I woke up at 6:30 am and headed straight downstairs for a workout. I ran two miles on the treadmill and lifted dumbbells for 20 minutes. Then I headed straight over to breakfast where I wolfed down scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, and an English muffin with peanut butter. After a well-deserved shower, we drove back to my grandfather's apartment in Waterford. He asked to go pick up his prescription at CVS, which we did. I also picked up a few straight razors and shaving foam, since I forgot my electric razor at home. I remembered the case for the razor, just not the razor itself. It seems like I always forget one item every time I travel. This wasn't the worst thing to forget though, I mean, it could have been my cell phone charger or the event tickets!
So I got to pick the lunch place and the city was downtown New Haven, home of Yale University.
The spot I had in mind was Louis' Lunch, a burger joint that has been around for over 100 years now. Some say they are the originators of the hamburger sandwich. As I was walking inside this little place which looked from the outside like a train car, I thought I had stepped into 1925. The place has just a dark industrial cramped feel and the big metal chairs against the wall look like thrones!And what I like is they have their own very unique way of doing things. The only toppings are American cheese, tomato, and onion. No lettuce, no avocado, and don't even think about asking for ketchup!
I opted for a cheese works with salad and a birch. AKA a burger with cheese, tomato, onion on white toast along with potato salad and a birch beer. The potato salad came in a styrofoam cup and it was pretty good, it thankfully didn't have much mayo, and the addition of hard cooked eggs added a good texture to it.
The burgers do take some time, but cooked in those ancient cast iron grills, they're worth it. I absolutely recommend the onions, they're grilled into the burger and they complement the juicy beef so well. The burger was nice and thick and though I got it medium rare, which is the custom, I might recommend getting it more well done. The inside was pink, but if it had been cooked any less, I wouldn't have felt comfortable eating it. I like that they do the burger on toast because it lets the beef stand out as the star of the show. That's exactly the way it should be. Looking back, I'm glad I went here, and I believe I would return. But I don't know if I'd drive too far out of my way for it especially with such good pizza options in New Haven.
We headed back east towards New London, but first, we passed Yale University. The buildings look like castles, lots of stone and granite, classic architecture. We dropped my grandfather off and literally drove two minutes and arrived at my grandparents old house, where my Aunt Linda now lives. We parked and walked around the curve that leads to a group of six condos. The front door was open and Linda's black cat was parked right at the foot of the door. We opened the door and found her sitting on a sofa, looking ragged, and staring back at us. I never expected her first words.
"Who are you?" she asked.
I definitely didn't expect those to be the first words. After she figured it out, the three of us stood in the living room and discussed issues we needed to address. We let her come with us to Harkness State Park, since I really wanted to walk on the big rocks besides the Atlantic Ocean. Wearing my new boots, I sprinted down the sand to those rocks. As I roam across them, navigating the unique angles and colors, while jumping to the higher spots and plunging to the lowest spots, it gives me such a sense of adventure and freedom. I wish I could do it every weekend. I got a nice view of the New London lighthouse, which is square shaped. Eventually, Mom and I found a bench that we sat on. We gave Linda time to just stand on the beach and take in the outdoors. We couldn't help but reflect on family struggles and how important it is to be honest and handle conflict appropriately.
After about 20 minutes of sitting, we returned to the car and I checked my phone. Dad broke the news about the Rangers trading Marian Gaborik to Columbus for a chronic underachiever in Derick Brassard and two other guys I have never heard of. In the moment, I was calling it the white flag trade. I hated that the Rangers trading Gaborik, but I guess the relationship with Coach John Tortorella has deteriorated to the point that it had become unworkable. I looked to plug my phone in, until I realized the attachment that plugs into the source of the charger had disappeared. So somehow, my cell phone charger was rendered useless. There's $20 down the drain.
We dropped Linda off and drove 15 minutes to downtown Mystic. We checked out the local art and souvenir shops. I stopped into the Black Dog souvenir shop (based on a famous tavern on Martha's Vineyard) and a local spice shop where I experimented with Italian spices, dessert toppings, and so on. We also walked over the drawbridge that is over the famous Mystic River. Almost the entire bridge is under construction right now, so we only had room to walk on one side of the bridge and as we passed over, a violent cold wind forced me to remove my blue Mets hat from my head and hold onto it until we had crossed to the other side.
So we were looking for a decent happy hour in Mystic and we walked inside the Riverwalk restaurant. We sat at the four-sided wooden bar and I ordered a Blue Point toasted lager. For $5.50, it was a good size and a great beer that I wish was served in the Midwest. I started with a cup of clam chowder. It was one of the better chowders I've had in a long time. Good-sized chunks of lobster, potatoes, and a thick satisfying cream base. I would actually order the bowl next time.
Then we got a few apps. We had the Cajun shrimp and I really enjoyed this. The shrimp was tender and the garlicky sauce was full of flavor too. I liked the thick pieces of bread for dipping in the sauce too. Off the bartender's recommendation, the seared tuna was a good choice also. We got six chunks of ahi tuna with a drizzle of wasabi sauce. On top, they placed a bed of fresh Asian slaw that did a good job at balancing out the heat from the wasabi.
The disappointment for me was the bartender just wasn't overly friendly. She responded to our questions and requests pretty quickly, but it wouldn't have killed her to smile one time. And me having an empty glass of water for five minutes when there were only three other people in the bar besides me...sorry, that's just not paying attention. I would probably return if I was back in Mystic, it's a good neighborhood joint that makes quality food without being over the top expensive.
Then around 6:30, we headed back to the hotel for the night. I spent two hours on the hotel internet, and I spent a full hour of that time trying to print a single email! For dinner, we finished the pizza off. God those coal roasted peppers...amazing! I put the Knicks game on the television while listening to the Mets game on my cell phone. This is called multi-tasking. Or it could be called crazy, take your pick.
All three teams won their games convincingly, which only happens to me once a year, if I'm lucky!
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