Back in Time
~Tuesday, October 26, 2021~
Day 499
This is our first Nor’ Easter. In fact, it’s the first I’d ever heard of it. Apparently, it’s most potent between the months of September and April, as it makes its way along the east coast, sometimes violently. It seems though, that we are on the outside edge of it and that we will miss the brunt of it by one day, as we drive to Pennsylvania tomorrow.
Just as we planned, with it being a rainy day, we completed our online Christmas shopping in the morning (a record for us) and played tourist in the afternoon. I guess it took a supply chain back up to freak me out enough to order gifts this far ahead.
There is a special family run store in Dorset that came highly recommended to check out. The H.N. Williams Store has been family owned and operated since 1840. It started as a harness shop and tannery by William Williams. Over the years, ownership has been passed down the family line. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but when you first walk in, you feel like you’re going back in time with its creaking floors, old wallpaper, and old smells. It’s all part of the charm. And they have EVERYTHING!! Children’s toys, the warmest clothes you could ever imagine, footwear, hardware, a deli, and anything else you can imagine. The selection is incredible. To keep up with the times and to increase product lines, they completed a 3,200 square foot addition back in 2019, adding a coffee/beverage/ice-cream bar and a VT Craft Beer selection. There’s no getting out of this store without purchasing something. We found a few more Christmas gifts, including an early one for Jeff when he discovered a 1500 lumen headlamp. And it’s rechargeable!
Next, we returned to Manchester (next door to Dorset) to pick up a coffee/hot chocolate before heading into the Northshire Bookstore again. But the beverages were not meant to be since they’re closed on Tuesdays/Wednesdays. No matter, we still lost ourselves in that amazing store for at least a few hours. We easily could have stayed until closing, but laundry was calling.
This is by far the most convenient laundry room to our campsite…..about 50 steps away. Luckily, the rain was falling lightly enough to not cause a problem walking over dry clothes. However, we seem to have bad luck with machines at campgrounds. I guess it’s a trade off for convenience. The washing machine with my whites didn’t spin, and the dryer with my towels didn’t produce heat. $5.00 in quarters wasted. I’ll try and get my money back tomorrow morning before we leave. It’s a good thing they had other machines to complete the job. We ended up meeting a fellow launderer from New Jersey. He’s been at this campground all season for work while his wife and young son drive to see him a few days/week. This park, like most, closes this Sunday for the season so he’ll be heading back home and storing his RV here for a fraction of the cost of storing it at an actual storage facility. For the seasonal campgrounds, this is still a great way for them to generate income, and for the renter, a less expensive alternative to the high cost of storage facilities. Anyway, he really talked up New Orleans and was eager to hand out advice about this awesome city, since we’ll be there in a few weeks. His last visit was back in March where he said Cafe du Monde was not quite the same since the pandemic. We’re crossing our fingers that things have returned to normal!