New York wore us out - probably because we walked a lot of the city, but also because our senses were on overdrive for so long. So, leaving the city, we decided some quiet time in an adorable town in Connecticut would be perfect for us.
Our first stop was New Haven. The city was larger than we expected, but certainly not devoid of charm. We walked around the beautiful old campus of Yale and then went to Louis’ Lunch, a place over 100 years old with a huge claim to fame. The little diner is nothing fancy, in fact, the wooden walls and furniture have all had words and names carved in them over the years. There are little choices to be had on the, well, there's not even a menu. This small little diner is credited with being the place that invented a hamburger, so that is what you get. What choices do you have? You can have tomato, onion and/or cheese. There is no ketchup to be had, nor is there ice for water. You can get potato salad, and there are a few bottled drinks to choose from. The kitchen is about the size of one you may see in an NYC studio apartment, and it is there that the burger goes on a cast-iron skillet, and comes out in between to slices of white bread. The burger was really quite delicious, but it was the character (not charm, but character) of the place that made it more fun.
Unfortunately, after some searching, we realized that tiny, adorable little towns in Connecticut had price tags to match, so our plans changed a bit. We found a reasonable place just outside of Hartford, which while we never really visited Hartford, we did drive through it the next morning, and found it to be lovely and very shiny!
Part of the joy of road-tripping is allowing for detours. We had our next destination in mind, but decided we'd take the little bit longer route to get there to get to see a bit of the countryside of Connecticut, and I'm so glad we did. Along the way, I saw a sign for the Nathan Hale Homestead. The name rang a bell, so I followed signs that led us onto beautiful two-lane roads. The countryside was really lovely - dense green forests with ferns galore sprinkled with lovely, reasonably-sized homes, nicely spaced-out. I know about Nathan Hale because he is a children's book author, well, that is the Nathan Hale of today, and he's using his namesake to help him tell stories. The better well-known Nathan Hale was America's first spy and a hero to his home state of Connecticut. I learned more about the former Nathan Hale from the current Nathan Hale who wrote a graphic novel about the former Nathan Hale. In fact, he's got a whole series where he uses the former Nathan Hale to tell important stories from American History.
Nathan Hale (the former) went to Yale to become a teacher, but soon after he graduated, he joined the American army. Nathan was passionate about independence from England, and wanted to make a difference in the war effort. Although he was involved with the war for a great deal of time, he kept missing out on big important battles. Seemingly upset that he wasn't in the middle of things, when Washington called for spies, he volunteered. Disguising himself, he went off to infiltrate. Little did he know that he had been watched from the time he left his troop. The sneaky man who spotted him, followed him a great distance, then joined him at a pub. When the man told Nathan that he was a spy for the American army, Nathan simply said, "me, too!" And that was the sad end of Nathan's tale. But he goes down in history as the first spy in America, or at least the first one to be caught.
Mystic was our next destination. It is a small harbor town in southeast Connecticut, most famously known for its pizza. Well, at least for Mystic Pizza. We had to stop by and have some pizza at the diner where Julia Roberts had her first big break, and let me say, the pizza was delicious! The movie played on the TV and the walls were filled with shots from the film. But, despite some of the cheesiness (pun, intended) of it all, the pizza would have been worth stopping for!
The tiny harbor town was bustling on a Saturday. We enjoyed wandering in shops and along the bay and watching the drawbridge raise to let sailing ships through.
Connecticut is not a large state, and I know that we just barely skimmed the surface, but we enjoyed big cities, a historical hero, beautiful countryside, delicious pizza, and an adorable harbor town.
Unfortunately, after some searching, we realized that tiny, adorable little towns in Connecticut had price tags to match, so our plans changed a bit. We found a reasonable place just outside of Hartford, which while we never really visited Hartford, we did drive through it the next morning, and found it to be lovely and very shiny!
Part of the joy of road-tripping is allowing for detours. We had our next destination in mind, but decided we'd take the little bit longer route to get there to get to see a bit of the countryside of Connecticut, and I'm so glad we did. Along the way, I saw a sign for the Nathan Hale Homestead. The name rang a bell, so I followed signs that led us onto beautiful two-lane roads. The countryside was really lovely - dense green forests with ferns galore sprinkled with lovely, reasonably-sized homes, nicely spaced-out. I know about Nathan Hale because he is a children's book author, well, that is the Nathan Hale of today, and he's using his namesake to help him tell stories. The better well-known Nathan Hale was America's first spy and a hero to his home state of Connecticut. I learned more about the former Nathan Hale from the current Nathan Hale who wrote a graphic novel about the former Nathan Hale. In fact, he's got a whole series where he uses the former Nathan Hale to tell important stories from American History.
Nathan Hale (the former) went to Yale to become a teacher, but soon after he graduated, he joined the American army. Nathan was passionate about independence from England, and wanted to make a difference in the war effort. Although he was involved with the war for a great deal of time, he kept missing out on big important battles. Seemingly upset that he wasn't in the middle of things, when Washington called for spies, he volunteered. Disguising himself, he went off to infiltrate. Little did he know that he had been watched from the time he left his troop. The sneaky man who spotted him, followed him a great distance, then joined him at a pub. When the man told Nathan that he was a spy for the American army, Nathan simply said, "me, too!" And that was the sad end of Nathan's tale. But he goes down in history as the first spy in America, or at least the first one to be caught.
Mystic was our next destination. It is a small harbor town in southeast Connecticut, most famously known for its pizza. Well, at least for Mystic Pizza. We had to stop by and have some pizza at the diner where Julia Roberts had her first big break, and let me say, the pizza was delicious! The movie played on the TV and the walls were filled with shots from the film. But, despite some of the cheesiness (pun, intended) of it all, the pizza would have been worth stopping for!
The tiny harbor town was bustling on a Saturday. We enjoyed wandering in shops and along the bay and watching the drawbridge raise to let sailing ships through.
Connecticut is not a large state, and I know that we just barely skimmed the surface, but we enjoyed big cities, a historical hero, beautiful countryside, delicious pizza, and an adorable harbor town.
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