Growing up we played a lot of board games, like most Boomers. One of our favorites was Game of the States, which was first released in 1940 and had many iterations over the years. I remember the 1956 and 1960 versions. I’m sure we had both, as those little plastic trucks that you moved across the continent were easy to lose. And the money got tattered, with all the buying and selling. We learned the capitals of each state and what products were unique to their area, and we learned the basics of interstate commerce.
Our sister trip this year to visit our traveling med tech youngest took us to New Hampshire. “Live Free or Die” is the state motto that I know has historical roots but still seems confrontational. Revolutionary War hero General John Stark spoke those words in 1809 and the saying was adopted by the New Hampshire legislature in 1945 on the cusp of WWII, but aren’t we beyond inflammatory sentiment now?
We rode the Blue Tsunami of the midterm election results, that indicated an end to the vitriol, from Pennsylvania to the Granite State, stopping at Coxsackie (pronounced “cook-SOCK-ee”), New York, for a restorative overnight before continuing. John was dropping me in Manchester and driving on to Montreal, which was another 4+ hours north. It was rainy and the roads were crowded with trucks, just like in our game.
Helen was still at work at the medical center when I arrived, so Mary and I took a very wet walk to the local grocery store, Hannaford, where we were able to pick up Canadian dried cranberries from Decas Farm for our holiday baking. We waited for Helen to pick us up on her way home from work and dried out that evening while planning our Manchester tour for the following day.
We visited the Millyard Museum in a former mill in this quintessential mill town. The old mills stretch for a mile along the Merrimack River near Amoskeag Falls, where the power of the falls created a textile manufacturing center that was the largest in the world between 1910 and 1915. The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company employed 17,000 workers from around the world that led to a diverse population in the town.
We had coffees in a shop in another part of the complex and toured around the city, favoring antique and thrift shops. For dinner, we took the suggestion of the St. Anselm College student at the museum and went to Firefly right downtown and perched at the end of the bar with a great view of the bustling bistro. Even Sc’Eric would have approved of this drink menu.
Meanwhile, we were getting text messages from John, who made it to Montreal and was having a fine time on his own.
The next day was Sunday and Helen was off, so we drove to the coast at Ogunquit, Maine, and marveled at the hardy surfers in wet suits. The charming town was busy for off-season, and we perused the small shops and found a few treasures.
We were in Maine and Helen had never had a lobster roll, so that was our mission. We landed at State Line Lobster and it was perfect. She was pleased with the iconic sandwich, choosing the Deluxe, with both butter and homemade mayo. What’s not to love?
Afterwards we checked out the Stonewall Kitchen flagship store in York, Maine, which was crowded with shoppers tasting the many products. We enjoyed a beverage at the café before we drove back to Manchester as the sun went down.
The next morning we went out for breakfast since Helen didn’t have to be at work until noon. Margie’s Dream Diner was in an old house and offered an array of foods that reflected the ethnic diversity of the town. Mary had Spanakopita with eggs and I had a Pork Pie with eggs; our Greek and Scottish breakfasts were large and shareable. Helen’s toasted Blueberry Muffin was gigantic. The coffee was good and plentiful and served in a collectible mug. Thanks, Helen, for adding to my collection.
After we dropped Helen off at work, Mary and I headed to Salem, Massachusetts, for the afternoon. Post-Halloween, the town seemed to be letting out a sigh of relief. “Halloween here is like Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” said the woman at the gift shop at the Salem waterfront that is now part of the National Park Service. She was glad to see it over.
After walking around the waterfront, we ducked into Sealevel, a recommended spot near the gift shop, and had a pleasant repast before heading back to Manchester.
Meanwhile, John was driving down from Quebec, which he visited after Montreal, and our Game of the States was coming to an end. The next day Mary had to be at the airport to fly back to Maryland at 6 am and Helen had to work at 7. John and I drove back to Happy Valley with a souvenir bag of clam chowder and a croissant from a bakery in Quebec that we enjoyed when we got home.
Many miles, many meals, many memories. Many Amazon trucks on the road with goods from other countries. We need a new global game to explain trade these days. It will be written in Chinese.