This entry also penned by my lovely wife Amber. -Ed
The lushness that is the east coast it quite breathtaking. With that being said, we would like to take some of it away. Due to the density of trees along the highways, you can’t see the landscape of most of the towns that we have been driving though. SInce we have our handy GPS we are going routes that are direct, not necessarily meant to be scenic. We have lucked out in a few spots, and like I said, the lush trees and sweeping hills are breathtaking. When we pulled off our next exit to Mystic, Connecticut we were surprised to see a scene picked straight out of Pleasantville – the part of the movie when the pastel colors turn up. Streets lined with perfectly potted plants and coastal waters flowing in and around the town.
Our bed and breakfast, The Old Mystic Inn, got a little confused as to which day we were coming to visit. All got sorted out, and our lovely host felt really bad about the whole mix up. When all was said and done he ended up finding us another room which was quaint and granny like (which is what we were going for at this stop), a 10% discount on our one night stay and a generous gift certificate to the resturant we had reservations at. Now that is what I call hospitality. Fine dining came in the form of Captain Jack Packers Resturant. The best meal to date on our trip started with Lobster Lolly Pops and appropirte dipping sauces.Josh had a bone in rib eye, I enjoyed the savory wine and gouda topped flavors of my filet mignon. That night was very relaxing, I slipped into my P.J.s and (mt) hoodie and headed out to do what you do in the east/south parts of our country at night – sit on the porch and read.
I’m currently enjoying a light novel by Neal Pollack called Alternadad. Pretty much a realistic journey of Neal’s quest to be a “cool” dad. So far it’s coming to the conclusion that what you think is cool dramatically changes once your child enters this world. With that being said, so much of who we are can still be “cool” – not losing that is the battle Neal writes about. I can see his story very clearly in my mind’s eye and can imagine myself attacking parenting in some of the same ways as he did. As I quietly read Josh played around with night shots on the Old Mystic’s property. Turns out it’s harder than you would think to take pictures of fireflies. He figured out the trick to taking them, but as he did so a friendly neighbor was taking her dogs out to relieve themseles and they were not so friendly. Our stay in Mystic was short and sweet, but we must underline the sweet part as it left a very good taste in both of our mouths. Highly recommended if you find yourselves in that part of the country. - Amber