as in Connecticut, not Surrey.

Did I mention that it was raining and that we had a briefcase, backpack, suitcase and one ladylike umbrella between the two of us as we hustled from the hotel to Grand Central Station? Thought not. If you live on the US East Coast, rain is just something you prepare for. Something that you might actually expect as you check the daily weather report.

Those of living in California? Prepared? Not so much. There are trains as often as twice an hour from Grand Central to New Haven, CT. The good thing about traveling after 1000 is that you can avoid the morning commuters of which apparently there are a number going north although not anywhere near as many, I suspect, as the hordes of lemmings headed into NYC.

It was still raining the 90+ minutes later when we disembarked and headed out of the station to the rental car place. Need I mention anything about hiking in the wrong direction first? Or going back into the station to find that the rental agencies offer courtesy phones and train station pickups?

Thought not.

After an afternoon of getting a tour of where Noah is doing his internship this summer, we headed to what turned out to be fancier hotel than expected in Madison Beach. I am still running fairly tired and it was lovely to have a location completely undisturbed by city noise.