In Connecticut...

Already, another two weeks have passed.  I can't believe it's time to move on, but I'll take many fond memories of Connecticut and Rhode Island with me when we go.  

Coming in, we realized how little we knew about this state!  Quick:  Who can tell me three famous people or places in Connecticut history?  I don't think I could have two weeks ago!  What we found here were richly adorned historic buildings, forests abounding, kind people, and a slower pace to rest and catch up on our to-do list.  This was the stop we needed after a busy month.

Here's the recap of our time here:

Remember when I told you about the family we met in Vermont?  Well, they drove down to meet us here for a few days!  We enjoyed visiting with them so much, and the kids had a blast, despite some inclement weather.  They have a son who is Jackson's age and a daughter who is Jordan's age.

While the kids played games and ran around, the grown-ups got to know each other better.  They taught us a few new board games (which are now in our Amazon cart), and I really enjoyed fellowship with Heather.  In addition to homeschooling, she has her hand in many hobbies and I learned so much from her in just a few days!  I surely hope that we get to spend more time with them in the future. Next time we'll make sure Jeff can get a few days off work, too!  It was a bummer to not be able to spend more time with them.  

Our first spot in the campground.  We changed our plans and extended our stay by another week, so we ended up moving to a seasonal spot.  At first, the campground wasn't our favorite because of a lot of local seasonal campers that were kind of close together, but as the weeks went on, we came to see that there were a lot of perks here.

What's good about a park full of local seasonals?  Nearly all of them are at home working during the week!  We had the park to ourselves Monday - Friday.  Not too shabby!

I enjoyed many morning walks, listening to worship music.

Our backyard for the second week.  Because of the large tick population, we didn't go traipsing through the woods.  Our campground was very close to Lyme, Connecticut, where Lyme disease originated.  I made the mistake of looking up the map for reported Lyme disease cases.  It was a little unnerving to realize that we were sitting in the epicenter.  A few people told me that it's not that big of a deal, because it's treatable.  Still, I'd rather not contract a disease if I can avoid it.  I guess if I lived here and it was either face it or never go for hikes, I would figure out a way to hike.  But for us, we're just passing through and are willing to go a month without a hike if it means steering clear of ticks.

American Dagger Moth Caterpillar!

We've never seen one before, so were pretty excited.

Megan and I are taking the Teaching Textbooks Geometry course together this year.  I love math, but as hard as I tried in high school, I couldn't fully grasp the concepts of theorems and proofs.  So when Megan finished Algebra II,  I knew the time had come to face them.

Truthfully, she has to slow down and wait for me to catch up sometimes.  Our learning styles are so different!  She thinks like Jeff does, and can imagine concepts in her mind.  I have to see them on the paper in front of me.  She says, "You can see it if you think about it."  And I reply, "No, I can't!  I have to write it down first.  Then I can see it!"  Ha ha.  

I think part of it is that, for her, it's just another math lesson.  For me, it's this thing that has been hanging over my head since I was sixteen.  This thing that I failed at.  Okay, I didn't fail, but barely passed.  Now I'm determined to do this thing right!  I don't want to miss one word or concept.   So she sits and waits when I pause the lesson and write things down.  It has been humbling, but good.  It's fun being in school with my daughter!

The campground had a ton of amenities for kids.  In addition to the usual equipment, they also had a bounce pad, a water slide, this great new pool, and scheduled games and activities all weekend long.  Jackson enjoyed playing dodgeball, football, and other games with a big group of kids.  Then, on our last full day there, a band came in and gave a concert!  They were so good!  Jeff said that they were very talented musicians and came over to sit with me by the pool.  Unfortunately for Jeff, we learned that in addition to rock, they also play country music.  Poor Jeff!  

(I thought the whole thing was fantastic!)

As for outings, we did several.  On Jeff's day off, we went in search of dumplings and the beach!  Dumplings were had at a restaurant called Beijing Dumpling Takeout.  Twelve dumplings for six bucks, and they were so good!  Then we headed out to find some sand to play in.

We found it at Misquamicut State Beach, in Rhode Island.  Parking is free after Labor Day!  Woohoo!

Jackson said the water was really cold!  We had a great day together!

After school one day, we visited the Submarine Force Library & Museum.  It's a free museum, so we didn't expect much.  I figured it was something to get us out of the RV and that we'd get to see more of the area.

It was a sunny but very windy day, so we took a quick look at the displays outside and headed in.  They had five or six submarines displayed, one of them pictured above.  Jackson was so pumped about this place.  We all liked it, but he LOVED it!

We could see this submarine from the parking lot and Jackson made a beeline to it, telling me over his shoulder that we could see the rest of the museum after we saw this!

And then we went down into the belly of the beast!  To the stomach of the steel shark!

Audio tour for the win!

This is a bad picture but I had to include it because can you even believe how tightly-packed those bunks are???  I was short of breath just looking at them.  This is a nightmare situation for me.  I have so much respect for people who voluntarily put themselves in these living conditions to serve our country.

Higher-ranking officers get to sleep in bunks that are only two high.  Still less room than a standard bunk bed, though.

I was enjoying checking out the sub and then I saw this sign and was like, "Oh, right.  This isn't just an underwater boat.  It's a war machine."  It started to feel a lot more confined and less pleasant at that point.

We finished looking through things and headed back up to the museum.  It was smallish, but full of interesting things.

The kids learned about this early submarine from a movie or something, so they taught me about it.

They have a periscope that goes up to the roof of the building.  We found our truck in the parking lot!

There's Winnie!  😄

Ever wondered why submarines sometimes have brooms mounted to their tops?  It's to celebrate and announce a "clean sweep" in completing a mission!  This crew completed two missions in one trip, then came home victorious.

After we left the museum, we stopped off at B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill.  It's this small farm in a very rural area, with houses speckled all around it.  The mill itself was closed to visitors while we were there, so we got cider donuts and cider and went home.  Their store sells so many things, and the line was long!

I haven't mentioned this before, but one notable thing about the eastern states is the fluidity of businesses and residences. It's completely common to find businesses in the middle of a residential neighborhood or have apartments over storefronts. We see a little of this in Oregon, but what I mean is that they are nearly indistinguishable from one another.  When we were trying to locate a salon where Meg had an appointment, we had to park and walk down the street because none of the houses looked like they could be a business.

We also spent a day in New Haven, touring Yale University.  We left early so we would have a buffer to find our way to the visitor's center, but even with our buffer we ended up running to make it on time.  Finding parking down by the campus was not for the faint of heart!  It was narrower and busier than downtown Portland during rush hour, so that'll give you an image.  I pulled over at a Walgreens and called the visitor's center.  They gave me directions to a nearby parking lot with a tall enough clearance for our truck.  We were technically late, but caught up with the group.  I'm so glad we made it!

Checking out Connecticut Hall, the only original building still standing in this area.

Connecticut Hall was home to Nathan Hale and Eli Whitney.

Our guide told us a funny story about this statue in front of the building, of Nathan Hale.  Nathan Hale was a spy for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.  (He wasn't a very good one and was quickly caught and executed, but that's not relevant to the story.)  Well, years back, the CIA wanted to put the statue on their campus, and requested it from Yale.  Yale said no.  The CIA then snuck onto campus and took a mold of the statue, then replicated it exactly and placed it on site in Virginia, where it sits to this day.

The thing is, this statue is NOT of Nathan Hale!  When the college went to make the statue, they didn't have any idea what Hale had looked like!  There were no photographs, obviously, and no paintings could be found.  So they simply chose the man who they deemed the most attractive and stately looking gentleman in that year's class, and made a statue of that guy!

This arch boasts a line from Yale's alma mater, "Bright College Years." 

The words above the arch are, "For God, For Country, and for Yale."

Our guide made sure to take us to the headquarters for his residential college, Branford, and spoke extensively about student life.  So many interesting facts!  For instance:

1.  Yale doesn't need your money.  They have more than enough benefactors to keep things rolling, which means that students are able to utilize a very generous financial aid program.  Assuming you are accepted (which is the big challenge that most people can't overcome), you are never excluded because of your inability to pay.  In fact, if your parents make less than $65,000/year, you qualify to attend Yale for free!
2.  Each residential college has its own list of in-house perks.  The buildings have gymnasiums, cafe's, libraries, and rec rooms.  He listed other cool things, but we can't remember now.

 He also reminded us several times that Branford is the best college.  Ha ha.

The windows have this "Y" design on them in one place or another.  The architect added them so they would create Y-shaped shadows in students' rooms, reminding them of where they were and the honor of being a Yale student.

A water feature that honors the women of Yale.  Founded in 1701, Yale was strictly male until 1968.  The art piece here was designed by a female architect who graduated from Yale.

The Sterling Library, or should I say the facade of Sterling Library?!?  We learned that much of Yale University is underground!  There are libraries, gymnasiums, cafe's, tunnels, and so much more under the paths our feet walked that day!  There are many stories and myths about those tunnels, but sadly they aren't accessible to the public.  You'll have to be admitted to Yale if you want to see them for yourself!

One of the coolest things is that each of the heads of the residential universities lives on-site with their family and pets!  This is the entrance to one of their homes, built right in with the dorms.  They look like big houses, and are quite beautiful.

Beinecke Library, home to Yale's most rare and treasured books.  

I can't remember all the details of this library, though I wish I could.  It is so interesting!  The design of the building is to protect the books from UV rays.  The walls are done in a beehive pattern, using marble "windows" that block out all UV rays but still allow some light in.  It was spectacular to be in this library!  We didn't get to spend nearly enough time checking it all out, but I'm so glad we got to visit.

You can see the little bit of light shining through the marble.  It was beautiful in person.  

Yale was the first to use this central column design in a library.  It further protects the books from any light that might get in via the doors.

A Gutenberg Bible, the first mass-produced book ever.  Out of 180 total Bibles, only 49 still exist today, and most of them aren't complete.

According to experts, if a Gutenberg Bible went up for sale today, it would sell for an estimated $35 million.

Magnificent.

A sculpture on a law school building.  Every building is adorned with all kinds of intricate designs and sculptures that are relevant to what the building is used for.

When I looked at my list of things I wanted to remember about this area, it listed the things above and:  Aggressive Connecticut drivers

Ha!  The drivers here are truly the most aggressive people I have ever seen.  They come up, driving 25 mph over the speed limit and before they even get near you, you can see them back there, flashing their lights like crazy.  The first time this happened to me, I thought, "Surely someone is in labor or something!"  Eventually, I lost count of how many times this happened. And just to be clear, I don't get into the left-hand lane and drive slow!  I'm very conscientious about getting past someone and then getting over.  Add to that picture a bunch of people bobbing and weaving in and out of every narrow gap in traffic, and you have a pretty un-fun driving experience!  I've also lost count of how many times Jeff and I have said, "It will be nice to be out of this area," when we are driving somewhere.  Haha.  We're Oregonians, so it's probably just a matter of perspective.  If we had grown up here, we might think it more normal.

So sorry for the lengthy post.  I hope it wasn't too boring or too much of a history lesson.  The blog has become a place for me to keep the details that I don't want to forget about our travels, and this stop just happened to have a lot!  We really enjoyed our stay in Connecticut!  I'm kind of sad that it's time to leave, but excited to see Pennsylvania, too. Onward!

Love to you all!  💜