East Coast Trip, Part 3: Connecticut

Monday night after the shoe fiasco we finally made it up to Danbury, Connecticut.  Instead of staying in a hotel we chose to stay in a cottage.  It was an old three bedroom home right on a little lake.  It was really charming.  While Ryan was at work on Tuesday Cannon and I played. 

Front

Back

Cannon really wanted to go fishing, but we couldn't find any fishing poles.  However, we found nets and we figured out that if we threw some bread in while our nets were in the water, the fish would come and we could scoop them up.  This actually worked and we caught at least 10 fish!  And after looking at them we would gently put them back in the water.  At one point Cannon fell in the lake, which really freaked him out at first, but then it became a funny story for him to tell.  He said that the fish were probably really surprised when he fell in!



Cannon took all of these pictures

We caught these kinds of fish

This bull frog kept us up all night!

This picture below pretty much captures a perfect moment.  It was late afternoon and we had been playing outside for most of the day.  The temperature outside was perfect and we had the backdoor open to let the breeze in the house.  It was peaceful and quiet as we listened to the birds sing.  I sat on the couch and watched Cannon build with his Legos until Ryan got home from work. 



One of the best things about traveling with Ryan is that he usually finishes his work early, almost always before 3:00 or 4:00.  And then we get to go out to dinner with him.  That night we had some of the best pizza ever at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napolentana.  Great stuff!  Then we went for real ice cream made from the cows at Ferris Acres Farm.  Fantastic!



Happy cows in their meadow

On Wednesday we had to say goodbye to our little cottage and head out with Ryan on his audits.  The first audit was less than two hours, so we dropped him off and Cannon and I found a place where we could take a little hike. 

Then we picked up Ryan and drove around with him.  He had several audits, but they were super quick.  They literally took five minutes or less.  He had one audit right next to the Yale campus, so we ate at the Shake Shack for lunch.  Great chocolate shakes!

We made our way to Mystic, our final destination. 

We stayed at the Old Mystic Inn, which is right on the harbor. 

The view from our door

The view from on top of the rock ledge overlooking the harbor

We enjoyed lobster dinner...

...and time at the beach.

The water was freezing and I can't believe he got in!

Horseshoe crabs mating

Mystic Pizza, for anyone who saw the movie

Again, while Ryan was at work, Cannon and I played outside all day!  We had lots of great adventures!  We even went canoeing one day and saw lots of huge crabs!  But mostly he wanted to play wiffle ball and play with this rope he found.  I love his imagination!

On Friday it was time for us to say goodbye.  On the drive back to the airport we stopped in Stamford to get lunch at a delicatessen.  This was a classic NY deli with awesome sandwiches that cost $18+.  Ryan and I split one and it was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had!

Getting back home was not so easy.  Our flight was delayed and delayed and delayed.  I had Ryan get us on a different flight the next day.  We ended up staying in a hotel in Newark near the airport.  To make a long story short, our bags ended up in Chicago, Cannon and I made it to Austin Saturday afternoon, but Ryan got stuck in Houston and didn't make it back until Sunday. Ahh! 

But Cannon got to be a cheerleader to welcome the Special Olympics teams into Newark!

We were ready to be home, but I LOVE the East coast!  I miss New York and I want to go back!  There was so much we didn't get to see!  I could seriously live there, but maybe I'll get another chance to visit again soon.