28 Nov to 13 Dec, 2021 - Manchester Center, Bennington, North Adams, Hartford, Norwalk, New Haven, New York City - (United States of America)
With the USA opening its borders in November, the opportunity arose for me to visit Vermont and Connecticut, for work. I spent two weeks at two customer sites, but got to see a little of both states, as well as some of Massachusetts while driving through, and a few days in New York City on my way out.
When planning the trip from JFK airport to my first site, in Manchester Center, Vermont, I had been looking at Maps so I could arrange a check in with the Bed and Breakfast. Given the arrival time, and the amount of distance to be covered, I made a forecast in my head that had me at my accommodation by 20:30 or thereabouts. Events were to conspire against this. None of the forecasting had taken in to account that it was the end of the Thanksgiving break. Chaos reigned through the airport, particularly in the rental car pick up, where I had to wait over 45 minutes for my vehicle to be ready. Yes, it was booked, and yes, I was on time for when it was booked for. The chaos continued, on the roads, gripped in traffic snarls, where it took me an hour and a half to drive the first 15 kilometres away from the airport. By this time, it was apparent that my Italian phone roaming was not going to activate, so coupled with the lack of any map in the car, I was now on the way north, driving from complete memory.
When it became clear that 20:30 was not going to be achieved and my arrival was going to be in the order of 23:30, I pulled in to a couple of service centres, in the hope of finding a phone so I could call them. This failed twice, and I was becoming concerned about spending more time looking for a phone than covering ground. So, I figured I would have to wing it on arrival. Driving in the dark, with snow falling, not even 100% sure I was on the right roads, I must confess I was becoming concerned I would not find the accommodation until the next day. So, it was a significant relief when I saw a turn off to Manchester Center, and drove in to the carpark of my residence for the first week.
The adventure was not quite over. The owners had sent me an email with details about my room and check-in, but sans data, I had obviously not received this critical data. I wandered through a couple of the buildings in the complex, and I eventually found a room with a key in the door. I felt this was the best I could do, so upon establishing the room was indeed vacant, I moved myself in. You have probably already guessed, the next morning I found out that I was in the wrong room. Thankfully, not a big issue, given the low number of guests, but both the management and myself appeared to show equal amounts of embarrassment.
The first week was all in Vermont. Working Monday to Friday, in Manchester Center mainly, but I got up to Middlebury one day to visit the operation up there. On Saturday, I drove down to Connecticut, stopping in Massachusetts on the way, and visiting Mark Twains house in Hartford before getting to my hotel in Norwalk.
Morning 1, Looking Out
Vermont, Day 1. Waking up and walking around pre-breakfast, taking in just how "stereo typical" New England it all felt.
Along the Road, Vermont
A Vermont Covered Bridge
Driving Through Massachusetts
House of Mark Twain
Coming through Connecticut, I diverted to Hartford to visit one of the homes of Mark Twain.
Art Gallery, Yale Univesity
Week two had me travelling to a number of locations through Connecticut.
Friday and Saturday night were spent in New York City before my Sunday flight.
NYC Skyline, from Hunters Point
New York City Ice Skating
Ice Skating at the Rockefeller Center seems so iconic for New York in winter.
Skyscrapers Disappearing
Cloud engulfs the higher parts of skyscrapers around Central Park.
911 Ground Zero
Memorial pool (South Tower) where the World Trade Center Twin Towers stood.
Inside the Oculus, Westfield World Trade Center
American Utopia
David Byrne's (of Talking Heads fame) Broadway show. American Utopia.
TWA Hotel, JFK Airport
A pre-flight drink at the very retro hotel, TWA. The bar on the Constellation was, unfortunately, closed - possibly due to covid?
