MYSTIC PIZZA ANYONE?

Proven! A little whim can take you a long - LONG way.

Jason and I spent several weeks in near dread of our impending vacation to central CO. Okay - - "dread" is really too strong a word. We both think way too much. For some time, we have been mulling over the fact that we live on the east coast, and yet we continue to vacation in the west. We know very little about our adopted home state - - much less our region. Conclusion - we are not so good at blooming where we're planted.

Stanley had a bit of surgery the Monday before we were scheduled to fly to CO. The surgery and post surgery care were a bit more extensive than either of us had planned. After many long-faced discussions and many more glances into the precious long-suffering face of our fur kid, we canceled our plane tickets and decided to stay home. Who could resist this face?

Once again, the wheels started turning. Wouldn't it be fun to take a quick trip into New England? I had never been - - unless you count the jog I took through the Philadelphia airport at age 12. Jason had really only visited Cape Cod. One idea led to another. Wouldn't it be even more fun to buy a travel trailer? Then the fur kid could go! As luck would have it, a little Casita travel trailer was for sale and waiting for us in Narragansett, RI.

After very little planning, the suitcase was loaded up and we were off. The first big experience...

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge/ Tunnel and DELMARVA (Peninsular Eastern Shores of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia). This is not just any bridge. It takes travelers more than twenty miles over and under Chesapeake Bay. On the way over the "big bridge," we could see Cape Charles Light in the distance.

The evening of our first day was spent in a little suburb of Philadelphia, PA called King of Prussia (I need to look up the history on that one. I'll get back to you on that.). We crossed the street into the mall where we power walked for an hour. Since it wasn't quite the hour for mall walking, we got a lot of strange looks - - but once we got back to our room, we were definitely ready to hit the hay in preparation for another big day on the road.

We spent the night near Valley Forge, PA. For those of you who are not up on your Revolutionary War history, that's the spot where Gen. Washington and his men spent a long, cold winter before they crossed the Delaware into Trenton, NJ. Of course, we had a schedule to keep, and the historic site did not open until 10 am the next morning, so we plugged away at the highway until we ended up here...

Okay - - so Jason was probably wishing I was "feeling 'bout half past dead" when we pulled into Nazareth, PA and discovered C. F. Martin & Co. Amid all my excitement, the super - time conscious Jason had no choice but to stop. My talented Daddy is the proud owner of a Martin guitar that he acquired at age 18. It is still in perfect condition even after sixty years. Just kidding!

Owing to the break-neck pace of our trip, we chose to bypass the factory tour and head straight for the Poconos in an attempt to avoid NYC traffic. It was a very nice detour. We took a drive up the Delaware R. between Allentown and Milford, PA before crossing into New York State. Somewhere in the middle we stopped at Bushkill Falls. We have since learned that the suffix "kill" is Dutch for creek. Sooooo... when you see Peekskill, Catskill, Fish Kill, etc., well - - now you know. The falls were beautiful, as were the fall colors surrounding them. We capped off that part of our trip with a nice lunch at the local diner in Milford, PA.

We stopped momentarily on our short ride through NY to use the roadside facilities. I think most would agree - the south does a much better job at providing clean/ inviting "pit stops." Sigh. The highlight was crossing the Hudson and looking down into the Hudson River Valley.

A "small"farm in New York

Connecticut was a nice surprise. I guess I always imagined that state as the "connection" between New York and the rest of New England... sort of an afterthought. In fact, Connecticut may have been the best part. The towns were exactly the sort of charming places you might think of when you picture New England. Much of it was mountainous and hilly. No where else on our trip was it more evident that fall was beginning to "fall."

We ended day two with a visit to Narragansett, RI. The gentleman with the travel trailer lives there - - less than a mile inland from the bay. He showed us his Casita travel trailer, his pictures, and even shed a tear or two in telling us of the passing of his wife. Another big surprise - - a New Englander who may be more conservative than we are! We spent several hours with him, but have yet to make a deal to buy his trailer. We're still deciding.

It was too late to try to start heading back by the time we left his place, so we spent the night at the Village Inn on Narragansett Bay. We checked into our room, took a quick peek at moonrise over the bay from our seaside balcony and then headed out the back door for some late-night pizza. Here's what we woke to the next morning...

If you look really close, you can see some guys out surfing at 5:45 am on Sept. 30.

After strolling around Narragansett, we hit the road for home.


Our favorite pit stop - - Mystic, Connecticut

Everything was closed but Dunkin Donuts.

Even had we not enjoyed the rest of our trip, we both agreed that Mystic would be worth coming back to explore.

And of course - - we'll have to try the pizza.

So, maybe this means we're turning over a new leaf. Pardon the pun. The jury is still out on the travel trailer and whether or not we prefer New England to Colorado in the fall. But - - we are learning to enjoy living on the East Coast and we are anxious for more adventure in New England - - say - - maybe - - next weekend?


P.S. - Check this out Dad!