Sister Time :)

Connecticut – Saturday, Sept. 29

Despite the continuing gray skies, the rain held off more or less, and Chris and I spent a few hours walking all around Hammonasett Beach State Park which is right on the Atlantic Ocean. We walked from one end of the park to the other and covered 4 miles, although some of it was a slow go because we walked along the beach all the way out to the point, stopping to look at seashells, crab shells, and an ugly robin fish just laying on the beach (it looked like it had little legs and a fisherman told me a seagull would come eat it). We climbed on some rocks and thoroughly enjoyed our time together. The gray skies kind of blended into the gray sea and it was still really pretty out. This part of the ocean is actually part of Long Island Sound, not that we could see any land or anything. Rick had just dropped us off earlier and we called him when we were back to the entrance, and he’d been driving around some of the other small towns in the area, and had found a fun place for some lunch. It was a dilapidated old lobster shack right on the beach which had been there for 130 years – they just patch things up after bad storms and continue on with business! The only things on the menu were lobster rolls or hotdogs, and the lobster rolls were awesome. Good rolls were toasted on a BBQ grill, and then overstuffed with a lot of lobster meat, and seasoned only with butter and fresh lemon. Mmmm!! (Again, it was a treat from my sister – she’s spoiling me!) The picnic tables were set up on a “floor” of shells and stones, and I imagine they’re usually just outside, but since the day was a bit chilly and damp, they had lowered some clear plastic tent-like walls and turned on some heat to keep us all comfortable. A great find! We walked into the other shack where the lobster boats drop off their catch and looked at some pretty big lobsters.

At this time we went our separate ways – Tula had been cooped up in the car all day so far since dogs weren’t allowed in all areas of the state park, and Chris and Rick had to go get ready for the wedding they were in town to attend. So Tula and I took a quick mile and a half walk in Westbrook, then headed to Madison (I had driven through some of these towns on my trip along the coast a couple days earlier, but hadn’t stopped to walk since I knew I’d be back.) We hadn’t gotten too far on our walk through the town of Madison when we passed a shop with a big placard out front saying they were accepting food donations. Although I’d had an idea what my donation-of-the-day was going to be, when I have to walk around a sign asking for food donations, I can’t resist, and I went grocery shopping. I had asked the ladies in the shop how long they would be there, and I only had about 40 minutes to get to the store, shop and get back, but we made it. I was gone for a while, and the ladies probably thought I wasn’t returning, but I was able to get a whole bunch of food since there were a lot of good sales (Campbell’s soup, Del Monte veggies and Chef-Boy-R-Dee spaghetti/ravioli was all on sale). I think I surprised them with how much food I had, and they seemed excited about what I was doing. Then Tula and I resumed our walk and covered another 1.8 miles. From there we moved to Clinton, the next town over, and we did a nice long 2 1/2 mile walk (going back out by the ocean and walking past the lobster shack – still doing business with a light or 2 on!). That gave me 9 1/2 miles for the day, so I made up a chunk of the walking I missed yesterday because of the rain.

And then, as luck would have it, as I started the drive back to the motel about 12-15 miles away, I passed a Roadside BBQ set up – offering pulled pork, beef brisket and chicken. I could see the smoke from the giant BBQ grill a good half mile away. They were getting ready to close down, but I was able to get a good pulled pork sandwich, and they were laughing when they saw Tula looking out the window, and I told them I’d share a little with her, and they said they would fix a little something for my co-pilot, and they gave her a little dish of the beef brisket! A happy day for both dog and human!