White River Junction: It's not so bad!*

Resting in the shade by the river.

Do you know what happens when your team of Fletcher Allen doctors hits the wall and can't figure out how to help you? You get sent to Dartmouth! The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. I've heard really nice things about Dartmouth over the years and it's been mentioned that I should go there for consults and second opinions many times by many of my MDs, but it's so complicated for me to travel anywhere. It's only two hours away! But a two hour car ride can be an amazing disaster depending upon what my symptoms have decided to do that day.

Setting off! This is how I look in my sun protection gear. Wearing this freaky get-up is the only way I can leave the house on sunny days. People stare, rubberneck, and even take photos of me (to send to Homeland Security or something I suppose). I get teeny blisters all over my ears because they are the only part of me unprotected.

I have always known where to go for 5-10 gifts, but always wondered what on earth I would do if I needed 25, 000. Now I still don't know because this business was sadly closed.
The only way I could do this appointment was to stay locally the night before. This was the only way to be reasonably certain I'd be able to make it and on time. I stayed at the White River Junction Econo Lodge because it was the cheapest place in WRJ, Hanover, and Lebanon I could find. Although, I should inquire about the ROOM WITH BATH rates for next time. They don't appear to have a website.

After I got checked in to the Econo Lodge (which was much nicer than I expected! I was pleasantly surprised) I went a-wandering in town. I was evening by then so I didn't have to wear my scary photo-garb. I discovered that I've been mispronouncing meditation all these years. Med-eye-tat-eee-on.

Wha? Hmmmm. To be honest, meandering around the main drag I was getting the impression of little more than a typical economically destitute Vermont town. There were hardscrabble old dudes leering at me. There were lots of vacant storefronts. There were big trucks playing Very Loud Music circling around and around. Broken bottles. Teenagers yelling at each other. Etc.. But then I spotted this flier, and also remembered that the Center for Cartoon Studies was somewhere nearby! There must be some hidden community here.

My first real find regarding the hidden gem that is White River Junction was wandering into a shop called Revolution. It was a vintage store I had seen listed online. I wasn't really expecing much but KABLAM! It is amazing! It is this gorgeous, rich, awesome boutique. Inside is like you've been teleported to Montreal or something. The vintage isn't just a bunch of Salvation Army crap**, everything is really nice, youthful, high quality, very chi-chi brand names (like D&G), obviously the buyers are hugely picky. Awesome prices. Not only that, but they feature clothes, accessories, and jewelry made by local artists and craftspeople. You can get custom t-shirts made, and they serve espresso, too!
IT IS THE VINTAGE STORE OF MY DREAMS.
And, to top off all the incredible merchandise and good prices, the staff was actually friendly! Not all rude and arrogant like some places. The two owners were there and they were super nice - they introduced themselves and talked to me, even though I was all scungy and dazed from driving half the day.
I didn't take any pictures of Revolution. I hope they will forgive me for borrowing these two photos from their Flickr set. Seriously, you HAVE to go to WRJ to check out this store. A perfect time to do it would be in September when they are having a big block party and fashion show! The fashion show is no dinky little amateur hour - a lot of love and preparation goes into the clothes, the line-up, the lighting, staging, everything. I know I am going to try to be there.

Well, I had to leave Revolution because they were getting close to closing time and I was becoming morose because I had no money to spend on the 50+ things I wanted. So I continued awandering and found these cool slime molds. I found four different kinds in one little park! Slime molds are interesting because their taxonomy is surprisingly complex and difficult to pin down. Also funny because many of them are called "Dog Vomit" slime molds. Seriously.

While hunting for more slime molds I suddenly found myself in front of the Main Street Museum - where Nosferatu is being shown next Tuesday! I had read a little about it online and was excited to try to visit it during their open hours the next day. However....

All the doors were wide open and the lights were on. Did that mean I could go in? I am a stickler for rules and propriety, so wandering into a place with hours clearly posted outside is HIGHLY unlike me. However... I wanted to see it real bad... and the lady at Revolution said that sometimes the museum is just open when the guy felt like being open...

I walked in despite all my OCD molecules screaming for me to turn back.

I gingerly interloped until I was able to find the curator and a companion sipping white wine on an adjacent deck overlooking the White River. They were very friendly and casual. I was sure someone was going to yell at me and tell me to get the hell out, but they were all "Welcome!", "Go look around!", "Enjoy!". Awesome!

So I wandered around and tried to take photos in the very dark interior. After awhile I had to clear out because they were leaving and I was nervous about walking back to my car by myself in the dark, anyway. The next day I came back during their business hours and spent some more time attempting photos and joyously pouring over their jumbo copy of Albertus Seba's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities. I met David Fairbanks Ford and David Hammond. They were so nice to me! They seemed very excited that I was so very excited about their collection and philosophy. David Hammond even asked if I would join him for lunch but I couldn't because I had to drive home. Also, eating sometimes results in projectile vomiting so I try not to do it around new acquaintances.

I have to go back to WRJ because I need to have some special tests done that FAHC does not have the capacity to do. I'm looking forward to it and to discovering more about the hidden depths of the Rio Blanco.

* I'm told that WRJ has two slogans, "It's not so bad!", and "Make your own fun!".
** I love Salvation Army crap. But it's the reason I go to the Salvation Army, not to vintage clothing stores.