The Village Perk coffee house is usually a quiet stop for coffee or a light meal that occasionally seeing a large crowd during peak lunch hours, musical performances and other special events. The sleepy shop became a bustling gathering as Sen. John McCain made a brief stop as part of his Presidential campaign.

The Straight Talk Express stopped in Meredith early Friday evening as part of McCain's campaign in New Hampshire following a series of town hall meetings in Mississippi. After stopping at the Village Perk, McCain appeared at a house party in Moultonborough before embarking on a series of stops around the state.

A large group gathered in the Village Perk's small dining room. The hot cider was a popular order, though the restaurant's supply of coffee was dwindling. The crowd was a mix between children, adults, and seniors with members of the Inter-Lakes School Board and the Meredith American Legion Post in attendance.

McCain entered the Village Perk around 4:30 p.m. accompanied by his mother Roberta and former state senator Carl Johnson and his son Carl Johnson, Jr., shaking hands with patrons and the restaurant's staff. He stopped for a moment to pose with a local teenager, whose friend snapped a shot of them together with a camera phone.

The tone of the appearance was mostly jovial with McCain joking around with members of the crowd.

"I always do what she tells me," he said of his 95-year-old mother. "Last Christmas she wanted to drive around France." When wanting to rent a car "they told her she was too old and so she bought one."

McCain recalled when an excerpt of his book was published in a magazine detailing an account from when he was in a military prison in Vietnam and "I would yell words that were not very nice to the North Vietnamese." His mother later called him when the excerpt was released and said "I'm going over to wash your mouth out with soap."

With the proximity to Veteran's Day, McCain showed his support for those serving in the war in Iraq.

"If you have any doubts about America meet these young people who are serving," he said. "We are not divided about our support for the young men and women who are serving. When you see one of them in uniform, just go up to them and say 'thanks for serving.'"

McCain fielded questions from locals, including whether he would uphold the Moscow Treaty and his stance on the reduction of arms.

"I think nuclear proliferation is one of the greatest challenges and I would join into agreements," McCain said.

McCain also reiterated his stance against the war in Iraq. "I saw it was going south, you saw it was going south," McCain told one attendee.

"I feel and I'm convinced if he was President of the United States he would not have engaged in the war in Iraq," said Jaques Raphael Georges, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, Manchester. "He would have used all means of diplomacy."

"He's very articulate, he's very knowledgeable about the issues," said Michelle Cunha of Hill. "But I'm still not convinced. I think it's awesome he brought his mother."

"I think he paid his dues," said Bob Kennelly, captain of American Legion Post #33. "He's a veteran, he's got the right track, he's going the right way."