US-Canada 2024-3: Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts

May 24-June 3, 2024

    When I flew to Connecticut to visit my cousin Ann on May 24, Doug had been on the road for nine days, meandering in the van to the East. Ann and I were going to see Suffs, my first show on Broadway. 

Music Box Theater, Broadway.

    Ann and husband Pete have lived in their large beautiful home in Portland CT near the Connecticut River for many years, since their children were infants. Of course, like ours, their children are now...well, older...and so must we be, too.

Ann & Pete's home.

I loved the sunsets from Ann & Pete's back deck.

My luxury accommodations in Ann & Pete's guest room/bath suite, recently completed.

We enjoyed Pete's delicious meals on the back deck, except when rain forced us inside.

    There was a lot of rain throughout our trip on the East Coast and in Eastern Canada over the next 10 weeks, but coming from such a dry climate, it never bothered us.

On their shelves were a couple of old-fashioned packing crates from California growers.

Back yard—so many trees & so much green!

    Two days after I arrived, Ann and I drove to New York City. We stayed at their daughter's wonderful Harlem apartment for two nights.

Street in Harlem. 

View of courtyards from apartment. Having never lived in a large city, I'm fascinated by city living. 

    Though Doug loved the freedom of the road trip across the country, he was also rather envious of my time in New York City.

Malcolm X Blvd & W 120th St. We enjoyed yummy meals outside at nearby cafes & in the apartment, take-out.

Amazon delivery NYC style.

    My head was on a gimbal trying to take it all in as we rode to Broadway in a cab: Central Park, Metropolitan Museum of Art, old hotels, skyscrapers, traffic, people The only other time I was in NYC was for the World's Fair, when I was 10. 

Central Park, 5th Ave & W 110th St.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5th Ave & E 82nd St.

5th Ave & E 60th St.

    I could not have told you that it was Times Square where we were dropped off. It doesn't look at all as I imagined from watching the New Year's Eve Ball Drop. It's not a huge pedestrian square but a regular intersection at 45th St and 7th Ave, with traffic and pedestrians vying for space.

Times Square.

Besides traffic lights controlling the flow, pedestrians are encouraged to keep moving in some areas.

I was thrilled to see the Steinway & Sons showroom, as in our living room is the Steinway console piano I grew up with. When we moved it from my parents', I had wonderful correspondence with Steinway in NYC.

    It was a hot, humid day, I was jetlagged, and I had a cold, so we stopped for a cool drink under the trees in Bryant Park.

    It was under half a mile from Bryant Park back through Times Square and down 45th St less than a block to the Music Box Theater.

Ann at Music Box Theater on Broadway.

    "Is this Broadway?" I asked Ann. Again, it was not what I'd imagined, a wide boulevard and huge flashing marquees with multi-tiered theaters inside. It's just another street, though lined with theaters. Most Broadway theaters are small, Ann told me.

Broadway.

Booth Theater on Broadway.

    The Music Box Theater, built in 1920, has 1,025 seats. We had 4th row seats, but the 1st row seats had been removed—we were so close we could see the actors' facial expressions.

Keyboardist/Conductor preparing for the show. The orchestra was actually under the stage.

    Shaina Taub wrote the book, music, and lyrics for Suffs, as well as starring as Suffragist Alice Paul. Taub is one of those people who, when you read her bio, you just think genius, energy, creative, multi-talented, when does she sleep. 

Starry-eyed me & Ann at Suffs in the quite small Music Box Theater.

    Suffs was absolutely awesome and so timely in its recounting of the Suffragists' struggles, both within the movement and with society and the government, to get the vote. The production and acting were awesome. At the Tony Awards less than two weeks after we saw Suffs, Shaina Taub won for Best Book and Best Original Score. 

Scene from Suffs.

    We exited by the side door into an alley, complete with trash cans. My savvy cousin flagged the first taxi that came along and we were whisked back to our lodgings.

Drive back to Portland CT from NYC.

    The next morning it was time to leave NYC. It was a foggy, soggy drive, with both of us having to study the road at times.

Cobalt CT. Throughout our trip in the eastern US & Canada, Doug & I were amazed by homes, large & small, with huge, manicured lawns.

    The next day, Ann and I toured the area a bit. Across the Connecticut River from Portland is Middletown, home to Wesleyan University, a small liberal arts college. In small
nearby towns are historic homes and villages.

East Hampton CT.

Cobalt CT. The area has its share of rather large homes.

    We took the trail through Portland Riverfront Park next to the former site of Portland's thriving brownstone quarries of the 19th century. I'd never thought about the origin of the name "brownstones." They were built of brown stone, much of it quarried along the Connecticut River.

Today the old quarry is the Brownstone Adventure Sports Park, with swimming, boating, ziplining, & more.

Brownstone along the Connecticut River walk.

Connecticut River.

    Doug arrived at Ann and Pete's that evening after 12 days on the road. He'd meandered 4,039 miles, visiting people and places along the way. He was only about 1,040 miles over the shortest route distance, but what fun is it if you don't wander?

Doug & Ann in conversation in the family room.

Pete & Ann.

By the time we finished dinner, it was beginning to rain. Unlike our days & days of sun at home, weather changes quickly in the East.

    After Doug caught up on his sleep and we had a few more great meals and conversation with Ann and Pete, we drove to Saratoga Springs on June 30 to visit Marilyn's niece Clare, husband Michael, and their two girls. Their son now lives in Colorado, so unfortunately we missed him.

Crossing the Hudson River from Fishkill CT to Newburgh NY.

Clare & Michael's home, Saratoga Springs NY.

Clare, Sergeant First Class, a career New York Army National Guard soldier, shaking President Obama's hand at Aurora Air Force Base in Buckley CO, when she was stationed in Colorado. Her younger sister Lesley did the painting from the newspaper photo.

    Michael toured us through Saratoga Springs, home to Saratoga Race Course. I'd visited twice before, when Clare and sister Alexa were elementary age and their mom (my sister) and dad taught at Skidmore College, and again for my son's MD graduation from Albany Medical College.

Saratoga Springs is known for the Saratoga Race Course.

Large homes are common in Saratoga Springs.

The town was especially crowded as the Belmont Stakes had been moved to Saratoga Race Course for 2024 and 2025 while the Belmont track undergoes repairs.

    We also drove north to Glens Falls where Michael is from. We had lunch at Common Roots Brewery, where Michael works.

Michael explaining brewing process.

Doug, Clare, Michael. 

Doug relaxing on their wonderful wraparound veranda after mowing the lawn—on Michael's riding mower. 

    Michael has a great riding mower, which Doug had used to mow their large yard on a previous visit. Having grown up on a farm, he looked forward to doing it again and was all smiles driving the mower. To Doug's chagrin, I did not record his ride, but I tried to make up for it later when he mowed our friends' yard in Shipshaw, Québec.

Rhododendron & fuchsia, neither of which we can grow at home.

    Doug asked if I'd like to visit my friend in Massachusetts. It hadn't even occurred to me, but I contacted Ann, and she said come and stay. So after a few days in Saratoga Springs, we meandered through the countryside to Holland MA.

Ann & Michael's home.

    Ann and Michael have a beautiful home with gorgeous gardens, close to water, where Ann kayaks frequently.

Ann in her kitchen. When we both lived in Fresno, she gave me The Vegetarian Epicure books.

    Ann and I met decades ago in Fresno. She left just a few years after we'd met, but we've stayed in touch. It's always wonderful picking up where we left off, catching up, sharing life. I've enjoyed several visits with her—on Cape Cod, in Holland, and at Old Sturbridge Village. Anne and Michael met at nearby Old Sturbridge Village where they both worked.

Doug, Michael, Anne, on their veranda. 

    Michael spent many years researching Bodie, California, a mining ghost town on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He generously gave us a signed copy of his resulting book, Bodie: "The Mines Are Looking Well...", on our previous visit.
    From Anne and Michael's, we would begin the final step of our trip before boarding the CAT ferry in Bar Harbor, Maine, to sail to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. We had no idea what an amazing experience awaited us in Eastern Canada. 

Our travels about Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts.