It’s been a long while since I took the time to kick around Vermont for a bit and I think I needed it. I brought my companion along and we decided to find the most relentlessly whimsical attraction we could find. That turned out to be the Museum of Things Tiny and Found which hasn’t been running long but WOW, they delivered! I thought they might be a booth museum, you know just one little exhibit in the corner of a sandwich shop but no, they had their own devoted space!
We parked and followed the street signs before walking down a little alley that had footprints painted on the sidewalk that went from normal human size to increasingly tiny. They led to the entrance of this diabolically adorable establishment. We didn’t know what to expect but there were fairy houses, doll houses (both haunted and regular,) many tiny shelves of random tiny things, a whole wall of postage stamp sized self portraits left by visiting children, dioramas of famous paintings including Van Gogh’s bedroom, and even a wee gift shop full of the impossibly miniscule art of local artists. This included hand crocheted doilies that weren’t much bigger than my fingernail. JUST HOW?
But our favorite bits of this museum were the haunted dollhouse filled with murderous siblings (and a whole story to read about them) as well as the bathrooms. Both were decorated. With miniatures. Including a miniature paper towel dispenser on the regular one and an itty bitty robot on an itty bitty toilet. The staff were also hilarious. They were the ones who insisted we go check out their non-gendered bathrooms and they were delighted when we told them we found this place by typing in “whimsical places to visit in Vermont” in the search engines. This was peak Vermont. Just so cute. I am going to have to bring others now.
The entrance fee was just whatever you feel like putting in the donation honor box at the front and there was even an option at the end to put your own tiny thing in a basket to be considered as a donation. People left tiny toys, little works of art, random baubles. It made me smile and I will have to find something to leave the next time I am there.
After visiting the Book Barn and eating until we wanted to explode at The Shack the we thought a little post-dinner walk might be good to get the blood pumping again before driving home. It was getting late and very quickly got dark – such is life in New England during the colder months of the year. So my photos probably are not that impressive but it was a sweet little amble.
There was a long concrete walkway, with signs in the shape of shells every 200 or so feet. They counted up to 6000. The entrance of this boardwalk had a small sandy beach, a jetty, and lots of benches spread throughout the journey. As it was getting super dark, very fast, and I was once again overheating we did not make it to the end, or even the center. I think we got to the 2400 shell before turning back. If I had a proper camera I would have taken some great moon over the water photos but since I have only been using my cell phone for quite some time now the images were far less impressive. I am sure in the light this place was even better. It functioned perfectly for our after diner walk.
After spending a long afternoon at all three Book Barn locations we had worked up quite an apatite and were looking for some good grub before heading home. We settled on a place called simply The Shack, although I must say that it didn’t look like a shack in any way shape or form unless you counted the antique farming tools that were decorating the walls.
This place sure smelled like home cooking! There was a bell near the door, “Only survivors can ring.” Survivors? Was this one of those food challenge things? Nope. It’s October, breast health awareness month, which also explained why all the staff were wearing pink. This was for cancer survivors. At the tables there was a small fundraiser for the cause. $1 for a coloring sheet and so on.
I was so tired and pondering if I should behave myself or not. I ended up getting the Mac and Cheese with a little bowl of clam chowder as my side. Clam chowder is new to my repertoire and I have been surprised just how different they can be. This one was particularly unique, I had a hard time pinning down exactly why, but it was delicious nonetheless. And the Mac and Cheese was an enormous portion! My companion ordered the taco salad and was very happy with it. I taxed a bite and also approved.
This place was cute. Friendly staff, nice selection on the menu, clean, and did I mention it smelled like heaven? Because it did.
We discovered the book barn while we were on our way home from a different adventure but on that particular evening we only had about twenty minutes before it closed and it was not the kind of place that twenty minutes would be even remotely sufficient! So the next week we returned, with books in hand, hoping to trade them for store credits. My companion who brought a bunch of graphic novels did well in this venture getting over $50. I… did not. I figured they probably wanted known books so most of my choices were well known hard covers in good condition. Most were quietly slipped back to me. I got $7 or $8 in store credit for my efforts but I was happy because they took Honoring Echo, the book I wrote and signed, without a second glance. It was then I learned this place is looking for unique books.
The entire property is clearly what used to be a farm where a three story barn and several out buildings, all of which have been turned into little mini bookstores in their own right. And the pathways between each of these buildings? Also filled with outdoor shelving full of books. In the middle of this village there’s also two jungle gyms and some goats to keep the kids occupied as their parents enjoy the books. There’s even a little place to sit that’s in the shape of a TARDIS. I thought I took photos the first time I came here but forgot that I didn’t have my phone that day so I apologize that this entry is so light on photos, especially for a place that really deserved more!
This place was WILD. It had so many niche resource books. A whole corner devoted to books written on fishing. And here I though fishing was just a way to escape society and personal responsibilities for a few hours while doing basically nothing on a lake. There was also a huge section on hunting, another on gardening, and even a section for permaculture! But the largest sections were probably the ones on history and location. I was surprised to see such a robust collection of books on indigenous cultures and of course black culture as well. I tried to find some books in French but only was able to find one. Books in foreign languages didn’t have their own category which is astounding considering some of the other category titles such as, “Radicals, Anarchists, and Other Trouble Makers,” “Wealth and Glamour, or the Life-Styles of the PAINFULLY Wealthy,” and “Memoirs and Self-Help” (Why is that a combined category?!) I noticed the copy of The Art of Making the Deal I had noticed in the previous trip was gone and seeing as it wasn’t far from a huge section on Tarot I had to hope some witch bought it to use in a hexing. (Come on ladies and crones, we need all of you in on this!)
By the time we left we had found the rare first edition books behind glass and had used all our credits plus some but we weren’t done. You see the missing categories weren’t actually missing, they were in two other locations, one just down the road, and one in town. So we obviously had to check those out too.
The one down the road called “Chapter 23” had it’s own book mobile filled with conspiracy theories and alternative belief systems. One nook was categorized as “Oversized UFO books.” Because they had so many UFO books they had to start sorting them by size! It wasn’t all Ancient Aliens, although that was a good chunk, some of this was new age stuff, others were books on reincarnation or manifestation. Inside the actual book store building we found a huge cache of DVDs and I was even able to find one in French! They had a whole section on foreign films. It was interesting that the majority of them were Bollywood movies. Beyond this was a huge room of religious books of all persuasions, guarded by a very friendly calico cat.
Upstairs I found the gender studies and LGBTQ+ books as well as puzzle games and local interest as well as two more adorable shop cats on a very dramatic looking sofa.
After poking through all this and petting each and every cat a few times we moved onto the bookshop in town which is where all graphic novels, foreign language children’s books, and popular pulp paperbacks lived. SO MUCH TOM CLANCY. And classics. But really Tom Clancy. Just oodles of it. I had to bypass that to find a French copy of the Little Prince which I’d always hoped I’d find somewhere one of these days. I am trying to learn French and I also love the Little Prince.
Being in town this shop was lacking any cats. But it was still nice. I think depending what you’re looking for each of these locations had something different to offer. It was definitely a lot of fun and I do believe we will go back… likely with more books to trade for credits!
Recently my companion was watching someone on YouTube touring around the area and trying various gimmicks and challenges at local eateries. One of the things that came up was the hot dog tower at Wally’s Wieners which was five hotdogs of your choosing, french fries of your choosing, and five dipping sauces of the house’s choosing. Five hot dogs also happens to be what we’d normally eat together anyway so why not give it a go?
I was lucky to find parking, the street it’s on is always full of pedestrians and available parking spots are all parallel and a rarity. And the restaurant itself was packed on this particular Friday night. We were able to squeeze into a tiny window seat.
And I must say I was impressed by how many different hot dogs we had to chose from. I got the BBQ and the Truffle Shuffle hotdog, my companion got the Chicago, the Marinara Pizza, and something else I can’t remember. We chose garlic fries and our dipping sauces ended up being more garlic parmesan, BBQ, Ranch, General Sao’s, and something else I can’t remember. I liked the General Sao’s! Gave me permission to use it on non-Chinese food which was fun and gave me some ideas about duck sauce which I adore. The rest of the sauces were kinda meh. But the fries were very garlicy and the hot dogs? My BBQ turned out to be too spicy for my personal tastes (but I admittedly have 0 tolerance for anything with even the vaguest sense of heat) but the Truffle Shuffle? MY GOD, it tasted more mushroomy than mushrooms! I fucking loved it. Very strong flavor. Couldn’t even tell there was a hot dog in there.
The hot dog tower was on a separate menu than the regular fair which we had to ask for. It costs $40 on this night which is pretty cheap for something that’s either a personal challenge or meant to be shared. Seemed a good option to me. All and all it was a cute little place, the hot dogs definitely tasted distinct, and if you are so inclined they had oodles of T-shirts you could buy to show off you’d eaten there which is always fun for the tourists.
So after watching the Fraggles LIVE at the Colonial Theater we were pretty hungry. My partner thought being a college town Keene would have some restaurants open late. Cute, I know. The only places that were open were bars. Madame Sherri’s is just down the street and as we wandered closer to the door, of which I have passed dozens of times but never looked at, I noticed the rainbow flag and it hit me. Oooooooh, Madame Sherri’s! This must be the gay and lesbian bar! I mean the rainbow flag was probably enough of a hint but for those that don’t know Madame Sherri was a local celebrity back in the day. She built a mansion in the woods and was known for inviting theater folk up here into the boonies. What is left of her now burned down mansion, a partial staircase, is now on a public trail.
If we had to eat at a bar anyway might as well use our dollars supporting the cause. I guess this place also bills itself as a Cabaret. There was indeed a drag performance going on in the back room, which seemed to be a theater when needed and a dance floor the rest of the time. Inside everything was pretty dark but Halloween decorations abounded and several TVs aired music videos for the gays and Republican porn for the lesbians. Excuse me, I mean it was playing several scenes of a woman being bred on a Handmaid’s tale, which is honestly the same thing. Total mood killer. BUT ANYWAYS.
I haven’t been to a live show in a few years. Can’t really afford it but I threw all caution to the wind when I picked up the paper one day and saw a bunch of cute little Muppets staring up at me. I love Muppets, puppets, and all the other weird little critters I can find but my partner really loves those Muppets and unlike me he was raised on them so he was thrilled when I showed him the newspaper that Fraggle Rock was coming to town. Me, I had no idea what Fraggles were… but I like experiencing new things and you can’t really go wrong with a Jim Henson production.
Luckily I showed up way early so we could eat but it turns out I had the time an hour off so we really only had time to wander aimlessly through The ToadStool Bookshop before meandering over to the theater. I have been to plenty of music gigs and plays at the Colonial and every time it was packed to the brim so I expected the same for this event buuuut… nope, there were quite a few seats and surprisingly few children considering the subject matter. Though that’s not to say there weren’t any, they just were in the first five rows and not really many beyond there.
I kept myself entertained looking for the neurospicy among us. Fraggles had to be someone’s special interest and indeed. I found two people bedecked in Fraggle Rock shirts, clearly bought before this show. I smiled to myself.
The show was as expected very geared to small children but it was still enjoyable to adults like myself. The Fraggles were full-on people in costumes which was not what I was expecting. I guess I was expecting little hand puppets but nooo, these Fraggles were ENORMOUS and danced about the stage with high squeaky voices and more energy than I’ve had in a few decades. Even more fun for me was the prop guys (and gals) who made no effort whatsoever to blend in with the scenery (beyond wearing all black) and instead literally frolicked with the Fraggles like they were also characters. It was goddamn adorable.
The story was formulaic but it was so damn cute I didn’t really care and there were songs. So many songs. I don’t know why that surprised but it did. Occassionally there was audience participation and it was really cute watching the confused children try to yell what they were prompted. Several balls got loose at one point and no one seemed to want to bounce them back towards the stage for a good ten minutes. At one point the adults in the audience had a meltdown as everyone around me yelled, “THE TRASH PILE!” I didn’t know what was going on… but apparently the huge sentient trash pile on the stage meant something to those who grew up with Fraggle rock. And for them I was happy, even if it was confusing to me.
I loved this showing. It left me feeling stupidly happy which at this point I think I really needed the pick-me-up. And at the end they shot ribbons over the crowd with no warning and the bang nearly made me jump out of my own skin but I forgive them for the jolt. In short this was GREAT for people who love Fraggles, Muppets, need something to entertain the kids, or just have rampantly untreated ADHD.
I’ve been working a lot on things on my life and continue to struggle with photo uploads to this website so I once again apologize for my absence but as I navigate through whatever phase of burnout this is I have continued to search for fantastic eateries and weird and whimsical destinations and Jiggers seems to hit both categories.
I was just expecting a typical tin diner when I showed up on their door step but everything from the welcome mat outside to the whole interior was decked out with Halloween decore. Purple garland, pumpkins, witches hats hanging from the ceiling. It’s still September so this early burst of holiday spirit made me smile.
Inside the diner was remarkably well kept up for being so old. If I remember right a sign on the wall mentioned it being built in 1950. In addition to the Halloween decorations awards lined the wall and a beautiful case of muffins and bagels greeted us at the door.
The staff seemed genuinely happy and we’re very friendly. And the menu? Delightfully quirky. So much so I wasn’t sure what to order so we visited twice. The first time I had some sort of lemon flavored stuffed French toast with blueberries which… sounded so odd I couldn’t resist. It was deffinately different but not in a bad way. The second time I ordered a seasonal special the Harvest Omlette which was loaded with butternut squash and granny Smith apples. I got a side of black bean and sweet potato hash because that also sounded weird. I loved all of it. Even ate almost all of it which I don’t usually do. I also took a bagel to go and it was sooo chewy and wonderful I didn’t even toast it.
My companion was also happy with his choices. He had a Monte Cristo sandwhich the first time and the corned beef hash benedict chosen specifically because the corned beef hash was made in-house. I taxed a bite of the Monte Cristo sandwhich and it was melt in your mouth warm and wonderful. I’m just not a fan of corned beef hash but he must have liked it as he ate all of it. I also took a couple of his home fries and we both agreed this place had really good home fries that “weren’t covered in paprika” which for some reason most of the restaurants around here do.
Will I come back to this diner? Probably. It had a lot to chose from, much of which was super unique. It added a sort of quirky charm.
I was going to start my Busting Out of New England 2026 tour in chronological order buuuut…. then time went by and now my ADHD is forcing me to start with a more exciting option just to get going. So I am going to start with The Bigfoot Museum! It was one of the places we wanted to check out before going down south. We stayed with my companion’s relatives and bless their hearts they drove us everywhere that week and fed us reeeeeeally well. We in return added a little zaniness to their lives by bringing them to this… whimsical little museum. Honestly it was what I thought the International Cryptozoology Museum in Maine would be like before we checked that place out. You know, small and very wacky, and being run by a single individual with a single special interest (which there’s nothing wrong with that!)
As you can see the outside was painted up with murals and all sorts of fun imagery. Seeing as it was also in the middle of nowhere there was no missing this place. The owner claims he gussied the place up to be as outrageous as possible because some of the locals were none too keen on being seen as that town with all the bigfoot stuff. I love to hear about these petty grievances and just about died when he said he ran and won a mayorship of the town just so he could do this to his building. Now that’s dedication!
When you first walk into the museum you are greeted with a rack of bigfoot and alien related Hawaiian T-shirts which was just so on point. It was a really small place, one room just packed with stuff. There were of course castings of various bigfoot tracks, the traditional token Fuji mermaid, and all sorts of haunted dolls which was a fun surprise. I didn’t know this would be dipping into the paranormal, I was just looking for some fuzzy photos of something big and furry in the woods, as one does. But no, he had an episode of one of those ghost hunting shows he was on playing in the background and at one point I knocked over a camera which I tried to place back in position but apparently it wasn’t pointed at the people wandering in who could steal something. It was supposed to be pointed at a doll. Whhhhhy, you may ask, as I did. Because it’s a haunted doll and it was recently caught giggling. He had the audio! Which he of course shared with us and yes, that was some damn creepy giggling.
I don’t know what made all the dolls haunted or where they came from. They all just looked like regular dolls to me. But what I do wonder is if he wasn’t spurning a tiny demi-god into existence by believing so hard that they were haunted that they manifested a doll possession. The Latin word for something that is manifested into existence simply by having enough people believe in it is an egregor. And now you too can be the nerdiest one at the table to know this.
Other fun attractions included a haunted hay hook, first I’ve ever seen, and a random wall of serial killer victims which I guess someone was trying to solve who their killer was. Random, but I appreciate the desire to be helpful.
My companion’s relatives seemed a bit lost here but luckily they just seemed happy we were enjoying this place. There was a bunch of ghost and bigfoot hunting equipment there including a dish that could help you hear tiny sounds from really far away and the usual paranormal tool kit – EMF readers and whatnot. I took a little laser pen light that maps a green grid all around you to help see the spooks. Since buying it I have only used it to torment the cat but if I do see a ghost in there I shall be sure to tell you!
So was this museum worth the visit? I think if you’re weird or live in the area it’s a great place. Definitely is a niche audience though!
We weren’t really expecting much when we decided to find a new breakfast joint to check out. Although the title of Toast & Jam did sound charismatic and appealing! And when we drove up to the place it was just as adorable as one could hope for with painted windows that showed off some of its promises.
I was trying to behave myself but when I saw the menu that went right out the window. Ended up getting The Big Apple which was thick gorgeous waffles topped with lightly cooked Granny Smith apples, caramel sauce, and whipped cream. DEAR GOD. It was amazing. My companion’s choice was no less fantastic, though I’m not 100% sure what it was as this was a few months ago. I think it was Portuguese Hash. Whatever it was the presentation was absolutely beautiful and the meal underneath was just as good to taste. I know because I taxed it.
Obviously I didn’t tax anyone else’s buuuut this whole place seemed thrilled with their selections and they all looked picture perfect. This place is a keeper on my list for sure as I had a hard time even settling on a single option. I would like to try some more!
