Vacation - Day Three

So back to vacation stuff...

Day two was lazy and basically consisted of me being in jammies all day, talking to the mom and trying to stay awake. I was really tired. At some point, I pulled out the Snappers and started my reconstruction of the border.

Day Three was fun. We made the drive to Plymouth, MA to see Plymouth Rock and The Mayflower II and stop off at a couple of stitching shops. It was a beautiful day. We started it off eating at Wood's Seafood where I had my first lobster roll ever!
It was yum. Lobster roll, some fish chowder and a diet Coke and I was ready to face the sights!
See! Lobster for $6.99 a pound! You can't find that on the West Coast...


I made the requisite stops at Plymouth Rock which is a lot smaller than most people would think!
As I was walking about and getting my act together, *the boy* would snap a kabillion photos of me. Many have me sticking my tongue out at him because I hate having my picture taken and can act like I'm three once in a while. This photo cracks me up...it's not a good photo but it's me in motion. It's also the only sneak peek of me that I've ever posted on the blog. I like being mysterious and all that jazz!
These swans were hanging out nearby...I think they are swans...
I love seeing these horse-drawn carriages at touristy locations. I had to take a snap!

Then we walked over to the Mayflower II and it was an awesome looking ship.

I walked around and then got all upset that it cost $10 to get on the ship. *The boy* seemed puzzled that I didn't want to do the whole tour but seeing as he was on crutches and I wanted to save as many pennies for stash shopping, I made him stand there and tell me the story of the Mayflower seeing as he's a huge history buff and from the East Coast. So he told me the story and it sufficed and I went souvenir shopping instead. Many may not think so but I have my priorities in check...souvenirs and stash over history tour! LOL On the main street, I found a great candy shop and came out of there with Charms Sweet and Sour lollipops! I love these suckers...I bought them by the fistful as a kid much to the disappointment of my dentist and my dad's wallet! I can't find these suckers anywhere near me though so I was happy to find some as well as some sour powers. I loved that candy shop! I didn't really find any souvenirs though. That's ok. We got into the car and drove the short distance to Sampler Needlework in Old Historic Plymouth.
It was a cute shop tucked away on the second floor of a shared building. There were lots of fantastic samples hung on the walls as well as a nice little framing nook. I peeked over to see what works were being framed and it all looked fantastic. This shop was decently stocked considering it's size. I was trying to be good and was looking for things specific to New England seeing as I can stock myself pretty well otherwise and what struck me the most was a simple needleroll pattern specific to Rhode Island...with apples, violets, roosters and maple leafs...all things supposedly specific to Rhode Island. I've never made a needleroll before so I thought this would be a good practice piece and souvenir all-in-one. Plus, these patterns are done by a designer in Plymouth who hasn't yet started selling them on the web. In fact, I think they were exclusive to Sampler Needlework for now. There was a needleroll pattern for most of the New England states. New Hampshire's appealed to me more but since I was technically visiting Rhode Island, I decided that was the one I should buy.

We left Plymouth to go to Middleboro. There was this cross stitch shop I was interested in checking out. This is an example of how you shouldn't let the guy obtain the details. I had asked *the boy* to call to check on hours and I remember him telling me that the store opened at 11am and I guess I just assumed they closed at 5pm. I got to the shop at 250pm and from what I could tell...it was a fully stocked shop. I was getting excited and looking through the chart bins and kind of making a mental tally of what charts I might pick up when the owner came up to me and told me she had to close the shop and I had to leave. I was rather put off...and she didn't really say it all that nicely. I told her I was sorry...I thought that the shop was open until 5pm but she told me that on Tuesday, they are only open until 3pm. I left without buying a thing and frankly, I probably wouldn't go back despite it looking like a nice shop. I just wish the owner would have told me she was closing in 10 minutes when I came into the shop. It would have saved us both some trouble as I would have just left...I can't look around and shop in only 10 minutes! I called the shop to try and check on their hours...they don't have a website or any hours listed on the web and they now have Fall hours on their phone line which means they are closed on Tuesdays all together. I find this very odd. So I left feeling rather put off and stranded in the middle of *I don't know where the hell I am* because *the boy* went to go gas up the car and let me shop in peace. He quickly turned around to get me and bought me an iced coffee and a donut to sooth my ruffled feathers. So out of the whole trip, the only stash I bought was that Rhode Island needleroll pattern!

That's another thing...there is Dunkin' Donuts everywhere!!! I had a lot of iced coffee (which is nowhere on the level of my beloved Peet's coffee) and donuts (not as good as Rolling Pin). I thought it was funny that the folks there are devout about their Dunkin' Donuts. Their coffee isn't that strong. And considering I need rocketfuel (aka Peet's) to get moving, I was always in this half-sleepy state...well, at least more than usual. I remember that *the boy* made me go in by myself to grab coffee and juice. I like my coffee regular...no fancy milks or foams or syrups...maybe once in a while, but for the most part, I like regular coffee with a little cream and one Splenda. I walked in, tell the girl I'd like a large coffee and she asked me how I would like it made. Errmmm, what? So I had to go into this whole thing about how I just wanted coffee and don't they have the cream and sugar out somewhere? Apparently, coffee culture is very different on the West Coast than on the East Coast! The girl was nice though...she explained that regular coffee at Dunkin' Donuts already included cream and sugar and if I wanted to do it myself, I had to order it black. Errm, ok. Is there even a Starbucks here?! Uh...nope! I didn't see one single Starbucks but there is Dunkin' Donuts on every block! *sigh* I just learned to say light cream and light sugar so my coffee wouldn't become this weak yet sickeningly-sweet mess.

Heading back home from Middleboro, we hit insane traffic...people in MA and RI drive like maniacs! I thought driving habits and traffic was bad here...oh no....MA and RI has NorCal beat!! We made it home in time for dinner...the mom made ham, mashed, rabes and bread and I got to meet the aunt. The aunt was a hoot!

So it was another good day with a couple of glitches.