802.n WiFi at Birch Ridge Inn 

Between seasons, Mary and I do a number of projects around the inn. They range from simple maintenance, to major investments. This posting discusses one of the improvement projects recently completed at the inn. Warning...contains geek speak.

Since getting back from vacation, Mary and I have had a full list of projects around the inn. Maintenance is a huge part of running an inn. The goal, of course, is that is all done transparently as far as our guests are concerned. Things just happen... as if little elves are scurrying around in the dark (and I do stay up late at night when some stuff gets done). But the reality of it all is that Mary and I, together with staff, do most of the work when guests are not around.

One of the features an inn MUST HAVE these days is WiFi internet access. Guests walk through our door with a myriad of electronic devices, many of them thirsty for a drink from the internet. 11 years ago when we started, bulky laptops with modem connections were de-riguer. I fondly remember (not) configuring laptop modem strings for guests at midnight as they struggled with the concept of a second dial tone through our PBX to get an outside line.

Today, of course, there are Powerbooks, Macbook Air's, Old IBM and new Lenova Thinkpads, Dell and HP Laptops...just too many kinds to keep up with. Then there are the smart phones with WiFI interfaces... the Crack-er- Blackberries, the IPhone, and countless Symbian and Windows Mobile (yuk) devices. Wireless tablet devices are starting to be used by guests. The Apple ITouch is a good early example. The connection via a telephone cord to our PBX has now been replaced by a wireless connection to our DSL service. The good news is that most of the time it all just works. The bad news, of course, is that sometimes it doesn't...And thats when your friendly innkeeper has to get involved.

About 5 years ago we started our first foray into WiFi with a Linksys 802.11b router donated by a friend. It had a theoretical data rate of 11Mbs, but in practice connections speeds hit several hundred kilobits per second at best. It worked ok, as long as you stayed near the front desk. Of course it was eminently hackable, which someone did less that 2 weeks after it was installed. Enabling WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol) took care of that problem, but created a whole host of other problems as many devices implemented WEP passwords using different schemes.

A couple of years ago, when our internet service provider offered us a higher, multi-megabit per speed DSL circuit, I upgraded the network to a faster interface, supporting 802.11g. I attempted to install a 802.11g repeater (Linksys WRE54G) in one corner of the inn to increase signal coverage beyond the sitting room, great room, and front desk area, but WEP encryption created some interface issues resulting in spotty performance. Conceptually it was a good idea...but this winter I found most of our guests with their wireless devices in the bar or sitting room. Not necessarily bad from an inn revenue standpoint (email with a beer anyone?)..but from a service standpoint we should be able to do better.

With the change in seasons, I purchased an Apple Airport Extreme 802.11n router just before heading off on vacation. 802.11n is the latest draft wireless standard with a theoretical data rate of 248Mbs and a practical throughput limit of 74Mbs when driven by data from a local server. More importantly, it maintains compatibility with wireless B and G devices, while increasing range. With the new router, I have also upgraded security protocols to WiFi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2) from the earlier WEP, much to the delight of the Linksys repeater in the back building.

Speeds and feeds are nice, and email with a beer is pretty good too, but from a practical standpoint the whole exercise is to improve our guests experiences while they are staying with us at Birch Ridge. With the new system in place, inn guests connected to the inn's wireless network should be able to take advantage of nearly the full speed of the inn's DSL service. I have measured transfer rates higher than 2Mbs to the DSL side of the internet in my testing (using an ITouch) in every room at the inn. Inter-device communication is much faster, although I have not seen inn guests set up their own network of multiple devices yet...but I am sure it is coming to a room at the inn sometime soon. Of course, individual guests connections speeds will vary based upon the equipment in their quiver... So it goes.

Mary and I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend. And remember, keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sunscreen.

Birch Ridge Inn Logo and Covered Carriageway 

Today, Mary and I begin our 11th season in Killington as Innkeepers. On Memorial Day weekend in 1998, the Birch Ridge Inn at Killington opened and began receiving guests. It has been a very quick 10 years.

Without much fanfare a few minutes ago, when our first guests of the new season arrived, the 2008-2009 season at Birch Ridge began. We are re-opening the inn for lodging this weekend. Our restaurant will re-open for dinner service starting on Friday June 27th.

Have a good Memorial Day weekend, keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sunscreen.

Liberty Hill Inn, Yarmouthport, Cape Cod, Massachusetts 

In early May, Mary and I had the opportunity to get away from Killington for a few days for a vacation of our own. This is the first installment of a 4 part article on our experiences.

As most of our friends and repeat guests know, Mary and I usually get away from Killington during early May. Killington in early May can be rather messy. Snow melt off the mountains is in full swing. Muddy soil conditions, combined with running water and sunshine cause the area to erupt in small insects of many different varieties. Many local golf courses are open, but the surrounding countryside is still devoid of color, as most trees are barely in the bud stage, still hibernating from the winter cold. With all this in mind, our vacation planning each year starts with 1 requirement....How far do we have to travel so that we encounter "Leaves on the Trees". On most even years we tend to limit our travel to North America. On odd years, we have been known to wander outside the country to see other parts of the world. This year we focused our vacation into parts of North Carolina in search of leaves on the trees (and green on the fairways).

In writing this series of articles, I have divided our trip into 4 parts: Heading South (this article); Asheville NC - The Biltmore Estate; Pinehurst NC - A little golf; and Heading North via Washington DC.

All of our vacations usually include visiting with our parents in Massachusetts. As we left Vermont, we stopped first for an afternoon with Mary's parents in Easton MA. In what has now become a right os spring, Mary and I installed her parents window air conditioner in the living room. Mary had spent some time with her parents prior to heading off on vacation, so there were not many other chores to do. With the air conditioner installed, we pointed the car further south to visit with my parents on Cape Cod.

Flowering tree at Liberty Hill Inn (Click to enlarge.)

On the Cape, my folks had a short list of spring chores for us to accomplish. Mary had some spring planting to do. We both helped my father erect my parents back yard screen house. Being outside in the summer on Cape Cod is one of life's pleasures for my parents. They eat dinner often outside in the early evening in their screen house...so getting it up and ready to go is one of the primary chores of every spring visit.

While on Cape Cod, we stayed once again at the 9 room Liberty Hill Inn located in Yarmouthport. The innkeepers at Liberty Hill, John and Kris, always do a great job taking care of us on our visits. If you are traveling around New England this summer, after you have stayed with us in Killington Vermont at the Birch Ridge Inn of course, and your travels plans include Cape Cod, we heartily recommend the you include the Liberty Hill Inn in Yarmouthport Massachusetts on your itinerary.

Of course, Cape Cod in early May usually does not satisfy our overall vacation requirement calling for "Leaves on the Trees". In early May on the Cape, many of the flowering trees are showing off, but the normal trees are just slightly further along than what you would find in Killington. With that in mind, after a couple of days on the Cape, we pointed our car further south, to begin our vacation in North Carolina.

Piedmont Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Click to enlarge.)

From Cape Cod, trips to North Carolina are pretty straight forward, as long as you have a high tolerance for Route 95 through Connecticut and New York. We timed our get away from the Cape to pass through the New York City area in early afternoon, avoiding much of the traffic. Overall on the first day driving south, we traveled about 10 hours, winding up in Woodstock Virginia overnight. We had planned on driving just under 6 hours on the second day south with the plan to arrive in Asheville North Carolina in early afternoon. Little did I know that Mary had other plans which would make the drive significantly longer.

Linn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway. No leaves on the trees there! (Click to enlarge.)

On leaving Woodstock Va, Mary announced that she wanted to take the Blue Ridge Parkway through the mountains to Asheville. The Blue Ridge Parway is one of the great scenic drives in North America, literally running down the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. The parkway is a 2 lane road traversing mountain peaks and secluded valleys. In early May, the scenery changed dramatically with altitude. The mountain peaks, like the area around the Linn Cove Viaduct was still twigs and sticks. Lower elevations, like the Piedmont Overlook, had some greenery showing. In between, the mountain meadows were filled with spring flowers in bloom, taking advantage of warmer temperatures and May sunshine.

The one downside to taking the Blue Ridge Parkway on the second leg of our trip to Asheville, was that it changed a 6 hour ride into a 9 hour ride. So it goes... I for one would have been happier chasing a little white ball around for those 3 hours... but life is not all golf in the summer. And because Mary wanted to gawk at the scenery, I got to drive the twisty mountain roads...sometimes with a wee bit of speed reminiscent of our vacation last year across the little roads of Ireland.

In the next installment, I will talk about our visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC. In the mean time, keep it in the fairway...and don't forget your sunscreen!

Snow covers Superstar on May 19th, 2008 

We're back....at least physically.

Most vacations always seem too short. Innkeepers vacations suffer the same fate. Mary and I got back to Killington a few days ago after a trip to down south to take in some warmer weather. This year our trip took us on a swing through the Boston area and Cape Cod, both to see family, then off to North Carolina to take in some spring gardens and some golf. On the way back, we took a side trip to Washington DC (it was on the way and seemed like the right thing to do).

We are back at work at the inn, getting it ready for the summer season. Over the next couple of days, as I get back into writing, I will post some pictures from our vacation and post about some of the work we are doing around the inn to prepare for the new season.

Yesterday, in a strange twist of meteorology, Killington was graced with snow and sleet for most of the day. Around the inn there was no lasting accumulation, so I wont be resurrecting any more snow stake pictures for a while, but the mountain once again turned white as todays picture shows. Of course this happens on occasion at Killington this time of year. It is just one of natures oddities...and the reason we keep a pack of hot hands in our golf bags...

Keep it in the fairway...and hopefully where ever you are it is sunny enough to need sunscreen!

From the 15th hole on Rutland Country Club looking towards Pico taken last week. 

The last couple of days at Killington have been rather damp with moderate rain being experienced across the region. Hard to believe given the winter snow we had, but this is the first serious precipitation event we have had in the area in April. And its a good thing.

I had the opportunity late last week to get out and chase the little white ball around the fairways of both Rutland Country Club and Proctor Pittsford Golf Course. My swing was in pretty good shape, but as is usually the case on early rounds, my short game was, to be polite, not good. It did not really matter, however, as it was just nice to be out in the spring sunshine walking down green fairways.

Both courses were in excellent shape. The relatively mild (from a temperature standpoint) winter did not do any visible damage to the greens on either course. Both had dried out nicely from the snow melt. The rain this week will go a long way to getting them, and other local courses, into great shape for the summer golf season.

Until the next time, hit them straight and keep the ball in the fairway!

The weapons of winter being banished for summer storage. 

That was fast. What happened to winter??? Last week, seven days ago to be precise, there was 11 inches of snow at the snow stake behind the inn. From November 16th to April 19th, the ground around the inn has been continuously covered with natural snow. Now we have temperatures flirting with 80. The snow that was in the back yard the last 5 months has poured into the Roaring Brook, on it's way to the Connecticut River and the Atlantic Ocean...Look out below!...So it goes!

Living in Vermont, you have to adjust the weapons in your quiver to quickly adapt to changes in the season. Today is a classic example. The skis and poles that have served me well over the winter months were taken out of the trunk of my car, to be replaced this evening with an appropriate arsenal for summer life in Vermont....golf clubs.

Gone for a while, but not forgotten, are days of screaming down cruisers; hopping down bumps; careening over terrain park features. Instead, we will soon be off in search of pars, birdies, and eagles, although most of the time our card will be posted with bogies. We just hope the dreaded "Snowman" does not visit too many times as we stroll down the lush fairways of golf courses in Vermont. For 'Snowmen" don't belong in the summer...it's just not right.

Around Vermont, golf courses are opening up. Green Mountain National Golf Course opens for the summer season this Saturday, with play on the front nine. The full course is set to open on May 3rd.

Right across the street from the inn, I can look from my office window out over the 4th and 5th holes of the Killington Resort Golf Course. The snow has pretty much cleared the course, except for areas in the shadows just like around the inn. Killington's web site is accepting tee times for the Killington course starting on May 9th.

Assuming the weather holds, I will probably get out this weekend to start chasing the little white ball around the Vermont countryside...Of course, that assumes it's still summer...you never know!

So where ever you may be, dig out the sun screen, find your clubs, and keep the ball in the fairway!

Killington Peak on the last day of
the 07/08 ski season 

Under blue skies intermixed with wispy clouds and unseasonably warm temperatures, the 2007/2008 ski season at Killington is coming to a close today. A respectable crowd made the journey to the mountain to participate in the last day. Many locals, like myself, have made the pilgrimage to the mountain today to pay our final respects for the season.

Around town, snow cover is rapidly melting. The snow stake at the inn, which as late as Friday had 6 1/2 inches of snow surrounding it, is now down to bare ground with spring crocus blooming. Yesterdays temperatures, which flirted with 80 around the inn, was just to much for the snow pack to take. Golf season is clearly just around the corner.

So it goes....