As an aside, is there any way that one can retain the designation of "stranger"?

alas, no-- i liked it too.. Stranger than what or who? i remain, two standard deviations from norm.. giving form to the bell curve.. no matter what Anu danes to call me.

and yes-- i always use the with woods-- but i am usually speaking about a specific woods. a woods would be a hypothicical woods.. and not being an ecological scientist, i don't think about a woods.. a while back we had a thread on "neck of the woods"-- but that was about necks.. Long island sound seems to have more than its fair share of neck's.. so much so, some places have none at all..

Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother house we go,
the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh..