Day 6 - Middle of Nowhere Diner, Cancun Pizza/Margaritas Restaurant - Manchester (Oct.13, 2026)

We packed up and left our hotel - we aren't quite sure where we are heading yet, but we figured we'd decide over breakfast.

There was a little place nearby called The Middle of Nowhere Diner.

It was so cute.

Right next door was the Next to Nowhere Creamery (closed for the season).

I love the names.

Like the mural on the side of the building too.

I loved the vibe inside.

It was definitely a hometown, cozy kind of place that's been around forever, lots of locals.

There was all kind of horror paraphernalia all over the walls but hometown diner stuff too and it all seemed to just fit. 

Jason had a omelet with rye toast.

I had scrambled eggs, corned beef hash, corn bread, fried potatoes and a side of bacon.

It came with beans as well.

It was very good.

We decided to head toward New Hampshire.

There is a highway that is supposed to be very beautiful this time of year, the Kancamagus highway.

The most scenic portion of it apparently is from Lincoln to Conway.

Lincoln is about 2 hours away so we decided to drive there the the next day, take the trip on the highway up to Conway.

When we were looking up a hotel, a suggestion came up for Manchester which is just next door to Lincoln and it looked like a nice hotel (Hilton) and a great price so we decided to go there.

We checked in and the hotel was really nice.

We considered staying a second night but we would have had to switch rooms so ended up opting not to.

After we checked in, it was raining pretty hard so we found a mall nearby and thought we could go spend some time there.

We were side tracked though because we came across a Hobby Lobby so we went there instead.

I love Hobby Lobby so much.

I got some journaling supplies - I've been enjoying journaling so much.

I can't wait to get back and start a reading journal and the fairy journal for Freya.

Next up, we went to get something to eat.

Jason found a pizza place, Cancun Pizza, looked good so we went there.

It was attached to a Mexican place, Margarita's.

It was quite big inside.

Decorated in the Mexican style.

They brought us free chips and salsa to the table.

They were good so I asked for some guacamole to go along with it.

The guac was very good.

We ordered our pepperoni pizza.

It was a pan style, it was good.

They brought a cheese pizza as well, said it came free with the order of a pizza and we did see a sign on the way out that indeed said free cheese pizza with the order of a pizza.

We got a flight of tacos too.

They were good.

We were really liking what we were seeing in the Manchester area.

It was drizzling rain so I didn't want to walk around but am hoping I get a chance to tomorrow.

So we went back to the hotel and Jason went out for a run.

I worked on my travel journal and my blog.

When Jason got back, we went down to the pool for a swim.

We also had a dip in the hot tub which was outside - I don't think I've ever seen that before.

It was nice to just relax in there and we had it all to ourselves.

My fitbit died yesterday but I forgot to bring my charger with me so I won't have any more step count totals for this trip.

I don't think I did make it to 12,000 today though, didn't do much walking.

My journal page for today.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy.

Day 5 - Troll Hunting in Rhode Island, Track 15 Providence (Oct.12, 2026)

We woke up to a lovely day, the rain stopped over night.

This is the view from our hotel window, the building to the left there is the pool.

Hoping we get there tonight for a swim.

We stopped at a coffee shop just across the street for breakfast, Alaina's.

It was a cute little place, they had it all decorated for Halloween.

I love this pillow!

I got a French Toast bagel with cinnamon cream cheese - it was very good

I also got an iced coffee called a Witches Brew, it was awful, kind of just tasted like spicy water.

I threw it away.

Jason got a breakfast burrito.

He said it was probably one of the best ones he ever had.

 

We were finally going on our troll hunt today.

We went on Thomas Dambo's troll map and there are 5 trolls here in Rhode Island in 4 different locations.

We decided to try to hit all of them.

There is one right near here, West Greenwich, which is where we are staying, then we'll head south and loop back up.

The first location was only about a 12 minute drive from our hotel.

It was in a water shed management park, Arcadia.

It was right by a lake and you could see the red trees peaking through along the lake, looked so pretty.

This one is called Young Boulder.

They are so cool, I love his beard.

His staff was topped with a bird house and some hanging bits and bobs.

I just love all the details on them like their ears and this guy even had ear decor.

Their toes are my favorite!

Jason with Young Boulder.

And moi!

He's just sitting there looking out over the water.

Each of the trolls have a plaque like this mounted near them that you can do a paper rubbing of.

I brought paper and pencils with me so I could do that.

There is also a barcode so you can scan in and say that you found it on the troll map.

I tried to sign up so I could do that but I couldn't get it to work.

A few last pictures before we go.

He is so awesome.

This is the lake that he is looking out over.

It was a nice park so we went for a little walk around.

We could hear water rushing so we thought there might be a water fall nearby.

It ended up just being a dam area but it was still pretty.

There were lots of trees displaying their Autumn colors.

From there we hit the road south to Ninigret Park

It was about a 30 minute drive so not bad.

It looked like a very nice park, and it had a huge play park for children.

Jason noticed these big footprints on the ground right away and figured that they led to a troll.

So off we went following them.

I think we are on the right path.

There was giant troll necklaces hanging in the trees along the path to Greta.

This one was made out of seashells.

The path was muddy but passable.

There she is, Greta Granite.

We found her plaque right away and I made my rubbing.

Tried again to check her off on the troll map but still wouldn't work.

There were lots of people there so we had to wait our turn to get some pictures with her.

But they cleared out eventually.

I love her ponytail and how she'd kneeling there.

She's making jewelry.

Then we were off to find the other troll in the park.

Lots of other people were there to see the trolls so we were giving and getting directions to the trolls from some of the other folks there.

How lucky that they have two trolls in this park.

Looks like we are on the right path to Erik.

It was turning out to be an absolutely gorgeous day.

We came up on the back side of Erik Rock, he was sitting there against a tree.

There were a lot of people here taking pictures and stuff so it was a little wait until we could get some pictures of Erik without extra people in the photo.

He was chilling by the lake.

The details on these trolls are so wonderful.

I love his necklace.

As you can see, lots of people come out to see these trolls.

We couldn't find the plaque for Erik, we were looking for it and a couple nearby asked if that was what we were looking for.

We said yes and the girl said that they'd been looking too and had no luck so they looked it up and it said that someone had stolen the plaque and thrown it in the lake.

Why do people to things like that? It's so senseless.

After we took some pictures, Jason headed off on the trails to get a 5k run in and I put on my headphones to listen to my book and just walked around the park.

I ended up circling back to where Erik Rock was, there was this rock gate leading to him, I tried to take a picture of it earlier but there were people standing all around it.

This time nobody was there.

I had Erik all to myself too, not a person was around.

I think we are still early in the season for all the fall colors - they are starting but I don't think they are in their full glory yet.

So when I see a nice tree that's orange or red, I get so thrilled.

They had this cool art piece randomly in the park, it's a dog with a camera.

He's popped up out of a manhole is what it looked like.

There was the same type of statue near the entrance of the park only this one was a rabbit.

She's popping out of a manhole too.

Paparazzi rabbit.

Look at that orange tree just nuzzled right in there amongst all the green ones.

Love that pop of color so much.

From there we headed to Ryan Park in North Kingstown where there is another troll.

It was about a 30 minute drive to get there and it was just this tiny little parking lot so it was kind of hard to tell if we were in the right place.

We parked and started walking in on the trail that was there.

It was a great trail, I think it would be a lovely place to go for a run.

We must have walked for about 1 km and I was starting to wonder if we missed the troll or if we were in the right place because there was no indication at all that there was a troll in the area.

Then when I was feeling like maybe we should give up, I saw this.

Not even sure what it is but it made me feel like we were on the right track.

Then I saw this and I knew for sure we were on the right path.

And then suddenly, there he was off in the distance, Iver Mudslider.

He was sitting up on a hill.

The sun was shining behind him which was unfortunate for picture taking plus he was up on a hill so you had to take the picture at an angle but we got to see him in person and that's the main thing.

Jason's pictures turned out better than mine did.

His plaque was intact too so that was nice.

This is him from the side - their toes are so awesome!

There was one more troll in Rhode Island, in Providence which was about 30 minutes away so we figured we'd go see that one too, why not?

Providence seemed kind of industrial looking on the way in but when we found the park where the troll is, it was in a beautiful area in town.

What a gorgeous day we were having too - I was loving it.

We parked and then went hunting for the troll.

Wasn't long before we found an indication that we were in the right place.

This is Mrs. Skipper.

She was sitting on the rocks by the water.

Kind of a tricky place to get to, you had to climb down on the rocks to see the front of her.

I love her.

I got Jason to pose with her.

I found her plaque and made my etching.

There was a really nice walking path along the edge of the water and this dock you could walk out onto.

This is the view of Mrs. Skipper from out on the dock.

That was a fulfilling day.

We now have added 5 more trolls to our seen list.

What a fun activity.

There are many more all over the world and any time we travel from now on, I'm going to see if there is a troll nearby and I'll go out of my way to go see them if there is.

Saw a bug that I've never seen before on the wooden rail while walking back to the car.

We stopped at a Walgreen's to get some Ibuprofen and Jason saw this coat - It's for a local team but since Jason is a Townsend, he thought this was neat so he got it for himself.

Before driving back to our hotel, we decided to get something to eat so went to the downtown area of Providence

We quite liked what we saw of the city and would come back her any time to spend a few days.

We saw this food hall on a YouTube channel so thought we'd go check it out.

It had this great outdoor space.

Love a tree with lights.

The food hall was called Track 15.

It was this big food hall with several options of places to eat.

It was hopping in there.

This spot had ramen and that's what I ended up getting.

It was called Yagi.

This was a seafood spot and they had stuffies which are a Rhode Island specialty so we got one of those to try.

Called Dune Brothers.

Then this was an Indian Spot and the smell coming from this place was tantalizing.

It was called Little Chaska.

We found a spot to sit outside because why wouldn't you want to take advantage of this weather.

Jason and I.

I got the tantan ramen which was delicious but it was spicy and the heat built up quickly so I couldn't eat a whole lot of it.

I also got these chicken bao buns from the same spot.

They were ok, they had a Korean sauce on them that I wasn't crazy about.

This is the Stuffie.

It's a quahog chopped up and mixed with breading and spices then baked and served on the shell.

We tried it because it's a Rhode Island thing but neither of us was really very impressed by it.

Probably wouldn't ever have one again.

Jason got the Chicken Tikki Masala and I'm not a huge Indian food fan but it was delicious.

He got the naan bread with it and it was also fantastic.

I do like me some naan bread.

They had this mango coconut rice pudding so we tried that too but neither of us really liked it either.

The Indian food turned out to be the winner of the best food of the night for both of us.

After we ate, we went to a local Walmart - I was trying to print off a few pictures but they didn't have the photo kiosks.

We tried a second Walmart on the way back the hotel but they didn't have one either.

I did get a mini sticker printer for cheap - it doesn't print in color but it might come in handy for some things.

The hotel was only about 30 minutes from Providence so it was a short jaunt back there.

We thought about going for a swim but Jason wanted to have a nap first, he had a bit of a headache.

So while he napped, I worked on my travel journal and my blog.

Jason ended up sleeping the whole time so no swimming, I just finished up my stuff then turned the lights out and called it a night.

These are the two journal pages I completed tonight.

This one had my etchings from the trolls.

Then this was our visit to Track 15.

I am enjoying this travel journaling so much!

Steps for today.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!