Actually that’s not true. My mom makes a great turkey. In fact she’s a terrific cook, except when it comes to pork chops. Growing up we ate them a lot and I would smother them in as much gravy as I could swipe. It wasn’t until I was an adult and someone gave me a delicious one that I realized they weren’t supposed to have the consistency of hockey pucks! But today wasn’t about pork. It was about turkey.

I didn’t mention it yesterday, but Reynold the Wonder Mutt also celebrated National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day!  I’m glad he’s being kept safe and happy while we’re bouncing around.  

We spent two nights in Meredith, NH.  On our free day there, we lounged around our room until about 11:30 when we could head out for lunch.  I had looked forward to Hart’s Turkey Farm and its myriad turkey dishes for a while.  I had to order the sampler to maximize my turkey variety.  

The free carrot relish with saltines was fantastic.  But I should have known I was in trouble when I asked the waiter his favorite dish on the menu and he said his favorite wasn’t on the menu and it was a Caesar salad with salmon.  The turkey tempura was good, the nuggets were passable, the potstickers were no good, and the croquette made me want to vomit.  I shall not return. 

There was a sculpture walk along the waterfront downtown that was not walkable without mouse boots due to snow covering the sidewalk, but not far from it was this gem.

The creator of “Archie” comics lived in Meredith for 35 years and called it home.  If you are looking for a first Archie comic to read, I recommend “Archie Meets the Punisher.” 

Just across the street was the Hermit Woods Winery & Deli.  A hermit is a cousin to a hobo so I had to step inside.  That was the best decision of the day.  

Because grapes don’t grow well in New Hampshire, Hermit Woods makes their wine out of other local fruits.  I don’t typically like fruit wines because they’re usually too sweet, but I was a fan of many of their award-winning wines.  I also despise white wine, but I found theirs to be excellent!   We had a cheese pairing tasting and a dessert wine flight with chocolate, and their port-esque dessert wines were unbelievable!!  

The two women working the store front were very knowledgeable and eager to talk about the place.  Because we were so curious, they introduced us to one of the owners, Bob.  After a few minutes of talking, he took us for a tour of where the magic happens.  We met Ken, co-owner and winemaker and former geologist.  They walked us through their process, their history, and told us about the great events they’ve planned for the community.  I especially appreciated Bob’s opinion on customers that complained about having to be vaccinated to attend some of these events; his opinion is he doesn’t want their business.  

I’m humbled by how welcoming they were, impressed by their business savvy, and drooly over their delicious wine. Dr. J and I purchased a few bottles that we may (or probably won’t) share with friends.  Go online and try to find places to buy their bottles.  Thank me in the comments.  

Feeling warm and tingly, we headed over to Kellerhaus.  Dr. Jen needed to get her ice cream on!  Kellerhaus is a candy store with seven gift shops and an ice cream sundae buffet.  It works the opposite of a frozen yogurt place – they charge you for the ice cream and you get all the toppings to want fo’ free!

I tried a New England flavor – Grape Nut – which I found delightfully textured.  It’s vanilla ice cream with Grape Nut cereal.  Jen had the following toppings: caramel, chocolate sauce, marshmallow, chocolate sprinkles, M&Ms, whipped cream, and an American flag (a Kellerhaus tradition).  

On the 75% off holiday rack, Dr. J’s beady eyes zoomed in on Smidgens.  Smidgens are a specialty of Pennsylvania-based Gertrude Hawk Chocolates.  I first met most of Jen’s family while taking a Gertrude Hawk factory tour.  I meant to write a post about it, but I didn’t cause I’m lazy. 

Less warm and more bloated, we maneuvered through the start of a small snow storm to Funspot, the Largest Arcade in the World and home to the American Classic Arcade Museum.

The man who started it did so with a loan from his Grandmother after her husband died. The grandfather was a big-wig in baseball’s early years including owning several teams. I don’t sport, so I had no idea that Delaware was so influential in baseball history, especially considering we don’t have a professional team.

The museum is made up of games donated by multiple people. It boasts over 300 games ranging from Pong to The Simpsons and all of them are playable. It was packed full of pinball machines on each of the three floors. One sported Elton John, one had the members of KISS, and still another had Hercules.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But there was this weird trend of hyper-sexualized games. So many had weird pin-up models. I mean, look at Mata Hari! Strumpet!

Jen was hooked on the 2 token Addams Family machine. No wonder why, it featured the voices of Raul Julia and Angelica Houston. If you hit it just right, Thing popped out of a box, grabbed your ball, and pulled it back into the box. With some of our last tokens I challenged Jen to a game. Technically she won but I feel I hit the ball more and kept it alive longer.

The list of titles was crazy. They had a Crazy Taxi machine rocking Bad Religion, Trivial Pursuit, Super Mario Bros., Dr. Mario (Dr. J played that a bunch!), shooting games, dancing games, all the games! Jen and I did make it to the third round on The Simpsons, won some big loot with SkeeBall, she went hard on some Clown ball rolling game, and I blew up the Death Star on the Star Wars simulator.

I didn’t try Pong but I had to take a picture of it.

Not sure the point of this game but I loved the case it came in. The entire thing looked like it had a stroke and leaned to one side. Maybe that is the point of the game? SimStroke.

This game was so unique looking I had to give it a try. It played like asteroids but you have to shoot little UFOs. I was terrible at it but it gives you a mess of lives. At some point I was bored and just wanted to walk away…but I’m not wasting my tokens! 

Jen’s tall. This game is short. Nice contrast.

Funspot also has bumper cars for really, tiny kids. Like “too young to have their heads jostled” size, but I don’t like kids, so whatever. Behind that was a bowling alley with the New England favorite, Candle Pin Bowling. Never had this happen – I rented a pair of shoes that had never been worn before! They still at the paper inserts in the toes! Clean shoes! And also, I beat Jen, so all around win for this hobo.

 

When we finished we had to clean the car off again. The snow continued through the entire night. We hadn’t had dinner and J read about a restaurant called Camp. It was designed and themed like a summer camp with great signs all around. I loved the tables carved with people’s names, initials, and crushes and preserved in epoxy. We shared two apps and a ‘zert. We carbo-loaded for further adventures! Flatbread and a blooming bread stuffed full of onions, cheese, and a side of more cheese. God bless America.

Being we were at a “camp,” we had a fancy s’mores dessert. Piping hot skillet with marshmallows and chocolate baked in as a dip for the graham crackers. Damn right it was good!

Technically I’m a day behind. These are all activities I did yesterday, not today. I doubt I’ll catch up tomorrow. I didn’t have to tell you any of this but I want there to be trust between us.