Day 2 - What To Do in Brattleboro

I woke up to a strange sound. Rain. We've actually had quite a bit of rain at home in recent months. But rain sounds different in New England. I blame it on the trees again. My aunt lives "in the sticks" as she likes to call it. Here's a view from the street...that's her mailbox.

Not that she doesn't have any neighbors.
(See what I did there? Sorry. I just couldn't resist.) By the way, I waited a couple of days to take these photos since it was raining on that day.

We slept in a bit, then I called my Gram to make plans for the day. We went to this Chinese restaurant for lunch.
Then we went to Brattleboro Bowl.
It's kind of a tradition.

Not that my grandmother is an avid bowler. There's just not much else to do really.
I used to go candlepin bowling, but that alley was closed (due to a fire? Or am I just making up a rumor for the sake of irony?). That's a novelty I miss from New England.

We went back to her house so she could show me the new cabinets that she had put into her kitchen and the flooring and backsplash work that Steve did for her.


Afterwards, Joshua and I strolled up to the High Street (that's it's actual name, not a British euphemism) to have a look around the shops. We looked in a couple of art galleries, there's apparently a "Gallery Walking Tour" in Brattleboro. I never knew. I'm sure that it's a little out of the ordinary for what you'd think of me, but I find it very interesting to look at stuff made from artists in the area. I guess you'd call that art. There are a lot of bookstores in Vermont. We have proof.
We also found a restaurant called Common Ground, similar in name to the Common Grounds Coffee, Wine and Dining where J used to work. Apparently, it's where the hippies used to hang out in the 60's, according to my aunt. We also found a neat little music store specializing in handmade guitars. We picked up this little beauty for Keith for Father's Day. How many people do YOU know that have one?? Not many. I'm sure of it.

We finished the day with dinner at a little Italian place called Fireworks where we had some yummy brickoven pizzas.

Then we headed back to Aunt Mary's over the Connecticut River, which serves as the border between Brattleboro in Vermont and Hinsdale, New Hampshire, the towns where most of my dad's family live. Quite a full day for such a small town, huh?


What will tomorrow bring?