Fried Pickles Anyone?

This weekend a Pickle Festival took place in a town an hour from my home. As four open houses in my price range coincided with the festival, I drove there on a gorgeous fall-in-the-air Saturday.

I arrived in town just as the parade was marching through the main street. There were no parking places and the policeman gestured me onto a side road that went on and on. Finally I turned around and sat in a parking lot entrance until the parade ended with hoots from the fire engines. No, I did not try the fried pickles!

Just wanted to show some of the amazing architecture in this town which at one time must have had some money. The festival, a small section of which is shown here, had many purveyors of goods from pickles to crafts. Also, various food kiosks where I bought a hot dog for lunch which I later regretted. The festival was packed! It was wonderful to see people have fun in a simple and down home manner.

Meanwhile, I toured four totally unique and amazing houses. The first, and only house I might reasonably live in, was a ranch of 5 rooms totally and tastefully redone with granite counters and beautiful custom made kitchen cabinets and a master bedroom with a sitting area leading to the deck and hot tub. With almost 2 acres and a huge heated garage and a price of $169,000 this was a winner.



The second house seen above was a Victorian from the early 1900's with a curved front porch, gorgeous wood door and window frames, 3000 square feet, three and a half bathrooms. Upstairs was a second kitchen and bath and living room and bedroom. The rooms were a maze of amazing features. Mostly it was in original condition ie: had not been yupified. One room was packed with bookcases and books (a rare feature. In the over 70 houses I have seen probably 5 had bookshelves and books. ) Totally inappropriate for a 65 year old single person but what a trip to see!


The third house was a partially converted church with much work/money still required. I especially loved the belltower with bell still present. And the large kitchen/living room/dining area all open and with a wonderful bohemian feel to it. The owners had added a new staircase to the upstairs and the handrail came from a Yale library!!! Well, my Dad went to Yale so you can imagine this handrail really meant a lot to me. Later, I noticed a huge, old cloth wall hanging in the dining room on which the words from the Yale Whippenpoof song were written. My dad sang this song when I was a child. Oh to be younger or at least rich. I would love this church as a house. It was only $154,000.

The fourth house was also extraordinary. A two story house built in the fifties, the kitchen was to die for. Gorgeously redone with granite counters and incredibly beautiful cabinets the house boasted a huge kitchen and dining room, a den, a large living room, a bedroom with doors to a deck and a full bath downstairs. All impeccably done over and cared for. Then up a wonderful staircase you find another full bath, a small bedroom then a huge master suite with its own sink and clawfoot (modern and adorable) tub on a kind of platform. This house was only $199,000. On Cape Cod, you would get an 800 square foot wreck for that. Amazing really.

I had a blast talking with the Realtors, and in one case homeowner, chatting about the home particulars and history. More happened on this extraordinary day but I will save the second part for another post.