One night, I came home from work and told Ryan I wanted to go to Connecticut that weekend. We decided to wake up at the crack-of-dawn on Saturday morning and rent a car to drive up the coast and see all the cute little beach towns Connecticut has to offer. We had the brilliant idea of renting a car from the airport, which would’ve been super easy to get to on the metro if it actually ran that early in the morning, so we ended up getting an Uber that didn’t know where the rental location was at the airport and dropped us off at this random spot making us walk around in circles until we finally found it, so that was…fun.
But once we were finally in the car, we spent the next five hours dancing to “Cheerleader” by Omi, which luckily was on the radio every 5 minutes and quickly became my favorite song. Plus, I made sure to play it via youtube even when it wasn’t on the radio and Ryan loooved that. I know, I know, I’m a great wife. It was a rainy, overcast weekend, but that made everything a bit more charming and east-coasty. Ryan couldn’t get over all the trees, and it made me the happiest. Actually, looking back on it makes me wish we were there right now watching the leaves change colors.
Our first stop was Yale, and I was giddy the whole time pretending we were Rory and Logan falling in love and running around and being prestigious and smart. Ryan even let me buy a Yale shirt. He’s the best. Then we went to the Yale Museum of Art, and I died over all the art and history and beauty and Ryan danced around. Museums with him are my all-time favorite .
We looked up the best beach towns in Connecticut and stopped at all of them to find a little boardwalk with a boat and a few small shops and that was about it. At every one. So…by like 4pm we had seen all of Connecticut that we really wanted to. So, we looked at each other and said, “We’ve never been to Boston. And it’s only two hours away. Let’s go!” We didn’t really think about the 7 hour drive back. Or that we didn’t have a place to stay, but hey! It was spontaneous. And TOTALLY worth it. We made it just in time to get to Bodega (which you HAVE to go to if you’re ever in Boston). It’s a hidden boutique that has a false, old convenience store front and a fake vending machine that when you step close to slides open to the store in the back, which is super chic and fancy and fun. Ryan and I loved it. Then we drove by Fenway Stadium and over to the Harbor and ended the night in downtown Boston.
We slept in the car, because well…we weren’t exactly planning on going all the way to Boston and getting a hotel for that night at 9pm in downtown Boston was uh let’s just say…not in the budget (like ever). We woke up in the morning, and it was pouring down rain, which was kind of a bummer because we wanted to walk the Freedom Trail, which we kind of did anyways. We ran around and saw the statues of George Washington and Paul Revere and the site of the Boston Massacre and The Old State House and the Boston Marathon finish line. The wind kept turning the umbrella inside out, and my feet kept slipping in and out of my flip flops, and we were soaking wet by the time we got back to the car, but it was hilarious and totally worth it.
We stopped by Harvard on our way out, which made the whole weekend feel like I was trying to decide what college I wanted to go to. Plus, seeing as how I never actually went on a college tour to see where I wanted to go, it was fun pretending like I wasn’t already a college graduate and like these were places where all my Ivy League dreams could come true.
(*Hint: If you’re ever on a road trip and have to sleep in the car, brush you teeth at Whole Foods and then get a cup of hot water for free. Bring your own tea packets and make your own tea. It’ll save you lots of money, plus then you’ll really feel like you fit right in when you’re at Harvard. Also, blurry photos. Very artsy.)
Boston was beautiful, and I would have never had it on my list of places to visit, but now we’d love to go back for an entire trip. On the way back to DC, we stopped in New York City, which made me the happiest, because I love that city with all of my whole heart. We got the most delicious gluten-free pizza from Risotteria and Karli Kookies from Milk Bar, and then drove through a parade downtown so we could see our best friends for 5 minutes.
It was honestly the best 41 hour road trip I could have ever imagined.
