August 1: They Are Dead to Me Now

Today's post is dedicated to what I didn't know.

"You'll end up disappointed if you think people will do for you as you do for them. Not everyone has the same heart as you." Curiano quotes life

First stop in Southington was at a Motel 6. I really didn't think it would that bad for one night, but it was so bad. I took pictures, but you can't take pictures of the smell. I wrote to Motel 6 and complained. Then I made reservations at the Holiday Inn Express for two nights. I need to get new tires for my camper and I'm not going to be able to do that until Monday.

Nonsmoking Room

Don't want to know what that is

Was there a trash pick up strike?

Yeah, again don't want to know

No toilet paper

Broken toilet seat

Back of Twain's Home

Beecher Stowe home

glass and trash

Beecher Stowe house

Twain house

Sara's Home

Well Connecticut is like a blast from the past. Who knew that everything except fast food and gas stations would be closed on Sunday. So we went to visit the homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. They lived right next door to each other in Hartford, Connecticut. The homes were beautiful, but Hartford was filthy. That is, just like most of the cities I've visited the streets where upper and middle class people live are well paved and kept clean, but in the more urban areas the streets are filthy and they are filled with potholes. I don't think that the people who live in these areas want to live this way and they pay taxes, it shouldn't be this way. There were broken bottles in the gutters and actual trash just thrown everywhere. Afterwards, I had nothing to do, therefore I had no choice, but to settle in and do some blogging to catch up. The dogs were heartbroken, haha - they just slept the day away like they were exhausted from doing I don't know what.

My niece, Sara and her family were camping in Salem and returned home today. Perfect timing - so I was able to meet up with her and her family at their home in Southington. Her husband, Neil is a great guy. I was very happy to meet her kiddos, Liam, 11 and Penelope, 6. Liam is a history enthusiast and at this moment he is very interested in medieval times. While Penelope is into gymnastics and unicorns. She and Aria would really like each other. Their cats were friendly and their puppy stole my heart. You all know how I feel about dogs. They have such a nice home in a nice neighborhood. Neil is a carpenter by trade and has done a lot of work on their house. There is even a pirate ship play area in their backyard. Liam and Penelope are some lucky kids. I was very pleased to see what a nice life Sara has and that she is happy.

We had pizza and a nice conversation. We didn't dwell too much on the family stuff, but Sara shared some things with me that I wasn't aware of and I shed some light on her ancestry. She told me that on many occasions Max had shared with her, proudly, how my father had proposed to her even before my mother's death. What an awful thing to share with the granddaughter whose grandmother was the wife who was dying an incredibly painful - horrific death while you're bragging about her grandfather courting you. She said that he gave her a ring and whenever she looked at it she was to think about how much he loved her and wanted to marry her. Despicable! She also told me that Max would show her all her jewelry that my dad had bought her on their trips to exotic places without us. We were left at home alone while they went around the world buying jewelry for her. There is more, but I already feel sick. I've got to find a way to let the anger go, so I can be okay. They are both dead to me now!