I couldn't recommend this place more highly for the price and the experience value alone. There are numbers of bed and breakfasts and country inns in the Catskills, but few have the warmth and uniqueness of the Full Moon, located about 30 miles west of Woodstock in the heart of the mountains.

Firstly, the Full Moon bills itself as a mountain resort, which means it has acres of land on which to explore, as well as several lodges for accommodation. The main building is a turn-of-the-century country inn with a number of rooms, as well as a beautiful sitting room, wrap-around porch, and small cafe and bar in the basement, which often features country singers and folk performers. On my last trip, I stayed down the street in another old country house, and this being late fall, we had the entire place to ourselves. Groups often rent out the grounds for weddings, putting their guests up in all the cottages, lodges and houses on the estate.

The best part of the Full Moon is its remoteness. There isn't a town for miles around, so light pollution is minimal and the stars are unbelievable -- especially for a city dweller. The fields around the resort are perfect for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter, and there is plenty of hiking in other seasons.

There's a little bit of a hippie feeling to the Full Moon, too. Local jam bands converge on the bar at night to play music; you get the feeling everyone at the place has known one another for years. The audience claps and hoots and gives little cries of encouragement to the players, which range from twenty-something kids with guitars and saxophones to a Bob Segar look-alike on the harmonica.