Everything is cool here at The Candlewood Suites in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
We got up and I arranged some maps of JFK and it's car rental places for the cab driver and finished yesterday's blog.
Still abuzz from last night's Broadway Show: " A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder ".
Here's a couple of photos of the theatre:
We were up in the Mezzanine, i.e., the first balcony. Steep rows of seats and the seats were very narrow and close to the ones in front. Didn't suit wide bodies, let me tell you.
Very beautiful theatre and stage and they had all sorts of tricky effects with the movable stage. Very cool technical features.
Anyway, I got up and got a takeaway coffee from the cafe and brought it back to the Business Centre on the Ground Floor and did some printing of documents and finished Tuesday's blog.
Maybe an hour or 90 minutes of computer work altogether. Then I went back to the room and got through the shower and started my final pack up. I really need to get rid of my presents for USA people as my bags are full to overflowing with presents for Aussies as well.
We finally got packed and ready to go about 9:45 and went to the desk, checked out and ordered a taxi to take us to JFK Car Rentals off Federal Circle. We had to go to the National Car Rental Office.
The trip was eventful as we hit lots of traffic and the suggested 54 minutes turned into maybe an hour and 15 minutes or so. When we got there I paid the driver $80 including a $12 tip. It was a tough ride where we dodged a lot of horse and buggy traffic around Central Park, and lots of bumper to bumper
horse, truck, bus, car and pedestrian traffic.
Then I stood in line waiting for a counter clerk to become available, with An Iranian Group and a German Family included in the people ahead of me. Both had not booked ahead and were taking a long time! When they finally got t me everything went smoothly and we were ushered out to the car in about 15 minutes. So about 11 a.m. or so.
Got a nice red Hyundai Sonata, which was big enough to handle all of our luggage quite easily.
We got out of the lot, and together with the GPS that Ross set up and loaded with Cilla and Carl's street address, and the instructions from the front of lot gate girl, we managed to get onto The Van Wyck Expressway North (I 678) after only one small hiccup (we had to go around the big Federal Circle again to catch the entry to the Expressway that we missed the first time.) The Lady in the GPS Box was faultless and took us right to Cilla and Car's place, with forward warnings about lane positions and everything we could have desired. We had purchased the E-Z Toll Pass System which we glued to the windscreen and it allowed us to pass tolls without using coins. Good flow through rate that way.
Carl, Lance and Cilla in their back yard at 49 South Center Street, Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
Ross chatting to Cilla in the back yard at their house. They have a very lovely backyard that their son Miles keeps nicely mowed and Cilla minds the garden and the flower beds. They have a beautiful water feature as well, a little goldfish pond with water lillys and stocked with goldfish. A permanent waterfall is running nicely into it and makes a beautiful sound as well as a simply wonderful visual setting. Lots of gorgeous trees planted perfectly and many flowers set up to make a serene and very lovely picture. They have bird feeders and their back yard has a constant supply of wild birds and chipmunks and squirrels. Carl calls it his little piece of heaven and loves to sit out their and let it soak in.
After a long chat around and in Cilla and Carl's house, we left to check into our hotel, The Candlewood Suites at Bradley Intl. Airport, only a couple of miles at most from Cilla and Carl's house. A beautiful suite of two rooms, matching linked rooms, each with full kitchen, dishwasher, tall full fridge, microwave oven and full sink and hotplates. Each with their own closet and full bathroom. Six full bathtowels for the two of us! A set up like this would be $1,000 per night in NYC!!
My room. Fast Internet through Ethernet connection! What a blessed relief this is after using slow, dropout Wi-Fi in the hotel and Starbucks in NYC. Each of our two linked rooms also has big wide screen TV with DVD player and lots of storage. It would be wonderful if we could have established this standard of rooms in San Fran and NYC but location, location, location, somehow, Windsor Locks, Connecticut makes a cheaper place to acquire full Suites of Rooms!
Ross in his room, setting up his iPad on his desk. This will be the height of luxury for our trip. All other hotel rooms will fall way short of this Suite.
We went back to Cilla and Carl's house and they had decided to treat us to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants; Maine Fish Restaurant. It was packed; a lovely restaurant. They do get all their lobster from Maine, but the rest of the fish actually come from Boston, the waitress told us. Maybe the Boston company sources most of it from Maine, however, we are not sure.
Cilla had the Coconut Shrimp, which was the exact same meal she ordered two years ago, when we came here last. I am pretty sure it is her very favorite meal out. We all had green tossed salads as first courses and they didn't serve the main meals til they had cleared away the salad bowls; Ross and I found this strange. You decide.
I had the Fried Whole Belly Clams and Fried Sea Scallops with pasta side salad. lots of dipping sauces, the red one had horseradish in it and was quite spicy.
Ross had Apple Pie a la Mode after his Stuffed Mushroom dinner. It looked good, a bit less sweet and the pastry was lighter, so he thought it was better than the one from Tom's Diner, that we visited in 110th street in Amsterdam Street going North, on the Western side of Central Park.
After dinner we went to a big Walmart, which Ross wanted to check out and see if he could see some "Walmart People" . Apparently, Ross has spotted coffee table books about Walmart People, but I haven't seen one. He promises to point one out next book store. I need to purchase one, I think.
I got some music DVD's for the car at $5 and $7 each. Cranky Franky, CSN&Y, Righteous Brothers and one by my mate Kenny, who used to be married to Renee Zelwigger.
We met Gordon, the Greeter at the front door of Walmart, who is from Maine and we all had a nice chat. Gordon is an old pal of Cilla and Carl's, they have chatted many times before. Corn on the cob was $0.35 per ear, as opposed to $0.95 we saw at a farmers market in NYC. We'll see what the price is in Maine , maybe at a roadside stand.
Well, back to Cilla and Carl's but we were tuckered out after our long and partly stressful drive, so we didn't stay long, and went back to our Suite and got to sleep. Up at 6:20 for me, after approximately midnight sleep start. Ross feels very under-slept this morning, and has let me know about it. Lots of groaning.
Bye for now as we start Thursday July 16th.
Lance and Ross.
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