First Lady Laura Bush did much more than give a speech when she came to Woodstock that week. Her arrival was actually on Sunday, well before her only scheduled appearance at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park on Monday.

Bush enjoyed a dinner at Simon Pearce in Quechee on Sunday night, with four high school friends she brought along from Texas. "It seemed like a girls’ night out" said Simon Pearce Director of Restaurant Operations Anton Vicar. The party of five showed up for their 6:30 pm reservation and sat on the terrace, overlooking the river. But they weren't alone. "There were about four tables of Secret Service,” Vicar said. Secret Service agents looked like they "stepped out of an L.L. Bean catalogue," as they tried to blend in with the general public, Vicar said.

For her appetizer, the First Lady ate Simon Pearce's exotic mushroom strudel with a white truffle vinaigrette. Bush chose the chicken scallopine for her entree, which came with spinach and fontina cheese, pepperdelle noodles and a tomato basil sauce.

After dinner, Bush and her friends were treated to a private shopping excursion after the Simon Peace shop closed at 9pm.

“She was very pleasant, very nice and very gracious,” Vicar said. Vicar’s wife, Nancy, waited on the First Lady and received a nice tip for her efforts. “It was more than 20 percent gratuity,” Anton Vicar said.

During Bush’s dinner other patrons were respectable and there was “no fuss,” Vicar said. One moment of humor came after the party left/ “One lady asked, ‘Can I go sit in her seat?’” Vicar recalled with a laugh. (...)

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