This weekend the girls and I went to Freeport on one of our weekend adventures. Our intent was to go to a Hapkido Tournament.
The tournament was an experience, though it seemed to feature more Karate and Tae Kwon Do than Hapkido.
The hall was filled with practitioners of all ages and abilities with belts ranging from yellow to black. At any moment, there were at least six different activities happening--katas with and without weapons and sparring. We watched for hours, then left, making our way back toward the center of town.
We didn't get very far.
When we got to the center, it was to find a parade in progress. Instead of seeking a back route out of town, we parked the car at one of L L Bean parking lots, walked up to the main street, and watched the parade from a stone wall. The parade was put on by the Maine State Federation of Fire Fighters, and featured firetrucks of all makes, models and years from all around Maine. It was such fun!
Since we were already in town, we went to the Sherman's Maine Books and Stationary. There, the girls and I broke off to examine the sales table and everything else.
We all managed to find treasures: my youngest girl found a lovely book about China from the sales table, while my eldest found a mini-Popsical/lip balm combo, and I found Cooking Know-How by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough (also from the sales table).
On the way home, we took Route One and passed by Two Brother's Books. I had been passing by this store for at least ten years and had been attracted by the "Used Books" sign. Today, the temptation proved too strong. We turned round in the driveway of a shoe company and drove back to the book shop.
What a surprise! The entire first floor of a traditional front house-back, house-and partial barn was a bookshop filled with used books!
Nirvana.
The youngest found a stack of five books that she had to whittle down to one, including books about China, Iraq, Egypt and more. The eldest struggled over two Nancy Drew-like books, finally settling on a book from a Sue Barton, Student Nurse series. I found books for Tim martial arts, including on about the way of the warrior.
And I? I found an incredible book called Food in England by Dorothy Hartley. The book is a goldmine! It is several historical recipe books in one, including recipes from the early ages up through the late 1800s.
Once home, I put the Cooking Know-How book to good use by using the recipe "French-Inspired Chicken and Rice" to cook dinner. It was delicious.
What a wonderful weekend's adventure!
