"Time in New England" Connecticut by Geisha_Girl

Connecticut Travel Guide: 1,570 reviews and 4,279 photos

The backyard of Five Maples Farms, Guilford CT

The Summers of My Youth. Some of the fondest memories of my college years were the summers I spent in New England. My sister and her husband moved their family back east to Connecticut so my brother-in-law could run a very prominent medical company based in New Haven.

Each summer they invited me to stay with them and there was always a good-paying job ready for me. It was NEPOTISM at its very finest!! I didn’t mind at all and the job enabled me to have a pocket full of cash I saved for the school year.

I made the very most of my summers there. New England, to me, always epitomized the true Americana style that we saw on television or read in books. The Oceanside lighthouses, the fresh lobster, the Cape Cod style homes……..everything screamed out “Red, White, and Blue” there. So much rich history was abundant in these little New England towns. They were surrounded by cemeteries where headstones were dating back to the Revolutionary War.

My lunch breaks at work were spent munching on a tuna sandwich in front of a Van Gogh original at the Yale Art Museum, or the remaining bones of a Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Museum of Natural History. Both of these exquisite landmarks were just blocks away from where I worked.

My weekends were spent either hopping the Metro-North train for an hour and a half ride into Manhattan for a day of shopping and theatre, or borrowing the car and taking a cruise up to Newport, Rhode Island…or Boston. That was a good reason for me to make return trips each summer.

There was always something to do for me. Even the nightlife in New Haven was a blast. The pubs and bars around Yale was the place to be for a 19 year-old college student (with a fake ID!) I really made the most of it. That was another good reason for me to make return trips each summer.

This picture is of my nephew as a baby with his dog Camellia. A cocker spaniel. Purebred Americana. The scene was photographed in the backyard of my sister’s home. Yes….no fences, no gates. Lush 3 acres of open space behind a beautiful English Tudor style home. The fact that I could sleep in a bedroom that was the size of my entire one-bedroom college apartment with a bathroom that was the size of my neighbor’s apartment, was the BEST reason for me to keep returning every summer…….

Life in New England was not bad at all.

Thimble Islands - Guilford CT

Cruising through the summer homes

Beachfront Property - Madison CT

Hot, Hazy, Humid summers

Pros and Cons

Pros:Time in New England took me away.....to long rocky beaches....you by the bay
Cons:Those are the lyrics to a BARRY MANILOW song!
In a nutshell:Okay, okay.....so I'm a "closet" Barry Manilow fan!

Intro Updated Mar 6, 2003
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Reviews (4)

She's determined to crack that thing! - Connecticut

You've gotta try the LOBSTER!! Things to Do (1)

You can't go through any town in New England without sampling a taste of their fresh lobster! Coming from California,... more travel advice

More additions to the house! - Connecticut

Kicking back at Five Maples Farms Favorites (2)

Just recently I took my friends back to Connecticut to stay at my sister's home. Spending time there once again brought... more travel advice

The New England Coast Favorites (2)

Walk along the beach and collect sand more travel advice

Take the Metro-North to Manhattan Transportation (1)

The Metro-North Commuter train is the best way to get from Connecticut to New York. From the station in New Haven to... more travel advice

Comments (24)

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Faiza-Ifrah Dec 16, 2007 at 4:06 PM

i will have a new england experience in summer of 2008. i will remember ur lobster and how to deal with it :-)
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Pawtuxet Nov 28, 2006 at 4:18 AM

Nothing like a New England lobster, is there? thanks for your stories.
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Hexepatty Oct 6, 2003 at 9:04 PM

Metro North... I know it well!
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andal13 Jul 2, 2003 at 7:24 PM

If your date didn't bear a "soft lobster touch", he wasn't the man of your life, no doubt!!!! Is Connecticut actually "Far from heaven"???
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cjg1 Jun 9, 2003 at 5:20 PM

What a fantastic page. That MNRR ride goes within about 300 yards of my home now. with a station right there.... Was just up this way on the way home from CHI
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Geisha_Girl May 6, 2003 at 6:32 PM

Frank! In my world there are "snowmen" in summer, damnit! And chocolate milk flows through the rivers which I cross through Tiffany diamond-plated bridges!! Leave me to my *Fantasy World* Frank!
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frankcanfly May 6, 2003 at 6:27 PM

ouch! my eye! A snowman in the summertime?? you're a silly silly girl...... :-)
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Guantanamera Apr 21, 2003 at 7:48 PM

You need to find a guy like Romanian Surrealist Victor Brauner -- classic fetish for ocular oracular disfigurement... Pretending to accidentally fling the crustacean's claw at him was a clever way to broach a delicate subject...
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Nixter01 Apr 18, 2003 at 5:09 PM

Cute dog and Funky snowman !
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Alphons Apr 4, 2003 at 1:09 PM

very nice page, i like walk on the beach too, greetings Alphons...