New Haven, Connecticut

Fourth Assignment: New Haven, Connecticut
Dates: January 23rd to April 22nd, 2006
Address: 6311 Town Walk Dr.
Hamden, CT 06518
Avalon Walk
Hospital: Hospital of St. Raphael

Okay, let’s see. My dad drove up with me from Arlington. The traffic wasn’t too bad until the George Washington Bridge. That was a one time only experience. I will find alternate routes in the future. It was crazy. I really don't know how I didn't hit anyone or get hit by anyone with the merging from 10 lanes to 2! We went drove 6 hours from Virginia to just inside of Connecticut without stopping! We got up there a week before my assignment started and explored as much of Connecticut as we could fit in! We took the train into NYC and walked around and rode the subway to a few spots and then went back. We went to Foxwoods Casino, but neither of us had any luck. (First of many times to Foxwoods! Soon to find out that Mohegan Sun was only about 10 minutes away from Foxwoods.)

The hospital is pretty small and the postpartum unit is only 11 beds. Everyone was very nice and I had a very good experience. The only problem was that it was pretty slow at night, which made for really long nights! After Virginia, this was a welcome break. The way the routine worked, by 10pm you were pretty much done for the night. All you had to do then was make sure the babies were eating like they should.

While I was in Connecticut I met Livia (from New Zealand) and Autumn (from Nebraska). They were a lot of fun to hang out with. I met Livia at a Japanese restaurant and we talked throughout the whole meal, even though she was on a first date. I guess I was more interesting. Autumn is her roommate. Autumn and I are like the same person, she is just the taller version of me. I’m going to miss them. I have kept in touch with Livia through text messages every so often. (Livia is now married and living in Virginia.) I also met a cute guy on the internet, but our schedules were very conflicting. We only got to meet once and that was only for 30 minutes. Unfortunately I had to leave two days later because my assignment was ending. I guess you could say it was bad timing. I also hung out with Katelyn one time before I left. We had a lot of fun. I keep in touch with her online also. Thank goodness for Myspace (LOL! Myspace!!)

I went to another Hockey game while in CT. I went to see the Hartford Wolf Pack. They won! That was a fun game. I sat right next to the penalty box. It was funny seeing the players sitting next to me anxiously waiting to get back into the game! Also, a few of them were missing teeth! Ha ha! I went out after the game with the group sitting behind me. We had a good time. My mom came up and we went to Boston and took a tour on the hop on, hop off trolley. However it was so cold that we just stayed on! We also went to NYC for the day. We went to Mohegan Sun and I won $450 on a nickel Monopoly game! That was awesome! We also drove up to Mystic, CT and ate at the famous Mystic Pizza. It was very tasty. We almost froze on the bridge in Mystic. It was so cold with the wind and everything. Cindi was able to come up for a few days while she was visiting her brother in NY. We mostly just hung out. We had a good time playing Family Feud at my apartment. We also went to see Disney on Ice, Monster’s Inc in Bridgeport. That was cute.

I went to Boston on my birthday to distract me from the fact that I had to spend my birthday alone. I went another time so I could go to a Red Sox game. Even though they lost, it was still a lot of fun. I stayed at the Radisson both times. I also went to NYC to go shopping a few times. I was supposed to meet another traveler, Carol, there but she had lost her cell phone, and so we never got to meet up with each other. I had a good time anyway. It's a good thing I am used to doing all these things by myself.

My apartment was very nice too. It was up on a hill and relatively new. It was about 20 minutes from work. There was a really good pizza place, sandwich shop and Mexican place conveniently located down the street. While I was in Connecticut there was a blizzard! It snowed for 24 hours straight and added up to 18 inches of snow!! (That's nothing compared to the almost 3 feet in a few years) It was gorgeous! Everything looks so much better under a blanket of snow! It also snowed when my mom came to visit! We had a snowball fight on the beach.

I am really considering settling down in New England when I am done traveling! Of course, you just never know where I will end up in the end. I have really enjoyed the 2 seasons, Winter and Spring! As I was leaving everything was turning green and the flowers were beginning to bloom. It was very nice! I'm sure Summer and Fall aren't too bad either.

At the end of the assignment I drove down to Rocky Mount, which took almost 12 hours with the traffic. It was worth it because when I got there I went to Las Vegas with Aunt Nell. We stayed at Luxor for the first half and Mandalay Bay for the last half. We rented a car this time, so I drove us all over Vegas. I also won two splitters at Bellagio, $250 and $125. That was awesome!! We also went to see O, which was really cool. Gotta love Bellagio!! (and Vegas!)