Connecticut Coast

The government has this wonderful rule that as long as it doesn't cost the country any extra money, then an employee's family can join them on a business trip.

Todd had to go to Connecticut, and we went with him. We enjoyed 3 beautiful days in Old Saybrook. We walked around the town quite a bit, and enjoyed the quaint main street. Ethan and Maya both enjoyed seeing all the water.

Ethan was also enthralled with watching some men fish from the side of the river. He asked all sorts of questions and kept trying to get closer to look. I had to keep reminding him to back up so he wouldn't get a hook in the ear while they cast their lines. It was a bit of an education for him. He'll definitely be wanting Todd to take him fishing.

Apparently it was an early location for a ferry that went to Long Island. There was a small park that gave a little info on that history, but the need for a restroom quickly ended that visit as well as finding out more of the story.

Old Saybrook was also close to the spot where Yale started. Yes, the Yale. There were some commemorative stones there, ironically in the middle of a graveyard, where some remnants were left to rest. Obviously, Yale has since been moved.

Gas Prices Six Years Ago

Most of you who know us are also aware that we moved to the east coast 6 years ago. The time has absolutely flown, especially the last four years with our little ones.

Yesterday, I was cleaning out a binder to reuse and found an interesting scrap of paper. It was an envelope on which we had written our gas expenses from our move out here. We noted the town where we filled up, how many miles we had traveled, the number of gallons put in and the total price of the purchase. I'll list some of the gas prices per gallon below.

Green River, WY $1.239
North Platte, NE $1.699
Omaha, NE $1.369
Peoria, IL $1.349
London, OH $1.319
Annandale, VA $1.359

That trip cost us $305.75 in all. At not quite 3 times the gas prices now, that same trip in a moving truck, towing a car at 10 mpg, we would spend about $825.55. Oh, the good old days!

Holy Hanna

Okay, so I couldn't resist the cheesy title. Truth be told, we faired quite well with what was then just a tropical storm system. We got about 5 inches of rain in 6 hours, so it was very wet. Luckily, we prepared by checking the gutters and walkout to make sure that the drainage paths were clear.

We did not lose power during the actual storm, so our sump pump was able to mostly keep up with the water. We were also fortunate enough not to lose any trees this time. Ethan had fun watching the rivers of water in the streets, but did not like having to stay in doors. (For those who don't know, that muddy brown section is our ditch topping over. Sorry about the screen in the way, but I was not about to go outside just to get a clearer picture.)

We'll have to see what the rest of the hurricane season has for us this year. Hopefully we won't receive any direct blows. The last time we did was 5 years ago with Hurricane Isabel. She left us without power for nearly 5 days.

Helping Out

Maya has come to the point where she wants to be involved in everything. So she climbs up on the stove drawer handle to try and help us cook. Maya likes to help unload the dishwasher, whether or not the dishes are clean. Maya can never let Ethan be the only one in our laps, or being read to. She wants to help put away the laundry, in other words, she's really good at unfolding clothes and dragging them on the floor.

But there is one duty in which she has been able to start actually helping us. Diaper duty. Maya has now started to take her own diapers to the trash. She still needs assistance to open the pail, but throws the diaper in and joins with us in saying "Hurray Maya".