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STETSON
Reunion
Norwell MA
August 2001
JOURNAL of the trip.
In sentence fragments...
THURSDAY
 I left for my 6-day summer trip
at 4:59 a.m. on Thursday, Aug 16. I had
practiced getting to bed early and rising between 5 and 6 during the last
few weeks to get myself in shape for early driving sessions. I arrived at
Yale at 9:04 and checked in with the information center on
Elm St. The Yale
Co-op that Daddy liked so much went out of business about a year ago.
My one reason for stopping
here, other than for rest, was to see Daddy's
dormitory room in the Hall of Graduate Studies. It turns
out that that
was worth the wait. No one was living there in the middle of summer,
and
so I was able to go downstairs again and ask Gene, the manager of the
building,
if he would let me in.
The crawl back up the five
flights was exhausting, but done more slowly, they
were easier than the first time. And I have no trouble any more looking out
the high
windows.
 
Continue on to Mystic CT.
As I pulled off Rt 95, the heat shield fell off under the car and dragged
loudly through the street. Momentary panic. A man at the Gulf station on
Main St. removed it with a crowbar. Saved.
I went right to Ford's Lobsters in Noank.
I have seen this little shack in at least one movie and on postcards and in
art books. I found its location through an internet search.
The place has the cute old weathered look to it that I hoped it would have.
I really like this photo.
The streets are quaint and everyone seemed
friendly. An artist, Tim, gave me his card. He was doing a very good
commission
looking toward the water a block and a half away from Ford's. I took a shot
of him working. On the way back into Mystic proper, I saw a great shirt
on a fellow going into the Groton and "Something" Bank and waited for him to
come out so I could ask him about it. He is a glass artist from Mystic
with a store in Olde Mystic Village, and he has heard of David Christiansen
of RI. He was happy to tell me his shirt came from Seekers Art Glass in
Calif. I am always on the lookout for new sources of supplies for jewelry
making.
It was on to Mystic
Pizza. They do a great job. You would not notice
the place while driving by it, but their food really is excellent! I had an
8 oz hamburger that was really like steak. And I was starving by then.
On the ride out of town
along Rte 1A toward RI, I came upon a lake or river near Stonington Rd with
20 wild swans in it. I stopped and backed up, and
the swans came over to investigate. I went down the little embankment
to talk to them. They were
so sweet that I wanted to get close to them. They didn't want to walk up
through some rushes to get to me. I remembered that I had packed Doritos
in the trunk of the car for an occasion like this. They love Doritos.
Misquamicut RI
was not quite as good as I remember it. I am now able
to drive many miles on a trip, and much of the thrill two years ago was
simply because I could drive all the way to Rhode Island.
The store from two summers ago was the Ride-a-Wave Surf Shop at
4 Winnapaug Ave. It has been ruined by design since then.
The whole building is now one shop.
And there is no individuality left there. Disappointing.
Snuffy's hamburger joint, at 137 Atlantic Ave, was just the same,
and the people were just as nice. This area does not look good in the
late afternoon sun, just like Ocean City, NJ at 4 p.m.
Thursday dinner at
Bravo Cafe,
(al fresco),
E. Main St where Holmes St meets it at the drawbridge.
Caesar salad with chicken. Chardonnay. There was lemon sorbet with whipped
cream and raspberry sauce for desert. They have a cute little
outdoor seating arrangement under canopy. The food was very good. I walked
Main St to the end before actually going back for a swim in the indoor pool
and then bed.
Fly Home
Friday
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