Dull care was left at home as I made my way to the final destination of our road trip. Bob and I had been on the road for two weeks, staying in different lodging each and every night, so I was ready to lay my head on the same pillow for the next four days. I was also really looking forward to the antics and camaraderie with my many old friends who had been part of the Sons of the Desert for many years. Bob and I rolled into the Radisson hotel in Manchester at 8:30 in the morning on Wednesday, July 18, 2012. This would be the first day of the 18th International Sons of the Desert Convention. So naturally the first thing I did was to plant myself in the lobby for the next three and a half hours.
The reason for this was that our room was not yet ready and Bob had made plans to travel back into Salem with his friends Marcia, Lori, and Lee & Dee. I had already told him that this would be fine with me. It worked out just fine as there was plenty of good internet access, so it gave me a chance to catch up on some business and reserve some CDs from the library back home.
I got into room 1105 a little after noon. The Wileys and David had gone into Boston that morning, so no one was really around to hang out with. Actually, that’s not exactly true, as several Sons had greeted me that morning as I sat in the lobby, but I opted to just enjoy some relaxing alone time and have a good rest so I would be raring to go that evening.
David and the Wileys got back to the hotel around 4pm. David came up to my room – after accidentally knocking on the neighbors’ door – and caught me up on the adventures he had had that day in Boston and earlier in the week with the Duffs. Then we met up with the Wileys and we all headed out for dinner.
My favorite caricature of the trip
Dinner was rather special as it was the 11th and final restaurant of the trip that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I had said that I’d be happy with hitting ten restaurants, ecstatic with twelve – so I ended up falling right in the middle. This one was called the Red Arrow Diner and it had been featured on the episode House Specials. I was in the blind on this one as I hadn’t seen the episode, so I relied on the waitress to tell us what items were featured on the show.
DD&D #45: The Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire
Of the two main dishes, I opted for the “Famous” American Chop Suey – which was touted as Guy Fieri’s favorite New England dish. Obviously I had high hopes for this one, so it was quite a letdown to find that it tasted akin to a school lunch version of beef-a-roni. Seriously. The other recommended dish was the pork pie which David got and I tried – and it was much, much better. Dessert however was no disappointment. They called the Dinah Fingers, but how they described them was a their own homemade Twinkies. I didn’t stop there though; I got the Dinah Finger Strawberry Shortcake, and it was a delight. It’s fair to note that I must be in the minority of not being thrilled by the food, as it is a frequent stop of Adam Sandler, the Barenaked Ladies, and even Al Gore and Hillary Clinton have eaten there. They had booths designated where some of these dignitaries had sat.
Jimmy, David, and me at the Red Arrow
The Dinah Fingers: even better than Twinkies
The gang outside the Arrow Diner
David and I decided to walk back to the hotel so that we could stop at the CVS and Shaw’s grocery store to pick up some snack items. Being Seinfeld obsessed, we wanted to try Drake’s Coffee Cakes and Ring Dings, both of which were mentioned on the series. As a bonus, we picked up some Funny Bones and a 2-liter of Moxie.
I’ve got a whole box of ’em
We arrived fashionably late for the convention’s first event, the cocktail mixer. I was in the mood for some good Sons mixing, so I was taken aback to find a room full of chairs facing a stage. As entertainment, there were two live radio reenactment, the first starring Nick and Nora (of Thin Man fame), the second being the more appropriate L&H reading of The Wedding Party – with Jeffrey Weissman performing as Stan, Jamie McKenna performing as Ollie, Cliff Sawyer as Edgar Kennedy, and Carla Rhodes as Patsy Moran. There was also a re-enactment of the cake cutting during the Hal Roach Studios 20th anniversary party, with Bob standing in for Hal Roach, and Thelma Todd’s cousin Jenny Blatchford standing in for her.
David and I greet the standees of the boys outside the mixer
Hi-balls. Not as dirty as it sounds.
Janet Duff and Irene Valasquez (who will forever be Inez Velasco to me)
Kris and David
With the Duffette
Little Jimmy and me discussing something fascinating
Bob Duncan and Big Jimmy clearly discussing something even more fascinating
Jeffrey Weissman, Bob Satterfield, Jenny Blatchford, Mary May Vereen, and Jamie McKenna
Reunion of the Sanford Arms
Although the entertainment was nice, I was much more in the mood for some straight-up socializing and greeting old friends – so we spent a good portion of the mixer out in the lobby area – mixing!
It was great to see old pals and I was very much looking forward to the rest of this convention.
The 2012 Sons of the Desert convention will continue…
Were they the FULL SIZE Drake’s Coffee Cakes?
Chris
August 11th, 2012
Yep. That’s your big boy.
Brad
August 11th, 2012