Persistence pays

Today we had a date to meet Mary Anderson at Dot's restaurant in Wilmington, Vermont at 11:30a.m. We picked up Anne Janeway at her house in Marlboro and got to Wilmington just a little before 11:30, but we got a call from Mary saying that she had gotten there early and that Dot's was closed on Wednesday. We had thought it was closed only Monday and Tuesday. So we went to Dot's of Dover, which we did once before under the same circumstances. But when we got there, it was closed, period! What to do? I remembered a place in Wilmington called the Cup and Saucer. It would do in a pinch. It was open, but it only had counter seating, no tables. (There was a table, but the waitress said it would be considered "overcrowding" if we used it!). Sitting side-by-side at the counter meant it would be really hard to converse, especially since Anne is a little hard of hearing. Mary talked to a biker who was just leaving the Cup and Saucer, and he said there was a place back in town, called the Maple Leaf Tavern. So we went back there, and it was open, but it was really just a bar. So that was four strikes so far. We went down the street to another place that was a lunch room, but when we checked it out, it was closed on Wednesday. Then we went east of town to a pizza place I remembered, but when we got there, it was out of business. Six strikes! There was still one street back in town we hadn't checked out. So we went back, and by golly, there was an open restaurant serving lunch. It was called The Anchor. It specialized in seafood, which was ok. We went in, got a table for four and menus. Yay! It worked out ok except that a table of six young men came in behind us and they were very noisy. So conversing got difficult - we had to shout in order for Anne to understand what we were saying. But we got a good lunch, and heard a little bit about Mary's son Mark's wedding which had taken place earlier in the summer in Paris. Mark and Jen were married in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower right by the Seine River. I had been invited to officiate, but declined because I just didn't feel up for traveling to Paris. I felt badly declining, because I had officiated at Mary and John's wedding, and also at the wedding of their daughter, Erica and her husband, Tom. But I was younger and in much better shape back then. It was good to hear that it was a lovely wedding. Mark and Jen also have a baby - Carter - and we saw pictures of him on her phone. A very cute little boy!! Mary had to leave for a 2-o-clock appointment, so she had to get a take-home container for her unfinished lunch - we spent so much time finding an open and suitable restaurant, we didn't have a lot of time to eat. We made plans to get together at her place in Bennington in November - it will be quiet there!

Ellen and Anne talking by the car outside The Anchor.

The Anchor entrance. (I know, it says "Exit," but that sign is for the alley, not the stairs.)