June 16, Bath, NY

Nance and Trudi Bird on the UConn campus

We started today in Storrs, CT on the UConn campus.  Nance's cousin Trudi Bird hosted a short walking/driving tour around the campus.  I thought UConn was an urban campus.  Not so!  UConn is a fully equipped university but it started as an ag school, complete with experimental crops, farm animals, and chicken barns.   It's all placed in a rural setting and topped off with diverse and lovely architecture.  This is the way of federal Land Grant colleges.  They are incredible assets for any community. 

After checking out the horse barns, we topped off the campus tour with  ice cream made and served at their popular UConn Dairy Barn.  Yes, it was delicious.  Nance particularly enjoyed "Huskie Tracks", a UConn exclusive vanilla/chocolate swirl/Reese's Peanut Butter Cup combination.

Trudi's hospitality was perfect, she fed and housed us generously at her home on the campus. She even commissioned deer, squirrels, a diversity of birds and a woodchuck for entertainment We couldn't stay long, we wanted to visit my cousins the Dardani's in Hudson, NY.  We had to get there by noon and this meant an early start.  Our route took us right through central Hartford and we were concerned about rush hour traffic. Driving was a bit sluggish, but there were no major stoppages.  We proceeded on US 44 through Nance's old neighborhoods near Avon.  She enjoyed identifying roads, buildings and places from her youth here.  This area had changed, of course, but it was still recognizable and well preserved. This route was definitely a plus for both of us.

Bill, Nance, Noel and Mary in front of Steiners

Eventually, the traffic and congestion cleared and the Mercedes picked up speed and whisked us through those wonderful  rural winding roads that at so typical of the Farmington River valley and the Berkshire hills.  We both agreed that the crisp handling of the Mercedes was a real treat on these roads. Good thing we had a GPS too:  the road system between Hartford and Hudson is quite tangled, there are no obvious major roads connecting the two cities -- except for the Massachusetts Turnpike which was rather north of where we wanted to travel. 

We met cousins Noel and Mary Dardini at their store (Steiner Sports) in downtown Hudson.  This former river industrial town had been in decline.  It is now enjoying a rebirth as an arts, retail, and recreational center.  The nearby Hudson River and the Catskill mountains provide quite a backdrop.

I regret that we only had time for a very talkative lunch with Noel and Mary.  How can we possibly cover all those loose ends that fast?  We couldn't, but we gave it our best shot.  A big problem with this trip is the distance we have to cover.  That puts us near many friends and family that we have not seen for years.  But we also have to get back home eventually.  Even though we are retired, we still have homes and animals to care for and those doctor's appointments to make.

We reluctantly left Hudson with a suggestion by Noel that we take NY 23 through the Catskills. These are no small hills, we enjoyed the light traffic and still more spirited sports car driving.   We passed Hunter Mountain ski area.  It looked pretty impressive, with steep slopes looking lush covered with green.




Nance waves from the real Watkins Glen Glen

This is Watkins Glen the racing course.

Hard to believe, a real C-46 parked next to the road
near Bath, NY. It is part of the Curtiss Aircraft Museum

After much thought, we decided to aim for Watkins Glen.  It would take us through the finger lakes and give us a northerly vector so we could visit my nephew Michael and Kristen in Lansing, MI. We actually stopped at the glen at Watkins Glen and the race track too.  I recalled many days spent here watching the US Grand Prix and Can-Am racing in the mid 60's.  The track looked much bigger now.  It is quite a bit fancier than it was back in my college days.  I asked if we could drive a few laps on the course.  They said we could take three laps at noon daily for $25.  Unfortunately, it was closed when we arrived. 

This day was ending so we aimed on to Bath. NY.  We made it there at nightfall, just in time for a sandwich at Subway.  We accidently passed the Curtiss Museum, specializing the Curtiss aircraft.  We might check this out in the morning.  A most interesting and rare curvaceous C-46 parked in front certainly caught our attention.