The Beach.

post by Patty -- Yes, it's cheesy. "I'll never get facebook" (I did) and I said, "I'll never start a blog" and I am. Long story short, never say never. Hopefully this will be a great way to post some pictures and better explain our adventures. Ben & I are coming up on week 3, living in CT. We have been very busy unpacking, working on getting a new driver's license, new insurance... blah.. blah. It is a LOT of work to move, period. So it was time to do some more exploring and relax a bit - time for the beach. We found a magazine that had loads of information and gave high ratings for Hammonasset Beach in Madison, CT - which is only 50 minutes South from our townhouse. The beach is located on the north side of Long Island Sound. It was totally worth the trip.



Below: Fishermen dotted Meigs Point. Also, children were "crabbing" with their parents. Hot dogs were tied on to the end of fishing line or a small piece of rope and dropped in to the cracks between the rocks. The crab would latch on to the hot dog and the children would net them and drop them in to buckets. One claimed to have 19.
Below: The grasses that lined the edge of the beach.


Below: Nice day to be a lifeguard.
post by Ben -- On Saturday, as a follow-up to our beach trip, we were planning on going to a Strawberry Festival and had planned to stock up on loads of strawberries so we could make homemade preserves. Fortunately, we got sidetracked. On our way Patty spotted a yard-sale (here they call them 'tag sales') and they had a washer and dryer for sale! It was only blocks from our place and we were pretty excited. After some haggling we agreed on a price with the sellers and set off to Home Depot because they had one cargo van available for rental. Fortunately, we got there and all pickup trucks and cargo vans were gone. We had to add our name to a wait list. I said fortunately because this led us to a walk around Home Depot where we got shelving for our kitchen (which we were in dire need of due to a stack of pots and pans, etc. on the kitchen floor). Also, we got a microwave - a $35, 700-watt powerhouse, which a Home Depot sales associate informed us we could have acquired 20-years ago with that kind of power. So, we told him we would take it. By the way, we took it home and tested it out on some leftover pizza. It nuked it about 30 seconds faster than the one at our last apartment - Patty informed me that our last one must have been about 500-watts (not sure if that's even something that is produced, but we'll go with it). In the end we were able to rent a cargo van and hauled a very used w/d set to our home.

Finally, after doing some major organizing and attempting (somewhat unsuccessfully) to hang pictures - we made some dinner and coaxed some friends over on Sunday. When I say some friends, I mean the only couple we know out here - Brian and Christi Helge - who have been amazing in showing us around and helping us out. We're thankful to have them here. Brian helped me lug the washer and dryer upstairs and we got them hooked up. The great thing is they actually work.

Hope this finds you all well - keep in touch and know our door is always open...