Arlington, VA, Another Friend

Someone I've known since back in my Danbury days.



Dinner was great! I knew it would be, as she knows good food.

Washington DC, The Spy Museum

Z is interested in spies, so he was excited to go to The Spy Museum.

You are forbidden from taking photos in the museum, so our visit will remain a mystery.

String of States

West coasters don't understand this, but out east you can drive through a string of states in a few hours. We needed to get to DC, so we went through New Jersey, Deleware, Maryland, and into Virginia, where our hotel for DC was. The borders were coming so fast that I missed a few photos.

New York, NY, The Brick Lane Curry House

Heroic, valient, charming.... Yes, those are the words I would use to describe myself as I wandered into the Brick Lane Curry House to take one of the spiciest food challenges in the country, the P'hall Challenge.




This curry has been engineered to be pretty much as spicy as is possible. When I saw this place on Man vs. Food, I decided I needed to prove myself.

Ju


After.




Oh, the pain.

I did it!







Personal note to Indians everywhere, and my in laws I particular- You aren't a real Indian until you can pass this challenge. Are you going to let this half breed outdo you?

New York, NY, Stumptown

Kristen from Modern Coffee in Oakland made another great recommendation to me, Stumptown in NY.






The people who worked there were quite friendly. The best coffeehouses are social as well as culinary, and this place fit the bill.

The espresso was excellent.

There were other places I wanted to visit in NYC but my time there was limited.

Danbury, CT, Old Friends

We had one last visit before leaving Danbury.





S climbed his way up this as we were leaving.

Danbury, CT, The Danbury Railway Museum

Why are these boys smiling?



Why, it's because they are visiting the Danbury Railway Museum, of course!

Here they got to ring the bell.



We got to ride an 'antique' train which was still in service until 1985. Incidentally, the museum was just a railroad station when I lived in Connecticut. Does this mean I am old?





We rode the rotating platform. My kids have the Thomas toy version of this.



I've been in many old trains, but I don't think I had ever been in a caboose before. Here we are in one.

Family

It is time to leave Connecticut. California is my home, but so is Connecticut. I really grew up here, and even though I didn't have much to blog about this area, there are memories on every street corner.






My kids must see this as a second home by now also.



Now, if we could only get the dog to look knowingly at the camera, this would make a perfect Norman Rockwell painting.

Danbury, CT, Hanna's

If you - a. find yourself in Danbury, and - b. eat, you really should head over to Hanna's.

Wet Warm

In California you never get warm rain.... *never*

Today it felt like it was in the 70s, and the rain was coming down. It feels weird.

It is not uncommon for this to happen here. I just haven't experienced it in a while

Another Warm Day in Connecticut

Although much cooler than previous days, it was another typical summer day in Connecticut.

Z and I sat in a room with the air conditioner on, but suddenly he noted how warm it remained despite the time that we had waited.

Odd, I thought, his comment was true.

Then Z added, "what is strange is that I set the air conditioner as high as it would go, all the way up to 90".

Middletown, CT, Kidcity

One of the great things about this trip is how my kids are able to connect with relatives across the country. Of course here in Connecticut are their grandparents, but we have had some newer additions to the family in the last few years, including two new cousins. Z and S clicked with their older cousin (the young one is only 3 months, so she is still a bit young to play with the gang), they were best friends from the time we arrived.

We went to a place called Kidcity today, which is a bit difficult to describe, so I offer you photos.

Great Barrington, MA

I don't think I've been to this town before, and we really liked it.




















This strange building is actually a bit south, in Connecticut.