We got in around the late afternoon. Our first stop was the “Haymarket Cafe” (185 Main St.) for some much needed caffeine. Upon entering the cafe, we were greeted by a long line of irritable people, awaiting their rush hour caffeine fix. Interestingly enough, the staff reflected their customers and seemed impatient and frustrated. In an attempt to sooth and relax everyone's nerves, there was some old school, upbeat reggae music playing. It didn't seem to be working though.
After waiting for about 15 minutes, it was finally my turn to order. I ordered a small chai with soy milk, and the barista had a sort of “really, that's it?!” attitude. I thought she would be glad my order was so easy. But she rushed me a long and dealt with me in a very curt manor. Caffeine is serious business!
As I sipped my chai, and waited for my friends to get their orders, I glimpsed around to get a better feel for the environment of the cafe. Seated at the tables were lots of intellectual looking people, dressed in the latest new-age hippy fashions. There were also several people sitting and working on laptops. The lighting was dim, and the walls were painted in earth tones, with mirrors hanging from them. It gave me the feeling that many of the patrons of the haymarket cafe are gravely concerned with their appearance, or that they like to watch themselves while they work, and sip coffee.
We all got our beverages to go, and decided to move onward! The next spot we stopped in was “Turn it Up!” records. (5 Pleasant St.) This is one of my favorite record stores, and perhaps, one of the best in the North East. Turn it up Records features a free listening station, where you can “try before you buy” and listen to the music you are thinking about purchasing and decided whether or not you want to spring for it. They sell a ton of used music and movies for super cheap, and have a lot of pretty rare stuff that you wouldn't expect. For instance, Jenn decided she NEEDED to own a copy of Total Recall which she hadn't been able to find anywhere else, aside from the depths of the internet. But low and behold, they had a copy, and sold it to her for a measly $5.00!
Right near their check out counter, they had a wall which they called “The democrat's corner” where you could share your feelings about new releases, so other customers could decided which albums were worth buying. I really appreciated Turn it Up's honest approach to selling music.
On the way out, I noticed they had a huge poster hanging on their door, detailing all of the up coming live music acts. They had both local artists, as well as bigger touring acts. From what I could gather, there seems to be a good amount of folk music that goes in and out of that town.
We took a little walk from the main strip under the big bridge, which Linda once lived. We stumbled upon a little joint called “Roz's Place” (6 Bridge Street ) and decided to peek in. It was a little shoppe that sold mostly vintage clothing, and some newer styles as well. I talked to the owner for a bit, to inquire about their merchandise, simply because I was curious. He said he buys most of the stuff from “jobbers” or independent designers, in bulk, so he can keep the cost of his goods low. He said he also buys from vintage designers as well as tag sale and flea market vendors. He also mentioned that he finds the most unique fashions while digging up graves. Since we were having what felt like a serious conversation, I nodded and believed him, until he informed me that he was, infact, joking.
Aside from selling clothing, the shelves and racks at Roz's place were filled to the brim with all kinds of knick knacks. Neon colored wigs, chunky belt buckles, false eyelashes and mustaches, pins, etc.
After perusing for a good while, we decided to head else where, and went to Raven Books (4 Old South Street). Raven Books is a used book store that you have to climb down a staircase off of the side walk to get down. They sell only used books here. I noticed they did not seem to carry a lot of popular titles, and a lot of their inventory seemed rather, aged. I asked the sales clerk if he had ever heard of a book called: Radical Honesty by a man named Brad Blanton. He said he had, and that it would most likely be in the self help section. Yes, he did indeed proclaim this rather loudly, and several times, that I had inquired about a self help book. Little did I know that it was, I was just following a friend's book recommendation! I asked if he had any in stock, and he told me he had no idea, and had no way of checking. I thought this was a bit archaic, but also appreciated their desire to remain old fashioned. Spending time in Raven Books really did feel a bit like stepping into a time warp.
After Raven Books, we decided it was time to sit down for a while and drink some beers. Linda knew of a great place called: “The Ye Old Watering Hole” (287 Pleasant St.) so that is where we ended up. The Ye Old Watering Hole is also a beer can museum! The walls are lined with aluminum cans featuring many different brands of beer, old and new. But mostly old. The four of us sat at the bar and all decided to try a local brew called: “Steel Rail ale” made by the Berkshire Brewing Company. Yum!
I looked around the bar and noticed that there were only four other people there, all of them men, and all of them drinking alone. This was about 6 or 7pm, and all of them were dressed pretty formally, for a dive bar anyway. I suppose maybe that is just a Massachusetts thing. I decided to chat up our bartender. He was sassy at first, and wouldn't give legitimate answers to my questions. But then I threatened to blog negatively about him, and he warmed right up to me. He told me his life story, about how he was originally a California boy, but wound up on the east coast with a girlfriend and a kid. Things didn't work out with the gal, but he stuck around for his daughter. He was very friendly, and chatted with me and my friends for a while and suggested some places for us to check out for dinner.
Then there was a bar-wide conversation on the topic of “man-scaping” My girls and I put our two cents in, and decided shortly there after that it was time to move on.
The next place we found ourselves at was a snazzy little pizza joint/bar called: Sam's Pizza (235 Main Street ) It was open mic night that night, and Linda was going to perform. We ordered a large cheese pizza, and some brews and watched the performers. It was a good mix of old and young, as was the crowd, which made for a pretty interesting dynamic. I appreciated the diversity, it made for good variety in the performances.
We watched Linda play a few ditties on the piano, and sing some of her original lyrics. We finished up our pizza and headed south, back to the Constitution state. During the hour and ten minute drive back home, we made plans to return to Northampton for another girls day in the near future!
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