Nice day in Manchester

July 24 – We were a bit more relaxed today and didn’t really have a plan!  Once we had breakfast we decided it was a nice day out and a good one to go to Manchester.  There is a historic district there from the days when they had huge silk factories. 

We drove into the historic area and there were huge brick buildings.  Some were rather

normal looking, rectangular with signs out front.  These buildings have been converted into apartments.  The names were based on what the buildings were used for when it was a silk factory in the early 1800’s.  One was The Dye House.  Very appropriate!  The area is the Cheney Brothers National Historic Landmark District.  The housing area of the silk workers is included in the district so it is pretty large.  There is still one working silk mill in Manchester but we didn’t find out if it is in the same area or not.  The huge homes line the streets with their Victorian look.  A very lovely area.

We stopped at the Chamber of Commerce along the road to see if they had any information, but they were closed to the public due to the virus.  They have an enclosed entrance where there was a bit of literature that I picked up but no real info on what we were looking for/at!  We pulled into the lot of the museum since there were quite a few cars but it was closed and the cars were using the lot for the public pool beside it!  Drats!

We had lunch at The Main Street Pub as it has large parking area and has been in business 40 years.  We chose outdoor seating and the menu was one you scan with your phone camera.  To be honest, we actually went there because I REALLY needed to go to the bathroom and CVS only allowed employees to use their restrooms!!  However, it was a very good choice for lunch.  I had my first time ever, Fish Tacos!  Not what I was expecting

Fish tacos anyone?

but the fish was delicious with mango, avocado, peppers and onions on it and the coconut rice side was great!  Bill went with a massive burger and although it was cooked a bit rare for him, he said it was still very good!    

On our way from the historic area we stopped for some photos that I didn’t get on the first pass thru and then we headed to the other side of the interstate for the shopping Mecca!   Gave Bill a list of places I wanted to go to so he could kinda map them out so we didn’t keep going back and forth.  It’s all pretty much within 2 miles along one main road.  I managed to get everywhere I wanted except I missed Bath and Body Works, but we can catch them on our next trip!  The last stop is always the groceries and since we had to leave Wal-mart before I finished last time, it took some time finding everything on my list.  Their store is the smaller one with only one entrance so they don’t carry nearly as many items as the larger stores.  Bill came in and picked up a couple of non-grocery things for me then he went back to the truck. 

The ride home was of course quicker than the ride there as we were right beside the interstate for the first leg of the trip back.  We unpacked the truck and put everything as away as we could (for the space we have)!  Being Friday the weekenders had started arriving and the campground was filling up. 

I picked up a bag meal while shopping with the plan for a quick and easy dinner, and it was!  Then it was TV  and reading time!