Day 36 – Lisbon, Connecticut

That major surgery known as a Tickectomy must have taken a lot out of Don yesterday, ‘cause he didn’t get up until after eight this morning, most unusual for him.  Geri and I were up a bit earlier, but not much.  The entire morning was kind of slow moving until Don got off the computer and got ready to go for our walk.  This park is very woodsy and pretty, sort of like Worden Pond, but much smaller.  Right in front of our rig is a large, grassy field, great for running and rolling, and there are lots of options for places to walk and investigate.  There’s a pond that’s stocked with fish for kids to fish in, a little golf course, a beach area next to the pond, and a little brook running along the edge the park.  The only thing I found bothersome was a garbage can disguised as a clown figure near the beach; I don’t know why, but I just objected to the way it looked.  Anyway, Don and I had a very nice walk, exploring the nooks and crannies of the park, checking out the bathrooms and other facilities, and doing some running and rolling (me, not Don).

Geri insisted that we do some cleaning before we left the coach, so Don got to clean up the dashboard and instruments, Geri did some vacuuming, and I cleaned my paws.  We had a little lunch then, and loaded ourselves into the truck for a shopping and sightseeing expedition.  The shopping didn’t take long, some minor equipment for the truck and the coach, plus an ATM stop.  We went into downtown Norwich, which is built on a hilly area between two rivers, and found it to be very interesting.  Most of the buildings are very old, at least by our West Coast standards, and the streets are narrow and laid out kind of haphazardly.  I watched Don trying to make his way through the town, and it wasn’t pretty.  But you would round a corner and find a really beautiful old building, nicely maintained, amid others that were vacant, some crumbling, others vacant and for rent.  The downtown area looks like a place that was once very prosperous, but is now sort of on the skids.

The residential areas nearest the downtown area were something else; block after block of magnificent old, huge homes, most of them in fine condition, almost all of some architectural significance.  It’s really quite a show; it looks like some outside money has come into town and spruced up the better residential districts, but has not had much effect on the business end of the city.  We all thought that these parts of town were the most interesting points of interest in Norwich; there really aren’t a lot of historical structures or other touristy things here.  The City’s web site has a section on Visitor Information, listing things that visitors should see while they’re here; the number one attraction listed is a Dog Park.  We didn’t go there.

We did drive down the road along the Thames River, toward New London, and a few miles out of Norwich we saw something strange; it was a huge complex of old buildings, all in an advanced state of decay, fenced off from the road with big no trespassing signs.  It must have gone on for a mile or so!  Don and Geri had to stop to try to find out what this was; I was glad that they pulled off the road next to an old Cemetery.  Don got me out of the truck and he and I visited it while Geri researched the deteriorating mystery facility on her iPhone.  I like visiting old Cemeteries, the old headstones have interesting odors, the grass is usually nice, and they have a very peaceful feeling.  Don noted that most of the people buried there died before the State of California was admitted to the Union.  He found something that really interested him; it was the grave of a couple, John and Lucrezia Brewster, who were shipmates of Don’s many-greats Grandfather on the Mayflower.  They had apparently relocated from Plymouth fairly late in life, and had resided and died nearby.  Don went to take a photo of the monument, only to find that his camera batteries had died (as often happens).  He had to get Geri to bring her iPhone over to the graveyard to get some pics.  Geri, meanwhile had discovered that the mystery facility behind the fence was once a State Mental Hospital, encompassing some 900 acres, that had been closed back twenty years ago or so, and was up for sale by the State.

We returned to the coach, where I got my dinner, then headed up the road to Marlborough, where we met Geri’s Goddaughter, Donna, at a restaurant where the three of them had their dinner.  They don’t get to see her very often, and they always enjoy it when they do.  She came out to see me in the truck after dinner, and she was so nice to me that I think that she was falling in love.  I have that effect on a lot of ladies. 

Back at the park, we listened to our favorite TV shows on the radio, put the blog together, and turned in fairly early.  I think we’re staying over another day here, as I hear talk of a place called Foxwoods; I think there are a large number of the wondrous money machines there.  I’ll let you know how it goes!