Connecticut

Instead of the obligatory 2014 resolutions, I am going to dive in and try to catch everyone up on the end of 2013.

Before Thanksgiving Stephen and I boarded an airplane to Boston. Once in Boston we rented a car and drove straight to New Haven, Connecticut and Louis Lunch for a burger. Aside from fits of hysterical laughter at the thick Boston accents of the toll both workers, our travel was smooth and uneventful. Our reward was the tasty burger pictured. The burgers are steamed, no ketchup or mustard to be found, served on toasted white bread with grilled onions and/or tomato. So good and almost worth the 40 minute wait because they only make 4 burgers at a time.

Despite being so full we could barely walk, we explored Yale's campus. We were able to take advantage of one of the art museums. The main event, however, was the next day. The Harvard v. Yale football game. Stephen and I have always wanted to go to this game, a bucket-list sporting event. Coming from the Big-10, this football game had a different feel. The tailgating was a bit higher class, but the corporate sponsorship was non-existent and refreshing. Yale lost but we saw the game in style.

After experiencing New Haven for a few days we drove around Western Connecticut hitting Milford, Danford and Washington Depot. We spent a night in Hartford and visited the historical Mark Twain home. We ended our trip in Mystic, Connecticut.

I absolutely loved Mystic. For Wisconsinites, Mystic is all of Door County in one walk-able, more historic strip on the ocean. We stayed in an old whalers inn (actually called The Whalers Inn) which might explain my yen to try reading Moby Dick again. We visited a cider mill, an aquarium with beluga whales, several fun dining establishments-including Mystic Pizza-and relaxed.

Top left: Lobster dinner; Top right: The Whaler's Inn; Bottom: Mystic

It was a wonderful, moderately paced vacation. We saw nearly all of Connecticut, a state with so much to offer despite getting swallowed up between New York and Boston. It was a wonderful vacation - our first post-honeymoon!