We’re staying at a pretty little guest house (the cherry branch inn) at a rural roundabout in the small charming Illinois town of Woodstock, the more causal offshoot of the Cherry Tree Inn, located in an elegant Victorian manse down the block. The town square is worth the 1.5 hour drive here, north from Chicago. Its perfectly preserved with a wide red brick circular drive around a shady green with cobblestone gates, a fancy bandshell and nearby outdoor gazebo, which was maybe the reason the town served as the film location for Groundhog Day, the 1992 movie starring Bill Murray (which we didn’t like, even though D’s birthday is on Groundhog Day). The movie link was a big enough draw for a young couple from Birmingham, England, who we met at breakfast. They tacked a day here onto their trip to Chicago.
At night the towering yellow and red brick buildings around the square are lined with lights (red, white, blue currently). Lights also set off the stately former sheriff’s quarters, now home to BratHaus, which did indeed serve a wide selection of excellent brats plus decent everything else including a Greek Salad. We enjoyed sitting out on the front patio overlooking the square, blending into the local crowd, watching occasional strollers with dogs or kids.
We are here because the superb local bookstore Read Between The Lynes hosted an event for my book (our diaries, ourselves). The folks there obviously have great taste but the store was even better than expected, with well-chosen and well-displayed books laid out on dark wood shelves, near a huge tree (fake) along a cobblestone path (painted on the wood floor). I’ve been to so many great book stores that hosted events and it’s almost impossible to pick a favorite. I’m impressed and pleased they still exist.
One of many odes to Groundhog Day (the 1992 film)
TakeBetsywithyou 