Dinner at Dave's
I had touched base with Dave just prior to coming to Connecticut, and we arranged to get our families together at his house on Friday night for burgers and swimming. Shortly before it was time to leave, Dave called me to let me know his wife was sick and he needed to cancel. Sadly, that meant that we wouldn't see each other this trip. But, hopefully, it wasn't anything serious and Colleen is okay.
Seeing Nicole
Speaking of people I wasn't going to see, I thought I wasn't going to get to see my niece Nicole. She was supposed to come to Marilyn's for dinner on Monday, but something happened and she couldn't make it. She had to work the rest of the week and I figured we wouldn't see her, but fortunately she was able to come over on Saturday for a little while. At least long enough for a selfie:
Hartt School of Music
Iain is interested in studying music composition in college. During dinner with Nancy, she mentioned Hartt School of Music. I had a 'duh' moment. I grew up here, hearing all about Hartt, and totally forgot about it when Iain expressed his interest.
On Friday, we were planning to go to Elizabeth Park, so we stopped a UHa (or as Iain calls it, Uhhhhh....) to check out the campus and facilities. I took the other three kids and we explored the campus while Iain and Ellen bopped around the Hartt School, visited Admissions, and explored on their own. We all met up at the bookstore where Iain bought a very cool Hartt school t-shirt. Naturally I don't have a picture of it - teenage boy and all - but it says "The Hartt School - music/dance/theatre". It's pretty slick. [Update - found a link where you can buy them, so at least you can see what the t-shirt looks like.]
Oh, and he liked the campus and what he could find out about the school. He's going to visit St. Michael's College while we're in Vermont, too.
Lego Store/Lush
On Tuesday we had to go to the Lego store in Westfarms Mall to get a copy of the Lego Movie on it's release date. Jamie was super excited!! Mission accomplished, and Granny got each of the kids a cup-full of Legos from the bulk Lego wall, so that was kind of cool. I got a Lego Batman minifig for my backpack.
As we were getting ready to leave, we stopped in to Lush, a Body Shop-type store that I had never heard of before, but looked (and smelled) like a place that Ellen would like very much. (Turns out it was started by the people who supplied Body Shop with the bulk of their products early on. Some disagreements about the direction of the company led them to branch out on their own.) The have lots of soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc. Ironically, it was me who walked out of the store with the big order! I got:
The closest store to us is about an hour away, but they do mail-order, so it's all good.
Ferry Ride
Of course, no trip to Wethersfield would be right without a ride on the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry. Started in 1655, it is the oldest continuously operated ferry in the US. (Fun Fact I did not know until researching this post - it's in Billy Joel's video "River of Dreams" - FF to 1:40 - which was shot in Middletown.)
New Motorcycle
My sister and brother-in-law, Bill, bought a 2014 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. Same as me, except 3 years newer and 103ci engine (versus 96ci). I didn't get to ride it, but I did get to sit on it. It's really nice. I can't wait to have my bike here so we can go out riding.
Of course, we give my brother a hard time for being the only one of the siblings without a Harley, and without a tattoo!
Capsized Boat
We were sitting at Village Pizza when the volunteer fire department horn sounded. A short time later, the rescue units headed down toward the Cove. There was an 'inflatable' boat, followed by a 'real' boat, followed by Glastonbury's boat. Obviously, something was up. Just then, the ambulance crew stopped in to Village and we asked what was happening. They said a boat had supposedly capsized in the river, but they hadn't been spotted yet. So the rescue crew was going out to investigate.
Since we were basically done with dinner, we headed to the Cove, and that was indeed what was happening. We watched them for a while until they 'cleared' over the radio without having found any evidence of a boat/boater in distress.
Being at the Cove at that time of night allowed me to get this picture of the Cove at twilight after the kids had been plunking rocks into it. I think it came out pretty well.
I had touched base with Dave just prior to coming to Connecticut, and we arranged to get our families together at his house on Friday night for burgers and swimming. Shortly before it was time to leave, Dave called me to let me know his wife was sick and he needed to cancel. Sadly, that meant that we wouldn't see each other this trip. But, hopefully, it wasn't anything serious and Colleen is okay.
Seeing Nicole
Speaking of people I wasn't going to see, I thought I wasn't going to get to see my niece Nicole. She was supposed to come to Marilyn's for dinner on Monday, but something happened and she couldn't make it. She had to work the rest of the week and I figured we wouldn't see her, but fortunately she was able to come over on Saturday for a little while. At least long enough for a selfie:
Hartt School of Music
Iain is interested in studying music composition in college. During dinner with Nancy, she mentioned Hartt School of Music. I had a 'duh' moment. I grew up here, hearing all about Hartt, and totally forgot about it when Iain expressed his interest.
On Friday, we were planning to go to Elizabeth Park, so we stopped a UHa (or as Iain calls it, Uhhhhh....) to check out the campus and facilities. I took the other three kids and we explored the campus while Iain and Ellen bopped around the Hartt School, visited Admissions, and explored on their own. We all met up at the bookstore where Iain bought a very cool Hartt school t-shirt. Naturally I don't have a picture of it - teenage boy and all - but it says "The Hartt School - music/dance/theatre". It's pretty slick. [Update - found a link where you can buy them, so at least you can see what the t-shirt looks like.]
Oh, and he liked the campus and what he could find out about the school. He's going to visit St. Michael's College while we're in Vermont, too.
Lego Store/Lush
On Tuesday we had to go to the Lego store in Westfarms Mall to get a copy of the Lego Movie on it's release date. Jamie was super excited!! Mission accomplished, and Granny got each of the kids a cup-full of Legos from the bulk Lego wall, so that was kind of cool. I got a Lego Batman minifig for my backpack.
As we were getting ready to leave, we stopped in to Lush, a Body Shop-type store that I had never heard of before, but looked (and smelled) like a place that Ellen would like very much. (Turns out it was started by the people who supplied Body Shop with the bulk of their products early on. Some disagreements about the direction of the company led them to branch out on their own.) The have lots of soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc. Ironically, it was me who walked out of the store with the big order! I got:
- Shaving cream - Dirty, which smells amazing and is great on my face and head. I would like to try Prince at some point, too. It's a lot thicker.
- Deodorant - Aromaco, which is all-natural, and on me causes no irritation, and keeps me dry and smelling good all day long. Seriously.
- "Toothy tabs" - little tablets that you crush in your mouth and then run a wet tootbrush around. Leaves your teeth feeling fresh and clean. We got Ultrablast (my favorite), and Sparkle. The salesman gave us a sample of Atomic, which is cinnamon/clove flavor.
The closest store to us is about an hour away, but they do mail-order, so it's all good.
Ferry Ride
Of course, no trip to Wethersfield would be right without a ride on the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry. Started in 1655, it is the oldest continuously operated ferry in the US. (Fun Fact I did not know until researching this post - it's in Billy Joel's video "River of Dreams" - FF to 1:40 - which was shot in Middletown.)
 |
| Heading toward Glastonbury |
New Motorcycle
My sister and brother-in-law, Bill, bought a 2014 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. Same as me, except 3 years newer and 103ci engine (versus 96ci). I didn't get to ride it, but I did get to sit on it. It's really nice. I can't wait to have my bike here so we can go out riding.
Of course, we give my brother a hard time for being the only one of the siblings without a Harley, and without a tattoo!
 |
| Me and their bike. It looks like I'm up to no good. |
Capsized Boat
We were sitting at Village Pizza when the volunteer fire department horn sounded. A short time later, the rescue units headed down toward the Cove. There was an 'inflatable' boat, followed by a 'real' boat, followed by Glastonbury's boat. Obviously, something was up. Just then, the ambulance crew stopped in to Village and we asked what was happening. They said a boat had supposedly capsized in the river, but they hadn't been spotted yet. So the rescue crew was going out to investigate.
Since we were basically done with dinner, we headed to the Cove, and that was indeed what was happening. We watched them for a while until they 'cleared' over the radio without having found any evidence of a boat/boater in distress.
Being at the Cove at that time of night allowed me to get this picture of the Cove at twilight after the kids had been plunking rocks into it. I think it came out pretty well.
