Session Two Break in Connecticut

Korrin B.

July 28, 2009 - 5:00 PM

So, session three of camp has started. Before it did though, we got a couple of days off, so we got to do a little traveling. I have a friend in Connecticut that I haven't seen in about five years. We were in orchestra together in high school and then he moved out to the east coast. So, I decided that during this last break I would go visit him. Originally it was just going to be me, but then a bunch of my coworkers heard of my travels and wanted to join in. It ended up being me plus four.

We took the train from Penn Station in New York City after dropping the campers off at the bus station in Washington Heights to meet their parents. The train ride was a lot of fun! We were laughing and eating pastries and watching the beautiful scenery go by. We took a lot of fun photos and I even straightened my hair on the train just because I could (there were tons of outlets near the seats). We arrived around 10:00pm in Hartford, Connecticut. My friend was there to pick us up.

My friend's brother works in a hotel, so he was able to hook us up with a really good deal. After we split it five ways, we were basically staying in a really nice hotel for $8.00 a night! It felt so nice to be in a fancy hotel after being at camp for so long. Civilization is a blessing, trust me.

The next day, my friend came and picked us all up and we drove to Mystic, Connecticut. Mystic is a little seaport town. We spent the whole day wandering around little boutiques, eating seafood dinner, and enjoying handmade ice cream. I also got a slice of pizza early in the day at Mystic Pizza (where the movie "Mystic Pizza" was filmed!). It was a very relaxing, nice day.

The next day, however, was kind of hectic. We were planning on going down to New Haven and to a beach house nearby there. However, on our way there, my friend's transmission blew out and we ended up stuck on the side of the highway for quite some time until eventually AAA and much hassle and negotiation got us a tow and such. We never made it to New Haven. We just had to go back to Hartford.

In Hartford, we had an awesome dinner at this little Irish Pub and got to explore the city some. It's a weird city. It is the capitol of Connecticut, so you would think it would be busy, but it's not. It's actually almost a little eerie because it's a whole bunch of really tall buildings, but no people. The waiter at the Irish pub told us that it's because it's the nation's largest insurance city, so I guess that means most people just commute in to work for insurance companies. Anyway, it was a weird city, but nice in its own way. We went down to the park and rode on the carousel and saw the beautiful capitol building.

We had to leave the following day back to camp by cramming into my friend's little truck. It was an experience all on its own. Quite the ride.