Simsbury, CT

In October one of my oldest friends, Tony Costanza, got married in Connecticut. I decided that I had to be there and made Tony’s wedding a road trip weekend.

I was going to drive up to Connecticut by myself, but when Shelley heard that I was going to New England in the fall, she decided to come with me. I couldn’t ask for a better traveling companion to join me in my Gilmore Girls themed, Connecticut weekend. Plus, Shelley likes to listen to Harry Potter audio books as much as I do, so life doesn’t get much better.

The wedding guests and the reception were held at a lovely place called the Simsbury 1820 House. It was a beautiful home with an amazing front porch. According to MapQuest and my GPS it should have taken Shelley and me 6.5 hours to get to Simsbury; instead it took us over 10 hours – thank you very much George Washington Bridge and accident on I-95. We missed the rehearsal, most of the rehearsal dinner and were pretty exhausted by the time we went to bed.

Since the wedding wasn’t until the afternoon, on Saturday Shelley and I met up with a friend from our mission, Becky “Derbita” Ortinez. I have missed Becky like a mad dog and I was wonderful to see her again. It was extra fun because we also spent time with her sweet husband Cesar and her little boy Andrew. Andrew is just about the cutest thing in the whole world and because I only like kids on a case-by-case basis, that is a true compliment. We ate at this great deli, Rein’s Deli, in Vernon, CT. The food was fantastic – especially the French toast on challah bread and the cheese blintz (eat your heart out Mom).

The wedding took place at a Catholic church in West Hartford. The church had lovely stained glass windows. I especially liked how the soloist sang “Morning Has Broken” by Cat Stevens as everyone was being seated. Shaina looked absolutely beautiful and went 1940’s style with her dress and hair. It suited her perfectly. The reception was back in Simsbury at the Simsbury 1820 House. They had great food, a good DJ and plenty of cool people to talk too. It was fun to get to know some of Shaina and Tony’s friends that I have heard so much about but had never met. Good times!

On Sunday, Shelley and I headed back to DC. Before that we wanted to drive Washington Depot, which supposedly served as the inspiration for Stars Hallow from Gilmore Girls. Since it was only an hour away from Simsbury, we decided to take the trip. We made a lot of stops on the way to Washington Depot because Connecticut is so blasted beautiful. Everything we saw from the pumpkin patches to the New England style farm houses were so idyllic. I think Shelley and I used the word idyllic so much it has lost all meaning. Washington Depot is a sleepy little town, I would have to say that Stars Hallow is a much more happening place. It must be a wealthier area, as all the kids we ran into were talking about the prep schools they attend.
Getting us out of Washington Depot proved to be a bit more difficult than expected. My GPS had us going through some lovely farm land (I know I said lovely farm land and I hate farms – what is happening to me?) and woods. But instead of the roads turning into highways, they kept getting smaller. They also turned from asphalt to gravel to dirt roads with no trespassing signs. Needless to say, my TomTom was looking for a road that had not been built yet. Shelley and I were cool with the hour long detour - I can think of worse ways to spend my time then taking a scenic drive.

We eventually found our way to the highway and had a much quicker trip home even with all the stops. We bought apples as a cider mill, made a pit stop at a Costco in Yonkers and avoided getting in fights with toll workers on the New Jersey Turnpike (I am talking about you, Shelley). Thanks to Tony and Shaina for letting me share in such a wonderful wedding.

Next Trip – Dayton, OH