Gillian with Carly and Little Jack
“Big Jack” was a big hit with the little ones-Carly didn’t want anyone else reading her bedtime stories! “Little Jack” who was new at walking, showed off his prowess including walking to his little truck and driving it for us.
Big Jack Reading to Carly
Jon and Little Jack
Our next stop was Avon, Connecticut where we visited Gillian’s brother, Jay and his family. We had a lovely evening and morning with the Lassers: Pam, Hannah and Jay. Unfortunately, Sarah was not home so we missed visiting her.
Jack and Jay
Pam and Hannah
We ate well at these two homes-and started our seafood adventure across New England! Started with Halibut, prepared over mashed potatoes and covered with a tomato salsa by Gillian and fresh Copper River Salmon (well, not all New England) marinated by Pam with garlic, Tarragon, Maple Syrup and Dijon mustard and grilled by Jay. The fresh corn was great as well.
A cloudy sky accompanied us through the Connecticut River Valley as we drove towards the coast. We past Wesleyan (alma mater of Tony and Sarah) and spent several hours visiting the Gillette Castle. This was the retirement home of William Gillette, the actor, who adapted Sherlock Holmes for the stage and first portrayed Sherlock as we know him today.
Living Room of Gillette Castle
The home was sold by his relatives some years after his death to the state of Connecticut which has kept it as a park over the past 50 years or more. Gillette used local crafts people, including boat builders to build the house- and had many clever gadgets-like a rooftop catch for rainwater that fed into pipes that covered the roof and created a sprinkler system in case of fire! Considering this was in the 1920s/30s, this was quite an innovation.
The photo shows the carved wooden handle which is pulled to cause the sprinklers to work.
View of Connecticut River from Gillette Castle
We continued on toward New London where I worked with a family. The next morning, before we began, we visited a local garden in the mist: Harness Memorial State Park
The panoramic views of Long Island Sound from Eolia, the summer mansion of the Harkness family set on over 230 seaside acres of sweeping lawns, with stately trees and spectacular gardens. Named Eolia, for the island home of the Greek god of winds, the mansion was built in 1906 and purchased by Edward and Mary Harkness in 1907. The 200+ acres were a working farm and the mansion served as the Harkness’ summer home. In 1950 it was donated to the State of Connecticut as a park.
The Roman Renaissance Classical Revival-style mansion has 42 rooms and includes a pergola (tearoom) and carriage house (support complex). Lush gardens flank the mansion on both the east and west lawns, and an Alpine Rock Garden adds to the beauty and splendor of the seaside panorama. People now may rent the mansion for events.
Entry gate to the Gardens
Our seafood exploration continued with grilled swordfish and scallops, and lobster rolls. We also spent a cocktail hour aboard a replica of an old cargo ship.
Jack took the opportunity to play a round of golf and visit Mystic Seaport while I worked.
After my work was completed, we drove north through coastal Connecticut, visited Newport, Rhode Island and on to Cape Cod. As we toured Newport, we happened upon the LPGA US Open! We stopped by a fence where the 13th hole was close at hand and watched several groups of women pros play golf. That was a fun and unexpected treat for Jack.
13th Hole: US Open
We feared bad traffic heading to the Cape for the 4th of July holiday weekend, but were pleasantly surprised. We arrived at the Liberty Hill Bed and Breakfast in Yarmouth Port before dark and were guided by our hosts to an inn nearby for dinner that had offered hospitality for close to 400 years! We were struck by the age of the New England towns we passed through: having been founded from 1600s and on. Something we don’t see in the west.
Despite predictions to the contrary, we had a beautiful day on Saturday- sunny with very little humidity. New England had been experiencing lots of rain over the past couple of weeks and thought it would continue. Jack took advantage of this beautiful day to play one more round of golf while I explored the antique shops of the Cape. We rendez-voused in time to drive the 40 miles to Provincetown-the very end of Cape Cod. We stopped to cross the dunes and watch the sun set over the ocean while sipping our Hypnotique and 7-up. Then we followed the rest of the light to “P-town.”
There we were confronted with massive traffic on foot and in autos.
We found our way to a parking facility and stopped for a crab cake hors d’oeuvre. We could look back across the water and see the bay and the lights of the long curve of land that brings us to P’town. We walked by the many shops and galleries and restaurants and watched the people watching people! P’town is full of characters, including many “cross dressers” strutting down the street. Quite a show!
Sunday was our day to go to the beach! I had noticed the previous day (and recalled from two trips years ago) that many of the beaches only allow parking for residents in the neighborhood. So parking lots are at a distance from the beach and cost a pretty penny to park. I thought “We need to find a resort that has convenient parking, chairs to use and serves people at the beach” since we didn’t haul beach equipment with us. Then I remembered “Chatham Bars Inn” an old resort not too far from us. We found our way there, after stopping at the real Chatham bars (sand bars, that is) and walking along the beach in the very strong winds.
The lovely old resort (built in 1914) sat upon a hill across from the ocean, with facilities right on the beach as well. We sat on the veranda in comfortable chairs, read our books, had a drink and watched the ocean in the background. Just perfect!
Then we headed down to the beach, sat in the lounge chairs and continued to enjoy the peace and quiet.
However, the wind continued to be pretty strong, so we finally decided to pack it in and have the valet bring our car to us. A great day at the beach!
We headed back to our B &B to wash the sand off—a process that was not easily accomplished! Then headed out to a local restaurant (“The Dolphin”) where we enjoyed fried scallops and more swordfish. I must say that I have never had scallops fried and they were done very delicately and brought out the sweet flavor of the scallops. We noticed each night that the towns get very dark, very early. Driving back from evening activities on the windy roads without much in the way of street lights was a challenge. But it added to the historical mystery of these early American landmarks (first landing spots of early European settlers).
We decided to spend the afternoon in Boston before flying home. We found our way to Long Wharf where we parked the car and boarded a trolley for an amusing tour of Boston. Our guide not only shared many facts, but added comedic commentary along the way. We decided to explore the area around Charlestown-in particular “Old Ironsides:” the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy-over 200 years old. We couldn’t board ship as they were getting her ready for a trip into Boston Harbor for tomorrow’s 4th of July celebration.
View of Boston
Bunker Hill Home
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USS Constitution: Old Ironsides
Drydock warning sign
Our final indulgence was a trip to Legal Seafood, a Boston landmark. I had lobster and Jack had ravioli with lobster and crab…both were great! Then off to the airport for our flight home.
We enjoyed our week in New England, by land and by sea, the people we visited, the sites we saw and the tastes of the region.
Soon, we will take our annual drive through the Southwest to Aspen…stay tuned!
1 comment:
It sure looks like it was a fun trip, even considering the business part of it. Maybe I should consider taking my family with me the next time I'm on a business trip.
pimalai
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