Dedicated to L.M., who makes me feel less crazy
and encouraged me to step out of my box.
It has been a week since I got back from Connecticut and I have had a lot of time to think. I'm glad to be back in New Jersey and definitely feel more comfortable at home for obvious reasons. Overall, I'd say New Haven was a positive experience and I'm really glad that I went for it. Before I get into the nitty gritty, here are some pics of my last weekend. The Saturday morning before Thanksgiving Break, I traveled to West Rock Ridge State Park. I took a short trail around Lake Wintergreen, passing by young families. On the trek, I listened to This American Life podcasts. One of the episodes was on romantic comedies and that inspired me to watch When Harry Met Sally the following week. Anyway, I took another longer trail that took me to a ridge with a beautiful view of the lake and New Haven, featured most prominently in the cover picture of this post. I walked up to see the view and it literally was such a magical moment, like when a character in a movie moves leaves and brush aside to unveil an expansive landscape. It was pretty breathtaking. The next podcast episode was on election fraud and the 9/11 memorial and in the latter half of my walk, I wished I had brought my hiking shoes. After the park, I got iced coffee, hit a thrift store, had an unfruitful experience, went to the AirBNB for lunch, and then took a walk around the city, my final destination being the New Haven Green. It appeared that Yale students were moving out, evident in propped open doors and car trunks full of decor and boxes. It was a nice day to be outside and I soaked in the last images of the city. I ended my stroll at New Haven Green, hoping to get COVID tested at a free pop-up site. I got there 30 minutes early, lingered longer than I had to, and found out from other COVID-testing-hopefuls that the time indicated online was incorrect. The testing company left at 3pm and I got there at 3:30pm. Kind of a bummer, but I huffed away and got coconut chocolate chip ice cream from Arethusa Farm Dairy. Tis what it is. Reddit told me to get pizza, so that's what I did. I ordered a clam white sauce pizza from Sally's and grabbed cannolis from a nearby Italian bakery. The pizza was so-so and overpriced. The cannolis were pretty good though. The following morning, I furiously swept the AirBNB floors, put used towels in the laundry hamper, and said goodbye to my temporary Connecticut home. We had good times together. I researched low gas prices and how to fill up gas the prior night, so I had a smooth drive to a gas station and grabbed Dunkin from across the street. I trekked to Silver Sands State Park afterwards to get a whiff of the Connecticut beaches. Have some fun in the sun, yah?
Well, it wasn't quite sunny, actually pretty windy. I wore my winter coat and walked out to the shore, where there was a surprising amount of walkers, runners, and families. The first thing I noticed after walking along the bridge was this tiny island in the distance and a path that seemed to head towards it, like a land bridge. I later found out from a bulletin board that the island was actually accessible via sandbar, the natural feature I had deemed a land bridge. The island was home to natural species of birds and others and welcomed visitors. However, due to the tides, the sandbar could be extremely dangerous to walk over. One could end up trapped at the island with no sandbar to on, rather dangerous riptides. Anyway, it was a cool sight to see and I ended up walking on the sandbar to get a better view. I wasn't at the beach park for that long, but it was a good place to be alone with my thoughts and think about my past 2 weeks. Despite the cloudy, windy weather, it was still enjoyable. I love the beach and water. After wandering for a bit, I boarded the Toyota Camry for my 2-hour drive home. It was pleasant and traffic-less, for which I am thankful. I now realize this post is already long, so I'll post my reflection elsewhere. Stay tuned.
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AuthorSame old stuff, same old Minhee. ArchivesCategories |