View from the apartment where we stayed at the beginning of our trip and final night.

We left the wilds of the desert Thursday for vacation on the East Coast and returned home Tuesday. It was a trip to visit a friend in NYC. It was smoldering hot with a heatwave in Manhattan. After going out for a delicious Italian dinner across the street from the apartment, we drove with our hostess to her weekend home in the country where it was peaceful and a tad bit cooler. It wasn’t the bustling Manhattan I had envisioned for our trip, but so delightful — and much more my style.

How’s that for a change of scenery from Manhattan? It was serene, peaceful and beautiful. We spent the days in deep discussions, reading, and touring small towns in the countryside of Connecticut. We had fabulous meals at affordable prices in quaint buildings.
(I wrote last week about my disappointing restaurant meals HERE. Every meal on this trip was excellent.)

Unlike Scottsdale, everywhere we went had history going back to our nation’s founding.

Here are a few phots from a graveyard, lake, art show and restaurant:

One of several quaint, delicious restaurants we visited. Huge portions at ridiculously low prices.

We stopped at beautiful Candlewood Lake.

These were all the outside booths of the art show. There was a building with more booths inside. Small but mighty. So much talent.

One of the highlights:

The last evening of our vacation, we returned to NYC. I met LA of Waking Up on the Wrong Side of 50 in person! We recognized each other on the spot. We hugged and could have talked for hours or days. I felt like I discovered — as Anne of Green Gables would say — a kindred spirit.

What are your favorite parts of exploring a new place?

Sightseeing, eating, spending time with friends or shopping? Or something else?