The Inn at Clearwater Pond, a bed and breakfast near Woodstock, Vermont, celebrated a peaceful and joyous holiday season.  We enjoyed a white Christmas and New Year's, the annual Woodstock Wassail Weekend was a hit with guests, skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling conditions were great, restaurants, shops and inns were buzzing with visitors and locals and our towns were brilliantly lit up with festive lights and winter greenery.  If you have yet to visit Vermont during the holiday season, you should consider doing so next year.  Even the "grinches" out there mellow out, soften up a bit and begin to relax when arriving in this tranquil state.  I often tell guests that spending time in Vermont is like going back in time.  Family life is important to Vermonters, so is relaxation and appreciation of nature.  Visitors come to Vermont to "get away from it all" and when they leave, they are usually more relaxed and refreshed.  As an innkeeper, I see this simple transformation in my guests time after time and it always makes me smile.  I never tire of all the kisses, hugs, thank-you's and promises of a speedy return visit that transpire at the front door as guests depart.  I have met many wonderful new friends through the Inn - chances are they are people I would have never met without owning this business.  And for this I am extremely grateful.  So, a huge thank you to all my former guests for enriching my life and allowing me the opportunity to get to know all of you! As much as all of you are anxious to return, I am just as anxious to see you again in 2010.  Until we meet again.........Love and gratitude from Tina and the Inn at Clearwater Pond