Trip to Connecticut

Ready for Becky to pick us up at JFK in New York. Looks like a TWA museum across the road. That's a four motor Constellation.

Photo by Becky.

That's one of the many historic houses. We stopped for a photo on the way back to Becky and Eric's house.

Becky and Eric have a nice old two story house.

I got to sit in Eric's racing BMW. Then it was on to New Haven to check into our hotel. Photo by Becky.

Walking through the green again. Photo by Andrea.

We went to the sixth floor of the Blake Hotel to the High George bar for pupu and drinks.

The High George bar is at the corner of George and High streets. I hope nobody mistakes a shaka for a gang sign.

We crossed the green again on the way back to the hotel for sleep.

A nice stone arch at the walkway to the castle. Photo by Andrea.

In the "Grand Central Station" arrival area. Photo by Becky.

The site has a great view of the Connecticut River.

The ugly (my opinion) castle itself. Lots of steel, apparently (from the engineering considerations), went into its construction.

We were greeted by a docent who demonstrated the front door latching mechanism.

The great hall where actor Gillette entertained his guests. There was a Victrola and a player piano.

A detail of another door latching mechanism. William Gillette, famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on stage, had each door custom made.

Some of the paintings in the art gallery upstairs. Click the image to see the full resolution version.

We sat at a table on the back lawn with a fountain with cat sculptures.

Andrea took our pictures with the Wrasslin' cats.

Then we went to the Lavender Pond Farm to see the lavender growing about the gazebo with a flying duck on top.

They had a giant chess board so Becky and I played a game.

When we got back to the hotel we napped and then went out to see the New Haven Climate Strike on the green.

A closer view of the climate strike protest.

A closer view of the inner circle of the climate strike.

We walked around some more and went to the Elm City Social for drinks and pupu. We got the rubber ducky cocktails.

We ate very well indeed. I had their special old fashioned after the rubber ducky cocktail. Photo by Andrea.

I worked out in the hotel gym and then Becky drove us to Beardsly Apple Farm to pick apples. Eric met us there in his racing BMW.

Picking courtland apples.

Tasting. Photo by Andrea.

We had seven wines to try. Photo by Andrea.

A large praying mantis. Photo by Andrea.

A close-up of the mantis. Photo by Andrea.

Then we drove to Becky and Eric's house in Stratford for lunch. I rode with
Eric in his BMW.

Then we drove to Lordship Beach for a walk. You can just barely see Long Island in the distance across the sound.

We saw many horseshoe crab shells. Photo by Andrea.

The Stratford Point Lighthouse. Photo by Andrea.

On the way back to New Haven, Becky took us to the train station to figure out what tickets to buy and which track to take. Walking back to the
Hotel we saw this street music scene.

We finished off the evening with cocktails and appetizers at Jack's Bar on College Street. Photo by Andrea.

There was a crafts fair at the park near Becky and Eric's house so we saw it.

They had a three saxophone and one brass clarinet band.

An usherette offered to take our photo.

The doors opened at 4:30 for the five o'clock show.

We went upstairs during intermission.

Afterwards Eric and Becky drove home and Andrea and I went to Pacifico on College Street for tappas and cocktails.

A waitress offered to take out photo. We had a table where we could watch the street scene.

An elaborate entryway to a stone building on College Street. Photo by Andrea.

We walked up College Street past the old Yale campus and saw this vault-like building, the Scroll and Key Society.

An impressive gothic style building.

This Egyptian style entryway to the Grove Street Cemetary was designed by the same archetect who designed the Skull and Bones building
(below). Photo by Andrea.

Eli Whitney is burried here.

"The very rich are different from you and me. They have fancier tombs." --Rick Wagner with apologies to F. Scott Fitzgerald

Those Yalies sure go in for their towers.

Another impressive Yale building, Sterling Library. Photo by Andrea.

My photo of the same building.

Quite a gothic tower.

The infamous Skull and Bones tomb-like building. Mysterious smoke stacks on the roof. Security lights and alarms, bars on all windows,
screens over the bars, surveillance cameras, and padlocks on the front doors.

We got sandwiches at Which Wich on College Street and ate lunch in our room. Photo by Andrea.

The rail car was nearly empty.

Doing the phone thing. Photo by Andrea.

We went to the farmers' market to get clams and veggies.

We played croquet with Paul and Faye and then Dylan and Dana joined us for the grilling.

All together now.

Guess what's inside? Books!

Sunlight leaks through the thin marble slabs of the exterior. Photo by Andrea.

One of the Gutenberg Bibles in their collection. Photo by Andrea.

The inside of the Sterling Library.

Approaching Grove Street. Photo by Andrea.

Quite a colonade supported dome at the corner of College and Grove streets.

An interesting sculpture on the sidewalk on Temple Street. Photo by Andrea.

The New Haven Museum. Photo by Andrea.

The New Haven Museum is on Temple Street.

Two paintings inside the New Haven Museum.

Photographing the dome of the New Haven Museum.

Dinosaurs!

The famous mural of the Dinosaur Age.

A giant squid hanging from the ceiling.

Calcium fluoride and quartz.

But is it art? Silicon dioxide (a sandstone formation).

Becky photographs a prehistoric creature. Photo by Andrea.

Carved mask. It looks like it was carved from a single block of wood.

It is art. A painting on the wall in the lobby. 20,000 lines.

Ancient Greek artifacts.

Plato.

Horse armor.

At Temple Street Grill for drinks and appetizers. Photo by Andrea.

At Temple Street Grill for drinks and appetizers.

The alley/courtyard behind the Shubert Theater.

Art in the alley off the courtyard, viewed with foreshortening. Photo by Andrea.

A very large scholar's rock.

European art on the third floor.

We started off with the older (medieval) artwork.

Madonna. Click the image to see the full resolution version.

The Resurection of Lazarus. Click the image to see the full resolution version.

The Triumph of Mars. Click the image to see the full resolution version.

A Van Gogh and a Gauguin.

A beautiful gallery of paintings and sculpture.

Dianna.

Greek slave.

An interesting sculpture. Photo by Andrea.

Modern art.

Bronze figures.

"Arabesque" by Jackson Pollock. Click the image to see the full resolution version.

The snow shovel. Photo by Andrea.

A Dali painting, "The Phantom Cart." Photo by Andrea.

Down the triangular stairwell. Photo by Andrea.

Lady of Guadalupe.

Andrea likes the colors. Not my cup of tea. Photo by Andrea.

Many great paintings.

The phone thing. Photo by Andrea.

We topped off the evening with dinner at South Bay on College Street. Andrea, Shubert Theater, cosmopolitan, and Tanqueray martini.

A LEGO model of Mark Twain. Photo by Andrea.

Starting the tour behind the carriage house.

The view of the Twain house from the carriage house.

Looking toward the Day and Stowe houses.

Looking back at Becky and the carriage house.

Photography is not allowed inside the Twain house so when the tour was done I took this photo of the front of the house.

Taking the photo. Photo by Becky.

Another view of the carriage house end of the Twain house.

The Day house. Mrs. Day was instrumental in getting the Twain house preserved in 1925. The Twain house is in the background on the left.

Harriette Beecher Stowe's house. The Day house is visible on the right.

We sat outside for a while and admired the view. Photo by Becky.

Thursday evening it rained a bit and then, after Eric went home, we had drinks and appetizers at Elm City Social. Photo by barmaid.

Later Becky went home while Andrea and I went to the fourth floor of the Yale Art Gallery to see the glass exhibit. Afterward we had drinks and
duck nachos at Zinc on Chapel Street between College and Temple streets.

Faye was outside to greet us when we arrived at the house in Watertown while Paul was out getting fresh swordfish to grill for lunch.

Faye showed us the rental cottage on their property.

In the living room of the main house.

In the well-equipped kitchen. Photo by Andrea.

Ready to eat. Photo by Becky.

We had a wonderful lunch on the back patio with grilled swordfish, artichokes, and apple crisp with ice cream.

Here comes the train!

Ready for departure!

Disembarking at Fascia Chocolates after three wine-chocolate pairings on the train.

In the retail sales room at Fascia Chocolates. We had two more wine-chocolate pairings in the store.

We got to make our own chocolate bars! We had one final wine-chocolate pairing on the train ride back to Thomaston. From there, Eric drove
Andrea and me back to the New Haven Hotel in New Haven.

With my chocolate bar. Photo by Andrea.

Andrea with her chocolate bar. Photo by Becky.

We arrived a bit early so we went to Becky's recomended Cafe Atlantique on River Street. I had a blueberry scone and a latte.

We walked down the Milford Green and back and had lunch at Citrus where Becky and Eric met us.

Walking with parasol. Photo by Andrea.

Silver Sand Beach at Milford with Charles Island with trees offshore.

We passed a couple sunbathing on a blanket on the sand.

Checking out the weird blacksmith shop with no windows. Photo by Andrea.

A normal Victorian house at the entrance to Boothe Memorial Park.

Eric and Becky drove us back to the hotel when the laundry was done and then we walked up Temple Street to Barcelona Restaurant for cocktails.

At the bar at Barcelona. Photo by Andrea.

We also had the Black Sea Bass appetizer. Service was lousy so we left for South Bay after one drink.

Our second time at South Bay restaurant. Service, food, and drink were, again, quite good.

The sausage plate appetizer. We walked back to New Haven Hotel and went to bed before nine.

Photographing the sausage plate. Photo by Andrea.

A farmer's market and fiber craft fair.

Going up to the Nathan Hale homestead. Photo by Andrea.

The front door to the homestead.

Chatting with staff. Photo by Andrea.

A flintlock musket on the wall.

A view of the homestead from the rear.

Rain barrels with rain chains on the barns.

Heading into the festival.

We got a newspaper!

Spinning wool.

Examples of fiber art.

A band was there playing Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Going Nowhere."

Steel guitar, acoustic guitar, Fender bass, and a drummer.

We sat outside with a good view of the lake.

A police boat was docked nearby. We shared salad, bruchetta, a gyro, and fries.

The contemplation area.

Contemplating. Photo by Becky.

At Nathan Hale's grave. Andrea is descended from the Hale family.

We stopped at the Sugar Maple Farm to buy maple syrup, honey, and barbecue sauce.

We walked out on the jetty to get some photographs.

A wind came up so I had to hold my hat. Photo by Becky.

Whee! Photograph by Andrea.

Passing an unusual pavillion on the way back to the car. Photo by Andrea.

We had a nice table outside. Pacifico is the restaurant next door.

We started with a bottle of chardonnay. Photo by Andrea.

After dinner we walked to the Barcade on Orange Street and played Pac Man, Asteroids, pinball, race cars, etc. Photo by Becky.

Racing Eric. Photo by Becky.

Having a good time.

Our first glimpse of the Mystic Seaport before buying tickets.

The Mayflower II in restoration work. It's a replica of the original Mayflower, and will be finished next spring.

Overlooking the shipyard.

John Gardner's Boat Shop.

A panorama from the Danish training sailing ship to the Charles Morgan, a Bark, and the last whaling ship. Click the image to see the
full resolution version.

On board the full rigged Danish training ship all our questions were answered. Photo by Andrea.

In the very long rope making building. Photo by Andrea.

Inside the instruments shop with compasses, sextants, and chronometers.

We watched a demonstration of barrel making.

On board the Charles W. Morgan, the last whaling ship preserved at Mystic Seaport. Photo by Andrea.

The brickwork of the rendering kettles of the whaler. Photo by Andrea.

Pointing to the rigging of the Charles Morgan. Photo by Becky.

The museum building was an interesting curved beam structure, but it wasn't open that day, a Monday. Photo by Andrea.

We had lunch at the Galley restaurant.

Sea shanties! She's a really good singer and we sang along.

Ships' figureheads on display. Photo by Andrea.

A display in the planetarium on the historic visit of Hokulea to Mystic Seaport. Photo by Andrea.

A close-up view of the photograph signed by our friend Hokulea navigator Cat Fuller and other crew members. Photo by Andrea.

We went to the Boat House in Stratford for lunch and said goodbye to Eric.

Joey C's Boat House restaurant from the waterside deck. Photo by Andrea.

Heading to the car for the drive to JFK airport with Becky. Eric drove his car home. Photo by Andrea.

Becky joined us in the lobby bar of the Crowne Plaza Hotel at JFK airport. She flew to Huntsville, Alabama on business that evening.

We flew out the next morning, Wednesday, October 2. Our Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 was named Kumau.