Brattleboro or Bust

Sweet Potato and I hit the road for Brattleboro VT yesterday morning. R and I had to switch cars, so I drove his Dodge. I don't really understand how to use all of the gadgets on the Dodge-- the lights, windshield wipers, emergency brake-- so it was a little bit of an adventure. Also, no four-wheel drive. I almost got stuck in the snow twice, and I didn't know how to use the wiper fluid (I thought it was frozen), so I kept pulling over at gas stations to squeegee the muddy snow from the windshield. Eventually we made it.
After a failed attempt to park on a snowy hill, we found a cleared, flat parking lot downtown where we parked and set off for the shops. It was icy cold, but we were bundled and wore our snowboots. Our first stop was a gift shop/ art gallery/ cafe. I perused the glass blown baubles while Sweet Potato followed me and said things like, "But what is the point of that thing?"

"It's just beautiful," I kept answering.

We stopped at the cafe and shared a breakfast sandwich and a doughnut. It was actually SP's doughnut, and I just asked for a piece of it. The taste of it was so strange, like the Littmus Lozenge in Because of Winn Dixie. It made me feel nostalgic for something I couldn't quite name and brought tears to my eyes. That's some doughnut! I considered buying a whole doughnut for myself, but I wasn't sure I could handle it emotionally.

SP and I tromped around town stopping in at the furniture store (where we had to wear disposable shoe covers), the toy/candy store, shoe store, indoor farmer's market where a live band was performing a bit off key (even to my ill-equipped ears), a few art galleries, and one excellent bookstore.

If Brattleboro had ears, it would have book stores and coffee shops coming out of them. If R is true to his word about my (our) being able to dash off every so often to spend a weekend with The People, Brattleboro is where I want to go. I think I've even found the perfect place to stay: http://www.theartistsloft.com/.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: There's an India Palace there, too! Seems a like a fine omen.

Sweet Potato could only take so much shopping, though. She perked up after I bought her a hat and a couple of truffles, but she was still antsy for home as she needed to complete her music project about Franz Liszt. When I pointed out that she'd been asking for mother-daughter alone time for weeks, and now she was finally getting it, she said, "We could spend our mother-daughter time at home." Bah!


Meanwhile, R and Buckaroo headed to Attleboro, MA, to meet with Grandma and Grampy for some excellent fish and chips. R said they didn't even require sauce (Buckaroo's word for ketchup). They rocked out with Raffi both directions, and Buckaroo didn't complain once. Success.

Comments

Suzanne said…
Oh, Trish! The Litmus Lozenge!!! You brought tears to my eyes just thinking about them. I have always wanted to try one. I think those ribbon candies that used to be hanging around crystal candy bowls at the holidays might be my litmus lozenges, though.

I can't wait to get an update on the India Palace. My fingers are crossed for good samosas!
Anonymous said…
Wow! What a wonderful day for everyone. You're right about the Artist's Loft - it looks like the place to stay. Did you buy a book or two? Love, Mom