songbird's crazy world

 July 31, 2026 .  Our destination: (Northwell is a huge medical corporation that runs multiple hospitals.  When I used my debit card for food, my bank labeled the purchase as “doctor visit”. Well, music does have medicinal qualities…) We used to go several times every summer, but lately there haven’t been any shows we wanted to see. Until now, of course. They’ve done a lot of renovations since the last time we were here.  Now the first thing you see in the “lobby” is a picnic area with artificial grass, tables and chairs, and a DJ — he was playing the best of the 70’s and 80’s. We grabbed a table and bought dinner.  Drew got a burger and fries.  I got … sushi! The tube in the side of the container is soy sauce.  You open the top of the container and add the  sauce, then insert the tube into a hole in the bottom and use it like a push pop. The gluten free girl didn’t use any soy sauce (it’s made with wheat), but I did enjoy the spicy tuna and avoca...

 After our Connecticut River adventure, we headed to the Thames River and the  Submarine Force Museum  in Groton.   The museum is adjacent to an active naval base. The centerpiece of the museum is the USS Nautilus, a decommissioned nuclear submarine. You can tour the actual sub — lots of stairs (fortunately no ladders) and climbing through hatches.  We had a lovely chat with the two sailors stationed outside the sub who answer the tourists’ questions. And the we toured the museum, which features the history of submarine warfare and exploration. Torpedoes! So while we were touring, we heard an announcement: a submarine is coming back to the base. Everyone ran outside to see. Next we drove to Mystic.  We ended the day in a gastropub called  The Engine Room . Great burgers. And then the long ride back to Long Island … Something interesting at the I-95 rest stops Overall a great day.

 Way back in the dark days of 2020, Drew and I spent a few days vacationing in Connecticut.  One of the highlights of that trip was our   visit to the Essex Valley . It was a time to mask up and to social distance, and the day we visited was rainy and gray, thanks to a hurricane.  But we had a blast. So when we were hanging out with some friends, we convinced them to come with us to  Essex Steam Train and Riverboat . The trip starts  on an old fashioned train, with a coal-fed steam engine and Pullman cars dating back to the 1920’s.  In 2020 Drew and I road in a  a regular car: But this trip, our little group paid the upgrade to sit in first class. Swivel chairs, much more comfortable. If you want views of the river during the ride, sit on the side of the train that faces the station.  My friends got a wonderful river view.  I got a view of woods and streams that lead to the river, The train takes you to Deep River, to board the...