East Coast Trip

It may be true that "neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night" will deter a postal worker from his or her appointed rounds, but it is certain that these mere trivialities will never deter a VanDrunen from a vacation. You want proof? This past week, Grandpa and Grandma (a woman related to him by marriage) and my Mom and Dad came out to visit me and some of the choice selections of the East Coast. After 4 1/2 inches of snow through Pennsylvania, they safely arrived in cloudy New Haven. Though the weather huffed and puffed, it would never blow our spirits down (cheeseball, I know).

Thankfully, their courage was rewarded with what I thought was a great trip. I'll give you the run down:

Friday: After a long trip, there was little time to do anything but eat, so we ate the famous Pepe's Pizza. While it might not quite give Aurelio's a run for its money, it is about as close in goodness as anything on this planet can be. I recommend a white pie with mozzarella and shrimp.

Saturday: A tour of historic New Haven and the Yale Campus. I learned a lot about the University and later in the day was able to attend a speech with the newest Justice of the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor - an alumna from '79.

Sunday: We attended my church, which apparently met the approbation of all. Then we soldiered on through the fierce wind and rain to Newport, RI. There, we experienced the fantastic Vanderbilt mansions. For those of you who are unaware of what this might be like, think Birchwood in the '80s.

Monday: This day was all about history. We visited Plimoth Plantation (spelling critics beware - no standardized spellings in the 17th century mean you cannot fault me here), which had a replica Wampanoag village and English Settlement. Not content with our daily allotment of historical inspiration, we moved on to the town of Plymouth, where we saw Plymouth Rock and a replica of the Mayflower.

Mom is studying up on the traditional Wampanoag recipe for duck so she can share it on the blog

A self-aggrandizing picture of me next to a ship, this time an almost precise replica of the original Mayflower

Tuesday: Can you see Boston in a day? Perhaps not, but we came as close as any mortals should. You might think walking the freedom trail would be easy. After all, it is just a physical red line that you have to follow across the city. Yet if it can go wrong it will, and somehow we briefly lost our way. Finding ourselves back on the beaten track we proceeded to take in some of the great sights of the town - Paul Revere, John Handcock, Sam Adams, and the victims of the Boston Massacre's tombs; The Massachusetts State House; The oldest continuous restaurant in the U.S.; the Bunker Hill Memorial - yes all 294 steps of it; and finally the U.S.S. Constitution, also known as "Old Ironsides," which is still a commissioned naval ship.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives

Sam Adams's grave - I swear I didn't put that there

Old Ironsides - I think we should sail it to Somalia and go back to defeating pirates, which is what this ship does best

Wednesday: Mystic Seaport. We climbed aboard the last wooden whaling vessel, learned a lot, and even got to taste whale blubber for ourselves (just kidding). If anyone is remotely interested in history, water, sailing, commerce, art, craftsmanship, etc. I would highly recommend it.

Desperately trying to look tough next to the Amistad

The last wooden whaling ship in America

Thursday: Who needs history when you have live whales? I never did get the whale keeper to tell me how much oil you could get off a Beluga, but I had a good time nonetheless. Getting dropped back off in New Haven, my portion of the journey was completed. The long trip back home was the task of travelers more seasoned than I.