a very talented young man, took the lead in rousing the group into an entertaining sing along.  But off to bed for me early in the evening.

I ended up staying at Woods Hole two nights - first night in the lodge, second night in the bunk house because we decided to "slack pack" the next day. (Following post).

What an experience!