Youth is wasted on the young

Hartford was fabulous. Despite significant cultural differences, everyone I met was so kind and welcoming and ready to do some serious partying. Much of the week is a bit of a haze due to our good friend Mary, espresso martinis, white wine, and champagne. Magic Hat #9 was my theme beer of Hartford. (BTW, west coast beer lovers, read this important news!) I ate amazing food, better than NY I'd say, and was spoiled by the kindness of strangers in a far better financial situation than I. Everyone was an intellectual and conversation never dulled. Had the best gnocci I've ever. Listened to a funny little man play guitar poorly at Barcelona. We even broke into a storage facility for a little late night "shopping." (Not as illegal as it sounds.) One night we even pulled an all-nighter. Saw the sun set. Saw the sun rise. Blue laws be damned! We will party past 9:00! We will drink delicious beer on Sunday! Your puritanical moral standards will not stop us from catching a buzz. See:




Saturday, after sleeping all day, we headed to Tanglewood up in the Berkshires to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was so amazing. Blankets on the lawn, picnic at dusk, red wine, good people, and great music. My host, Lovey, even had a little romance! Nearly a perfect evening. I say nearly because I estimate I got 4 mosquito bites on my hands and about 70 or so on my legs and feet. I was going to post a picture, but it is far too disgusting.

Sunday was very New Englandy. Lovey and I went for brunch at the Wadsworth Atheneum. Took a quick tour of their exhibits. I saw a Georgia O'Keefe, an Andy Warhol, a Diego Rivera, a handful of Picassos, and the original of this Norman Rockwell:

Then off to New Haven to walk around the Yale campus. So beautiful. Look:

Cemetery:Buried here are Charles Goodyear (inventor of vulcanized rubber), Glenn Miller (band leader and trombonist), Robert Sherman (the only man to sign all four basic documents of American sovereignty), Noah Webster (like the dictionary), Eli Whitney (inventor of the cotton gin and easy clue in crossword puzzles), and a whole pile of Yale grads and presidents as well as important state politicians. Is it wrong to refer to the dead as a pile... Hmm.

Dining Hall:
Only slightly different from the D.C. at Berkeley.

Gargoyles at Yale Law:
By the way, to settle a heated debate of that evening, Bill Clinton went to Georgetown for his undergrad, DID attend Oxford to study government, and then went on to get his law degree at Yale, where he met Hilary, another law student. Stalker George only received his undergrad degree at Yale. So there.

Ivy:


We then had an amazing dinner at Thali Too. If you are in or around New Haven it is a must. Vegetarian Indian Cuisine. The Lassis were heaven. I could have drank about 50.

Last day in Connecticut I HAD to go see the Mark Twain house, located in downtown Hartford: He and his family lived there for a while, until Twain invested in an automatic printing press and lost his fortune. It was here he wrote most of his great novels including Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. His office was the best. It had a pool table and a bar area. And again, standing in a room where great things happened... it inspires me to be great. I don't know what that looks like yet for me.

For my best girl it looks like this:
She's the one in the pink... hair. She walked 39 miles to save boobies. What did you do last weekend? I didn't think so. Feeling guilty? Its not to late. Another friend that exudes greatness will be doing the same thing in October. Donate to her walk here.

And now my heap of gratitude. Liza and Matt, thanks for showing me New Haven and appreciating my nerdy love of useless information. Sorry I was so itchy and twitchy that night. Austin Mike and Marielle, you two are awesome. Thank you for introducing me to a culture I'd never experienced and not judging me to harshly for my ignorance. Austin Mike, thanks for unending generosity and for hiding my kitty cat. Lovey will handle the arrangements when you return. Joshua, you are fabulous. Mark, you are my new gay husband. Crazy Wade, your crazy. Good luck with that amazing garden. And finally Lovey, my long time friend... it was so great to see you again and reconnect. Please don't let another 13 years go by again. You will come visit me, understood!