Sunday, September 20th 2015
We were pleased that we weren’t discovered sleeping in our car in the Walmart parking lot, and that it was a quiet night. Well rested, we took US-1 south to Narragansett, RI and admired the massive houses along the beach before stopping in “Cool Beans Café” to get two Americanos, and to split a cheddar-jalapeno bagel with cream cheese. I was feeling out of place around the upper crust atmosphere, but this imbalance shifted when a mentally disabled local man, who reminded me a little bit of Billy Bob Thorton from “Slingblade,” walked in and started wiggling his butt. He started talking to the locals about a dance contest, and repeatedly shared how he just had the best pork and beans, and beans and rice that he’s ever had! His enthusiasm made me smile and feel at ease again.
After recharging, we took US-1 to Route 216, to Route 3, and back to I-95 south into the state of Connecticut. We were pleased to discover a good radio station that had us jamming out to James Brown and various funk and soul music during our drive.
Once we arrived at the welcome center, the lady directed us to Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam, CT, and suggested that instead of driving straight there, that we take the ferry across so we could enjoy the views as we approached it from the back. We took her advice and took Route 9 to the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry. The ride was short, but sweet.
We decided not to pay for the castle tour once we arrived, but still got to enjoy the park since you could still walk around the premises for free.
We gathered what little food we had left stored in the car, and had ourselves a picnic before returning to I-95 and heading south to New Haven, CT. Home of Yale University.
We found parking by a park crowded with napping homeless people. One man approached Trevor as he filled the meter and shared with us the “color-blindness of the hobo community,” and admired all the stickers we had accumulated on the box on top of our Subaru.
We meandered around the campus and eventually found a dive bar called, “Three Sheets” where we both got a ‘Black Hog Hogwater IPA’ and eavesdropped on a conversation about the band ‘FIDLAR’ performing in New York City over the weekend.
We wandered aimlessly, admiring the architecture before swinging in “Box 63 American Bar & Grill” before leaving town.
We both tried a ‘Half Full Brewery – Pursuit of Happiness IPA’ and an ‘Ithaca IPA’ as we asked Erica the bartender her suggestion on something light and cheap to eat. We ordered the recommended mushroom flatbread with a side of fries, she discussed with us how she drinks chipotle mayonnaise without shame, and we all shared our embarrassing driver’s license photos with each other.
Our road trip was unfortunately coming to an end. We took I-95 south, circling around New York City, and through the borough of Queens and the projects of the Bronx before making it to the Jersey Turnpike. The traffic was stressing Trevor out, so I took the wheel through the Philadelphia traffic, which was equally as bad. We soon realized that we were experiencing so much traffic due to the fact that we were passing through New York after a ‘Giants’ home game, and through Philly after the ‘Eagles’ just wrapped up theirs. We got a thing for timing, eh?! I was tired, but I pushed through without stopping. Our short road trip through New England was a lot of fun, but there’s no place like home base!
Jump Back to Part 8: Witches, Headstones & Patriots
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Start from the Beginning at Part 1: Highway Robbery, Festivals & A Kiddie Pool
Stubbs Rambles On 