We are on the road to Maryland in less than a week now. This is the time when we start thinking about
sending souvenirs to family and friends, documenting the places we have been. This is a continuation of a tradition that
has been going on for years, even for our weekend trips.
Our day started early – primarily because I did not sleep
much as we had high winds last night. I
kept thinking about what had not been put away and the slide out awnings
ripping off and…well you get it. It kind
of worked to my advantage since my new doctor wanted blood work done and was
afraid the insurance wouldn’t cover it because she had not actually seen me so
she waited until after the appointment for my physical. Lori and I had discussed going to the the
blood draw together so we could go out to breakfast after and then start our
day from there. Once I got up and made
coffee I asked Lori if she wanted to go or stay in bed - she was still in for
breakfast so up and at ‘em!! We head to
Quest Diagnostics in Fall River and since we get there before 7:30 there is
only one patient ahead of me so I’m in and out in a flash. There is a diner in the same plaza as Quest
called Al-Macs, I ask the girl drawing my blood about it and she gave it a rave
review so this is going to be our breakfast stop. Long-story-short it’s OK. For some reason in this area you get a choice
of home fries (diced potato) or hash browns (shoestrings) – apparently the choice
is the hand cut onions of the breakfast world?
I guess that is confusing to some kitchen staffs and I got other than
what I ordered. Other than that its
breakfast – eggs, a meat side, potatoes, and bagels – kinda hard to screw it up.
Yet,we settled on mediocre!
From Al-Macs we gassed up the Ram and got wood from our Reed
Road supplier. From there it was the
Westport Farmers market for the last time and then to Lee’s for some
odds-and-ends. After Lee’s we returned
to the campground so I could get yesterday’s events posted on the blog.
I wanted to hit the Village of Padanaram, a village of South
Dartmouth. I’m a fan of these little
villages that send you back in time to the point life slows down. We decided that on the way to Padanaram we
would stop at a couple of parks to place Kindness Rocks. First we stopped at Apponaganset Park. The first thing I noticed was that it had a landmark
that used to be about two miles up the road.
The iconic Gulf Hill Dairy Ice Cream Bucket.
"The Bucket" had been in operation as an ice
cream stand at the original dairy since 1929.
To save it from oblivion the town purchased the building and had it
moved to Apponaganset Park, opening it in May of 2016. While The Bucket has turned a profit for
the town they are being visionary and reinvesting in the business. Smart move as Apponaganset Park host a summer
concert series and has a beach and two playgrounds for the kids. Who doesn’t want wings or a burger at the
concert or ice cream after being on the playground?
From the park we headed across the bridge to the
village. For this trip we did a ‘drive
though’ of the village because I did not want to expend a lot of time looking
for parking since we had one more park to hit and we had to find a place that
sells ‘local’ postcards. Padanaram is on
the National Register of Historic Places and contains restaurants, spas and
service based small businesses as well as the New Bedford Yacht Club.
Drive through completed we headed for Dartmoor Home and
Garden Gifts.
Dartmoor is loaded with
unique artisan products and is a place where you can wander for hours because
it is floor to ceiling yet well organized and visually easy to find items. However, the one thing Dartmoor does not have
is postcards and that’s what we were shopping for so, the owner referred us to Davoll's General Store just down the road.
Davoll's reopened under new ownership two
years ago and seems to have found its groove.
From grab-and-go sandwiches for those off to work or to beach picnics to
unique seasoning blends to make your grilling even better Davoll's carries it –
along with typical general store items and the postcards we were searching for!
From Lee’s Market to Davoll’s General Store,
Lori and I try to support the local ‘Mom & Pop’ businesses. These are the people that actually work and
live in the community. Their profits are
reinvested in the community, both by reinvesting to grow their businesses but
also donating not just money, but their precious time to support local
events. I find local business owners not
only run their business but they are members of Elks, Lions, Rotary,
you-name-it. My advice, pass on the big
box store and hit the local Ace or General Store – it is more than just a
unique experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment