I was still tired when I rose late, closer to 8 than 7:30, and soon was writing the blog and making coffee with the in-room coffee service. I am pleased that this IHG hotel has coffee in the rooms. So far, it is about a 50% chance now.
I wrote the blog, and Monday’s travel came to mind quickly, but I had to add one item when I looked at my photos. I finished writing in the lobby because I wanted breakfast, which is industrial but complimentary, and that particular flavor makes it work for me (saving $20 on breakfast). I chatted with the staff and thanked them for the food. They were happy to help, and the same woman will be making breakfast for us on Thanksgiving.
I learned that my room will not be cleaned on Thanksgiving Day, and that if I need towels, the front desk will have them.
I wrote a postcard to Mom Wild, too. I found more local postcards on my visit to the bookstore today. I bring spare cards and stamps with me.
Clint texted me Baja Tacos’ location to meet for lunch at noon. Annika would join us. I headed to the nearby Merrymac Games & Comics store. There I found an old I.C.E. role-playing supplement, Vikings (1989), for a bit more than I would like to spend, but I have not seen it for sale before (back in the 1980s, I.C.E. published the first Lord of the Rings role-playing material). I got that, some dice, and a figure I also could not resist (but unpainted).
I found I was backtracking; it was now light, bright, sunny, and cold, and I could see where I was driving. I would spend the day driving back and forth on the same track. I had the birria tacos, and this is the place I had lunch at before when I was here last year for New Year’s.
After we had a nice lunch and caught up, I headed to the Currier Museum of Art. I am in a rental, but I had auto-payment of the tolls turned on for the Mitsubishi Outlander SUV. I used this, slowing and then getting a green light, at the toll booths on the highway here in New Hampshire. It was a buck, according to the sign. I usually see these on my car bill, or they are mailed to me by the local officials. Deborah pointed out that some states charge you extra if you don’t pay online. Hmmm.
I arrived via navigation on my iPhone. I ordered a USB-A-to-USB-C CarPlay cable to be delivered to the hotel that morning. I saw the parking lot was nearly empty and learned from the sign on the door that the museum was closed on Tuesdays. I had not checked. Oops. I did talk to folks, it was a training day, and learned that the museum hosts two Frank Lloyd Wright houses and tours can be booked for that (late, I would book that for me, Clint, and Ryder for Saturday at 9:30A.M.). I will be back!
Manchester is a nice-looking town, and I soon found the Bookery in the old city. I found parking a block away for a buck for an hour on the street, and you can do two hours without issue, for two bucks. The machine did not take AMEX, but printed a payment ticket for my rental’s dash once I used the Alaska Air Visa.
The bookstore had new books, as well as good postcards and stickers. I especially liked (and purchased) a sticker of a broken fortune cookie that read “You’re Fucked!” I talked to the manager and found coffee available in the back; jet lag had caught up with me again. I walked around the area and found their lovely old school city hall building, even with a clock tower. I did not stop into the candy store and passed by the brew pub.
I checked, and the only other museum nearby local history museum and the American Museum of Credit Unions. What? I tried the CU one, and drove across the river to what was obviously the lesser part of town. Going from Christmas lights to urban blight in about one bridge. I get to the building, my app saying it closes in an hour, but alas, it is no longer open, according to the sign on the door, closed to the public and requires an appointment. Well, that is two misses today!
I decided to retrace my steps and return to the hotel for a nap. Once again, I enjoyed the toll booths getting a green light. It reads the licence plate, as far as I can tell, and will bill the rental, which will likely flow to my bill. I suspect it will be under $10 when I am done. There were also tolls in Massachusetts, I think. I was driving in the dark and might have done a toll.
But before the nap, I decide to try another bookstore and head again south and find Balin Books. I see a card, and many signed books, including horror books, and the local Stephen King (just up in Maine) is included. I was tempted, but I would have to ship them myself. I settled for a card (even after finding some SciFi signed, too). Even though it will be retracing my trek again, I head back north to the hotel.
With a nap done, I headed to Clint’s and Annika’s house. I found the Nav took me down the local roads and soon arrived without issue. We caught up while Annika started on various pumpkins (for pie) and other prep steps. I got to pet the cat.
Ryder, their daughter, joined us for Taco Tuesday at a nearby place, Mi Jalisco. They mangled our order, but it came out with a few adjustments. I had been here before, Annika promised no tacos for Thanksgiving. It was nice to chat for a while.
I headed back to the hotel. I had a Church Council meeting at 9:30 (locally 6:30 in Beaverton, Oregon) via Zoom. I attended the meeting, which was longish but nothing controversial. I was having trouble sleeping, and I woke and went back to sleep over and over until late. The morning came unwelcomed at 7 when my alarm woke me.
With stock markets now flying up and bonds all over the place, I have nearly recovered $40K of the $60K in unrealized losses I incurred this month. I can see that Small/Mid-Cap stocks have not recovered, yet. Crazy! Historically, November is a negative month, and December historically changes little (with the usual window-dressing sales/purchases from investment advisors/houses), but this year, we are seeing different patterns. Belt-in! “Long live NVIDIA” seems to be the call of the season, rather than “Happy Holidays.”
Thanks for reading!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 