The Sandcastle

We’ve found another restaurant chain we like.

For those of you back in Minnesota, this is the equivalent of Bridgeman’s Ice Cream Parlor.

You can go to the counter and order ice cream treats to go.

Or you can go in and sit down for a meal.

Here’s my large, tasty, burger with lettuce and tomato but no onion and more than enough fries for me:

And here’s Dave pretending this is not what he ordered for lunch:

He said it was too soon after breakfast to have lunch. When I mentioned his non-lunch probably had more calories than my lunch he replied that it was not as filling, though.

But, we both enjoyed our treats and will probably go back to this chain if we run across another one close to meal time.

TTYL,

Linda

We like this Comman Man restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire, so much we went back one last time before leaving town tomorrow.

It’s attached to a Holiday Inn so you could get in there with an RV. Just don’t panic when you try to leave and can’t turn left. You’ll be glad you had to go around the block because there you get a light to help you turn back onto the main drag.

This place is a typical diner with booths, counter seats, and glass block separating the kitchen area.

And rock ‘n’ roll music playing in the background. So far in the background that we could hardly hear it during this evening’s rush but that’s probably good since it means I’m less likely to try to sing along.

What’s not typical are the airplanes overhead.

And the pre-loaded graffiti on the bathroom walls.

I don’t recommend anyone larger than a toddler try out this jump seat.

Oh, yeah, the food is good too. Once again we have carrot cake in the frig to eat later. We like ordering desert to go and this one was worth repeating.

TTYL,

Linda

The American Independence Museum, in Exeter, New Hampshire, is worth the small admission fee.

The exhibits focus on one family, the one who lived in the house where the museum is located, and their roles in the Revolution and New Hampshire’s history. But the displays included a lot of other history relating to the Revolution as well. We learned a lot of details about a lot of topics including the origins of Dave’s Purple Heart.

They don’t allow pictures inside the museum but the outside is another example of a sprawling house.

They were even kind enough to show us which parts were built when.

And to provide a “picture window” to show that the original part of the house was built of brick with the siding added with the first addition.

A fascinating place. Don’t bring your RV, though, as parking is at a premium.

TTYL,

Linda

Many of us are familiar with the term “urban sprawl”–where cities just keep spreading out more and more. In New England I have seen lots of what I call “rural sprawl”–where houses just keep spreading out more and more.

It often starts with a small house built back in the 1700s. As the family grew and prospered so did the house. A big barn was built near by. A carriage shed was built nearby. As the house continues to sprawl it often reached those other nearby structures making for some odd looking connecting parts.

I became fascinated by them.  Here’s some of my favorites that I could get into my camera’s viewfinder. The really great ones were too big to photograph.

Don’t they look like jigsaw puzzles assembled not quite correctly?

TTYL,

Linda