We took a fast trip to the Hudson River Valley to see the Franklin D Roosevelt home and Presidential Library at Hyde Park. It was a fun trip, and a fact finding trip to see if the Hudson Valley in New York is a possible summer destination for next year. We are winding down our time here in Connecticut. We'll be leaving for Richmond next weekend, and three months of fun and exploration in the Old Dominion (Virginia's nickname).
Connecticut was more interesting that I expected. Initially, my expectation was that it would be a solid metroplex stretching into New York City. That was completely wrong. Most of the state is rural. I mean really rural - two lane roads, mixed growth forest, and small farms. The baffling traffic quirk is the 'roundabouts' on the rural roads. We could never figure out what they were for.
Connecticut has also been settled forever, at least in terms of Europeans in the United States. It was quite common to run across towns settled in the 1600's. New Haven was first settled by Europeans in 1638. As you move northward along any river (all of which empty into Long Island Sound), the dates of the settlements get later, all the way into the 1740s. That makes for a lot of dead people everywhere - and they are all buried with increasingly elaborate markers. I would estimate a good 5% of this state's land is covered with cemeteries.
I learned that Connecticut was the first hotbed of American manufacturing. Everything from hats to clocks to shoes to other small consumer goods. The small towns are filled with red brick mills and small manufacturing plants - most of which are now empty and deteriorating. There are some things still manufactured here - like Pez candy and dispensers. (That's in Orange, Ct.) There was also a huge ship building industry in Connecticut that endured for over 200 years.
They do have their own soda company in Connecticut. Foxon makes and distributes cola, root beer, lemon-line, and ginger ale. Most of the local restaurants carry it. The root beer is especially good. Connecticut also has a founding father who is the only person to sign all four major American Independence documents (Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution and Bill of Rights). He's buried in the Grove Cemetery in New Haven, and his house still stands in New Haven - close to Yale, of course. I ran across the Hopkins School, founded by the Governor of Connecticut in 1660, and it's still in operation today as a 7th - 12th grade day school. The most complete dinosaur tracks in the United States are in Connecticut - discovered by a construction worker, and preserved and excavated by Yale professors of paleontology.
Yale dominates everything around New Haven, and really in the entire state. The university architecture is beautiful, the art amazing, and I discovered this week that they have their own forest, of course. Every time I turn around, I'm exposed to another historical mover and shaker that went to this University. Their professors over the centuries are famous, and they have sent luminaries from their student bodies into every profession.
However, I have discovered there are certain things that can not be found in Connecticut. Here's a partial list: Fountain Dr. Pepper. Yes, you can buy it bottled in the stores, but nobody carries it as a fountain drink. Then I went looking for pimento cheese spread - it doesn't exist - ANYWHERE, nor do corn dogs. The closest thing to a corn dog is something called 'pretzel dogs'. They are cocktail wieners wrapped in pretzels. They are OK, but they're no corn dog.
Naturally, there are no chicken fried steaks either.
There is lobster, lobster and more lobster including a lobster sub at Quizno's. The shellfish including clams, mussels, scallops, and shrimp is all delicious here, like everywhere else in New England. I've found a delicious canned Clam Chowder that I'm trying to stock up on since this region is the only place I can buy this particular brand.
It's been kind of fun living close to a university again - even Yale has a 'campus corner' and a bunch of cheap eateries. It has not been fun revisiting non-air conditioned living space. We've been pretty lucky. Only about 2 weeks up here were really unbearable. We had to vacate the apartment during that time by 10am and only returned close to dark each day. It was still miserable, and almost impossible to sleep because it was so hot. We upgraded to five fans (in 546 square feet), all of which we used. The small space didn't bother us in the slightest. I think it would have if I'd tried to cook while here. The kitchen, even though Jay and Sarah added two rolling carts to have SOME counter space, and I added a large cutting board covering the stove top, is just not conducive to any type of cooking. It's so small that the tiny microwave sits on top of the fridge - there's no other place for it. We have to 'swap out' the coffee pot and the toaster. You can't have both plugged in at the same time.
I'm also ready to leave the antiquated bathroom - you know where the hot water comes out of one faucet and the cold out of another - it makes face washing and shaving such fun - you're either boiled or frozen. The cold water here is COLD out of the tap which gives me an inkling of how cold it really must be here in the winter. Fortunately, this apartment doesn't have any northern exposure windows nor any western. We have some other 1929 anomalies
in this apartment including the original wooden lined icebox, glass doorknobs, extra wide window sills (good for cat), and all the hardware in the apartment is solid brass - mostly painted over unfortunately. Overall, it's been a fine place since the bed is good, Sarah has our LazeBoy couch with the two recliners at each end, and Jay left his flat screen. We have also enjoyed the revolving garage sale on the first floor landing. When people move out, they leave various items they no longer want as freebies. We've scored some great finds - including coffee pots, insulated glasses, trash cans, and some other small stuff. It drives the management here crazy, but I've enjoyed it.
The biggest reason we are ready to move on, other than itchy feet, is the traffic and the constant noise which is getting on my very last nerve. After almost six months in Sun City, the town that rolls up at dark, the noise assault here has been not so much a surprise, but mainly an annoyance like a dripping nose or an itch that won't stay scratched. The constancy just drives me nuts. It does get quiet for about two hours between 3 and 5am on weekdays, but I can't even say that on weekends. With the noise also comes LIGHT - the bedroom is never dark with the security lights and street lights.
We have enjoyed our temporary pet ownership. Al, as I call the cat - who Drake will insist I explain is called "Jackson" by his real owners). Al is short for Alice, our former cat of 19 years, and he doesn't seem to mind the name change. He's enjoyed being 'our cat' since we spend a lot of time telling him what a great cat he is, and spoiling him. I'm sure we've given him some bad habits, but we were also free. You have to take the bitter with the sweet.
On to Richmond!!!! American history, here I come.
